The evolution of De Beauvoir from gorgeous backwater to bona fide destination, filled with cute cafés, independent restaurants and revamped local boozers, has been a transformation which has been quietly stage managed by the main local landowner, The Benyon Estate.
In 2009 the estate helped turn a tumbledown car spares shop into the De Beauvoir Deli, providing all the artisanal groceries you could wish for and a fabulous breakfast menu (yes, there are several varieties of avocado toast). It is still going strong and more independents have followed.
Back then Dan O’Brien, a director at Aucoot estate agents, said De Beauvoir Town was hardly on buyers’ radars. “Everyone wanted to live near Upper Street,” he says. “Places like De Beauvoir Town, Broadway Market and London Fields weren’t really developed. You only bought there if you couldn’t afford Islington.”
As more small businesses moved to De Beauvoir Town, attracted by its comparatively low rents, De Beauvoir’s rise began by word of mouth. “People were looking for areas outside of the high street to find reasonable rates to run a coffee shop, or a deli, or a pub,” says O’Brien. “One just followed another. At the same time, what buyers wanted was changing. They still want to be connected to busy spots, but they don’t want to be in a busy, chaotic area. They want to go home in the evening to somewhere where they can get their bread from a local deli and get a drink in the local wine bar.”
The opening of the local East London Line in 2010 gave the area its first really local station, Haggerston, with trains to Shoreditch and links to the Tube.
When Sophie Hakes first visited De Beauvoir Town in 2017, she was amazed to discover such a pretty, leafy little oasis hidden in plain sight within walking distance of the urban grit of Hackney and the money-churning intensity of the Square Mile. “Back then what we liked was how leafy and quiet it was, given how close it is to the City,” says Sophie, who is chief-of-staff at a law firm. “It was quite astounding that you could get houses with gardens, and it was so quiet. It is a bit of a haven.”
Ready to buy their forever family home, Sophie, 38, and her husband Luke, 45, chose a 1,700sq ft house in the heart of De Beauvoir.
Since moving to De Beauvoir, Sophie and Luke have had two children, Woolton, six, and Willa, three. It is, they say, a perfect family spot, with London Fields up the road and Broadway Market within walking distance.
De Beauvoir Square, which was laid out in the mid-19th century when speculative developers were trying to attract middle-class residents to Hackney, is a community hub. On sunny days it is filled with families refuelling on pastries bought at the Dusty Knuckle bakery van that parks there or enjoying homemade picnics. “You always see a gazillion people you know,” says Sophie.
More recently Sophie and Luke, a venture capital investor, have noticed young hipsters starting to adopt their neighbourhood too. “It used to be mainly families, but it is becoming a destination, and I like that it has got a buzz,” says Sophie. “It has got that east London vibe, with amazing restaurants you don’t have to dress up for. There is a reason why I don’t live in Fulham.”
Community spirit is strong in this perfectly-formed urban village, and there are many ways to enmesh yourself in it. De Beauvoir Gardeners, founded in 1978, meets monthly in St Peter’s Church to discuss all things horticultural, and hosts an annual flower show. The local residents association holds a summer party in De Beauvoir Square, and a charity Christmas fair, also at St Peter’s. There is a jazz festival, a weekly local newsletter and a Women’s Institute with its own jam-making group.
De Beauvoir’s pubs are a particular highlight — you can catch some live jazz at The Scolt Head, which also has a weekly pub quiz, and does a mean lemon tart. The Hunter-S — which proudly advertises itself as offering “no Instagram cocktails, no quinoa sliders” — will serve you a hearty dinner, whether you want chicken schnitzel or are more of a vegan burger type.
Naturally there is a thriving foodie culture in this corner of N1, beyond its gastropubs. You can carb load at the brilliant Sweet Thursday pizzeria, while Albers restaurant offers a special workers lunch to cater to all the local work from homers. Another local favourite is Goodbye Horses, with its extensive wine list and hip interiors plus mural by local artist Lucy Stein. Yet more vino can be found at The Dreamery, an innovative and wholly welcome wine bar-come-ice cream parlour mash-up.
Creative types tend to be drawn to the area, like actor James Norton, who moved up from Peckham, Keira Knightley, who has professed her love of local hotspot Towpath café, and contemporary artist Sue Webster, who commissioned her friend, the uber-architect David Adjaye, to help her revamp a derelict hoarders’ house. This was a project and a half since the previous owner, nicknamed Mole Man, had dug a network of tunnels beneath the property leaving it in danger of collapse. But with Adjaye’s help she has transformed it into an extraordinary live-work space with raw concrete and timber interiors.
Buying in to this small but perfectly formed neighbourhood, regularly voted the best place to live in London, doesn’t come cheap. A flat will typically set you back £572,000, according to estate agent Hamptons, while you will need £1.7m for an average house.
Ele Robertson, associate director of Savills, said buyers moving into the area tend to be first-time buyers, often with fat finance salaries or aided by the bank of mum and dad, as well as young families finding their forever home. “Often the wife is arty and the husband works in finance,” she says.
After what has been a torrid year for London’s property market, average prices fell by almost nine per cent across De Beauvoir last year.
Robertson agrees that 2025 was tough going but already sees the signs of a more confident market in 2026; she has presided over several sealed bids auctions in January and February as buyers compete for the best properties. “We have had a really strong start to the year; I am cautiously optimistic,” she says.
O’Brien feels the truth of the current De Beauvoir market is a little more complex than the overarching data suggests. “Fixer-uppers have gone down because of rising build costs, they are really struggling, but turnkey houses have gone up in value considerably,” he says. “People have been put off by the cost of building work. They are front loading and buying the houses that are already done, they are buying other people’s hard work. Until build costs come under control that will continue.”
