A handsome mid 1800s Islington pub that butchers all its own meat on site, set on Liverpool Road between Angel and Highbury.
Published Apr 22, 2026 By Tom Callahan Last reviewed Jun 3, 2026 Address 80 Liverpool Road, Islington, London N1 0QD Nearest Transit Angel and Highbury & Islington stations, both a short walk away Hours Open daily for drinks, with food served on a daily changing menu and Sunday roasts a fixture. Check the venue for current times. Good For Sunday roast, Cask ale, Long lunch Gastropub In house butchery Cask ale Sunday roast Islington Visit The Pig and Butcher Suggest an edit Ask the editors Tables for the dining room are booked through the pub directly. Tell them barsforKings sent you.
The Pig and Butcher sits at 80 Liverpool Road in Islington, a handsome pub built in the mid 1800s when this was farmland on the road to Smithfield Market. It opened in 2012 and has become a fixture for drinkers and diners alike.
The hook is the in house butchery. The team breaks down whole animals in a butchers room downstairs and runs a daily changing British menu upstairs. The Michelin Guide and the Top 50 Gastropubs list both recognise it. It anchors our London craft beer and ale guide and the wider best bars in London roundup.
It still reads as a proper boozer, with a bar you can drink at without booking a table. The London Economic described a room filled with both diners and drinkers, all feeding a lively front of house.
Produce arrives each morning from New Spitalfields Market, with meat collected locally from Smithfield. For more pubs pouring good ale, see the London craft beer guide and our gastropubs near me hub.
The crowd is a mix of Islington locals drinking at the bar and bookings filling the dining tables, especially around the Sunday roast. The London Economic described diners and drinkers sharing one lively room.
Sundays run busiest, when the roast pulls a steady stream from the surrounding streets off Liverpool Road. Midweek evenings are calmer and easier for a walk in pint without a table reservation.