Direct: 
Those Americans moving here searching for the London neighborhoods with the trendiest residents, best night life and swank loft apartments need look no farther than Clerkenwell. Located near the City of London this once dilapidated neighborhood was home to a revival in the 1980s and 1990s making it become one of the hottest spots here. Many of the industrial buildings have been transformed into modern lofts and architects and designers flock to Clerkenwell. Clerkenwell is also known as offering the best food of all the neighborhoods.
Clerkenwell History
Originally Clerkenwell was quite the fashionable place to live because of its close proximity to the center of London. During the seventeenth century it was known as a resort for the wealthier locals to vacation. The Industrial Revolution brought many manufacturing plants into the area causing it to lose favor with the wealthy. As more and more working and poorer class citizens moved in the area degraded. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries it became known as ‘little Italy’ because of all the Italian immigrants who called it home. The area saw a revival in the late twentieth century bringing the once king of neighborhoods back into fashion.
Clerkenwell Restaurants
Today, Clerkenwell is known throughout all the neighborhoods for having the best restaurants in town. Some of the favorite and most popular are Dans le Noir?, a French restaurant where diners are in the dark the entire time supposedly to heighten other senses, Clark’s Pie and Mash, a cash only establishment which has been around far longer than its trendier neighbors specializing in the common Englishman’s food, and Turnmill’s Top Floor, a Mediterranean restaurant well known by the locals for serving reasonably priced classics.
For those expats seeking the best night club Clerkenwell is where they’ll find it. Fabric is the largest club housed in what used to be a meat packing warehouse. It’s been around for over a decade and is just as popular as it was when it first opened. Casual dress is required and the line is long so advance tickets are recommended. Turnmill’s restaurant also features one of the hottest dance floors in London.
With so many vibrant and fun opportunities in Clerkenwell it is no surprise that it is the destination for London’s best clubs and restaurants. Young professionals flock to the hippest of London neighborhoods making it a great place to consider when moving to London from America.
