If you’ve wandered down Great Sutton Street recently, you may have spotted N5 Kitchen’s bright new pop-up bringing homemade lunches, excellent coffee and plenty of friendly faces to the neighbourhood.
By Holly Chaves
If you’ve wandered down Great Sutton Street recently, you may have spotted N5 Kitchen’s bright new pop-up bringing homemade lunches, excellent coffee and plenty of friendly faces to the neighbourhood.
Founded by friends Milly and Suzie, N5 Kitchen started life in a home kitchen in Highbury before growing into a much-loved café and catering business in Finsbury Park. Now, the pair are bringing their signature mix of hearty food, warm hospitality and community spirit to Clerkenwell.
“We never imagined the original café when we were first starting out,” they admit. “It’s so exciting that we’ve been able to do the pop-up with the help of our wonderful team.”
The move to Clerkenwell wasn’t a difficult decision. After spending time exploring different areas between Old Street and Holborn, Great Sutton Street quickly felt like home.
“We love the feel of Clerkenwell with lots of design-focused businesses in the area,” they say. “It felt like a great fit without being dominated by some of the bigger café and lunch chains.”
They were also drawn to the area’s character.
“We love the mix of old and new and there’s definitely a creative energy in the air. Plus there are a couple of very cute parks – perfect for eating an N5 lunch in.”
For anyone unfamiliar with N5 Kitchen, the concept is refreshingly simple: delicious homemade food made fresh every day.
“N5 Kitchen is a warm, family-feel kitchen and café, making delicious, hearty, healthy breakfast and lunch.”
It’s an approach that’s won them a loyal following in North London. Their menus change daily and focus on seasonal ingredients, with dishes designed to feel nourishing, exciting and a world away from the standard desk lunch.
“From the conversations we’ve had, it sounds like a lot of people end up getting a meal deal for ease,” say Milly and Suzie. “We hope to give people something that feels homemade, but not something you could necessarily make yourself – so a bit of a treat while also being balanced and healthy.”
Ask them what a “proper lunch” means and the answer is straightforward: food made from whole, high-quality ingredients, prepared fresh that day.
That philosophy runs through everything they do, whether they’re feeding a local office team, a wedding party or one of the fashion shoots they’ve become known for catering.
“We give every booking the same N5 treatment, always putting our love, care and attention into the food and service.”
While the menu changes constantly, a few favourites have earned near-legendary status among regulars. Their dan dan noodle bowls and Chicken Milanese are perennial bestsellers, while the coconut cake remains the founders’ personal favourite.
“Coconut cake will always be our OG fave.”
And then there are the doughnuts. Every Friday at their original café, customers receive a free doughnut with their lunch – a tradition that’s developed a loyal following of its own.
At its heart, though, N5 Kitchen is about people as much as food. The founders are especially proud of the community they’ve built around their Finsbury Park café and hope to create something similar in Clerkenwell.
“Something that we really treasure in our Highbury café is the community we have created with our gorgeous local regulars. We hope we can recreate that here too.”
That sense of community was behind the N5 Kitchen Picnic held in Spa Fields shortly after opening. The team gave away 100 lunches, homemade cordials and their famous dark chocolate chip and sea salt cookies, inviting local residents and workers to get to know them.
“We wanted to give everyone an opportunity to try our lunches, and with it being summer and Spa Fields so close by, the picnic idea seemed perfect.”
For Milly and Suzie, independent businesses are a huge part of what makes Clerkenwell special.
“As an area it really does support lots of independents and that’s something we want to help keep alive.”
As for what’s next? Alongside the cafés, the pair are focused on growing their catering business across London, bringing N5 Kitchen’s food to offices, creative studios and productions throughout the city.
For now, though, they’re enjoying getting to know their new neighbours one lunch at a time.
After all, if there’s one thing Milly and Suzie believe in, it’s that good food tastes even better when it’s shared.
