Barnet Cafes and Coffee Shops: Where to Go

The Barnet cafes with the strongest public record are Campbell & Syme, the roaster’s own cafe in East Finchley since 2012; Huddle Caffe on High Barnet’s High Street; Oak Hill Park Café in East Barnet, with its own soft play; and the park cafes at Golders Hill Park and Victoria Park. Every entry was checked against the cafe’s own website, or the park owner’s, on 27 October 2026.

We have not visited these cafes for this guide, and nothing here is a review. Each entry sets out what the cafe says about itself and what it publishes about food, hours and children, then adds the public record, starting with the Food Standards Agency hygiene rating. Hours change with the seasons, especially at the park cafes, so check before a special trip.

High Barnet and East Barnet

Huddle Caffe, High Street, Barnet

Huddle Caffe is an independent cafe near the top of the High Street, with a second branch in Winchmore Hill. Its own site calls it “a community hub” and lists made-to-order sandwiches, cakes and pastries, breakfasts including healthy options, smoothies and speciality teas. Customer reviews it publishes on its site mention tables outside that catch the sun and say it is dog friendly. Open Monday to Saturday 8am to 5pm and Sunday 8am to 4.30pm. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 11 April 2026). 224 High Street, Barnet EN5 5SZ. Our listing.

Oak Hill Park Café, Parkside Gardens, East Barnet

Oak Hill Park Café opened in 1996 in a small corner of the park’s cricket pavilion, according to its own site, and is still family run, by Ewa and Jack. Its menu page says it has been “making a name” for home-made Polish dishes, alongside breakfasts and a children’s menu. The cafe has its own soft play, split into an area for babies up to eight months (£2) and one for nine months to six years (£4), on prices the site labels 2023; only food and drink bought at the cafe may be eaten on site. It lists the cafe as open 8am to 5pm “depending on weather” and the soft play 9am to 5pm. Call 020 8361 1013. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 28 April 2026). Parkside Gardens, Barnet EN4 8JP.

Finchley and East Finchley

Campbell & Syme, Fortis Green, East Finchley

Campbell & Syme is a speciality coffee roaster, and this is its own cafe. Its about page says Joe Syme founded the business in 2012 after falling for the coffee scene in Portland, Oregon, and its location page says the East Finchley shop opened in October 2012 and was briefly its roastery too. Roasting has since moved to Kings Langley, and the company became a certified B Corporation in 2023, according to The Way to Coffee. The cafe pours two single-origin espressos and three filter coffees that change with the seasons, with toasties, open sandwiches such as guacamole on sourdough, granola and its own baking. Open Monday to Friday 8am to 3pm and Saturday 9am to 4pm; closed Sunday. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 17 November 2025). 9 Fortis Green, N2 9JR. Our listing.

Cherry Tree Wood cafe, Summerlee Avenue, East Finchley

Cherry Tree Wood is the patch of ancient woodland and grass opposite East Finchley station, and its cafe sits beside the playground and tennis courts. The Woodland Trust says the wood’s old name was Dirthouse Wood, after the manure from London that was stored nearby. The cafe has no website of its own. GoParks London lists outdoor seating only and says the park is open dawn to dusk, and Parks and Gardens UK has listed the cafe as opening daily in summer but only at weekends from November to April, so expect weekend opening only through the winter. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 21 February 2026). Summerlee Avenue, N2 9QH.

Inky’s Stables Café, Stephens House and Gardens, Finchley

Inky’s is the cafe in the old stables at Stephens House, the Grade II listed house and gardens on East End Road. The house’s own site says Henry Charles “Inky” Stephens, of the Stephens’ Ink Company, gave it for the use and enjoyment of the people. The cafe opens seven days a week, 9am to 5pm, with last food orders at 4pm; on weekends and bank holidays it opens at 10am. Call the house on 020 8346 7812. Hygiene rating 3 (FSA, 30 January 2026). 17 East End Road, N3 3QE. Our listing.

Victoria Park cafe, Ballards Lane, Finchley

Victoria Park opened in 1902 and was the only public park in the old Borough of Finchley until 1914, according to the Friends of Victoria Park, whose site lists a cafe “open 7 days a week” alongside two playgrounds, six tennis courts and the bowls and croquet club. The Friends say they have money set aside that will pay for new playgrounds and “a new café”, so the cafe may change in the coming years. The cafe publishes no hours or menu of its own. Hygiene rating 4 (FSA, 17 July 2026). Ballards Lane, N3 2NE, close to Finchley Central and West Finchley stations.

cafédepot, artsdepot, North Finchley

cafédepot is the cafe on level 2 of artsdepot, the arts centre on Nether Street. Its page lists sandwiches, snacks, fresh croissants, organic products and fair trade teas and coffees, with free wifi, and says all profits go back into the centre’s community work. A free soft play area and book corner are round the corner from the cafe, and the bar opens an hour before performances. artsdepot’s visit page publishes the cafe’s hours for the week ahead; this week it shows 9am to 4.30pm. Box office 020 8369 5454. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 19 May 2026). 5 Nether Street, N12 0GA.

Golders Green, Hendon and Colindale

Golders Hill Park Café, North End Way

Golders Hill Park Café is the glass-fronted cafe in Golders Hill Park, which the City of London runs as part of Hampstead Heath. Its page promises hot and cold meals, snacks and drinks, and says the Heath cafes were put out to tender again at the end of 2025. The park itself is open 7.30am to 5pm until 15 November and 7.30am to 4.30pm from 16 November to the end of December, and the park page warns it may shut at short notice when winds of 40mph or more are forecast. It is a 14-minute walk from Golders Green station, or the 210 and 268 buses. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 30 June 2026, Barnet Council). North End Way, NW3 7HD.

Head Room Café, Golders Green Road

Head Room is a cafe run as a social enterprise by the mental health charity Jami, now part of Jewish Care. The Jewish Chronicle reported that Jami opened it in 2016 in its former charity shop, that it serves kosher food, and that free groups and peer-led activities run there. We found no page of its own: Jewish Care’s job adverts and its OpenTable listing give hours of Sunday to Friday 8am to 4pm, closed Saturday, and OpenTable shows an earlier finish on Fridays, so check before going. Hygiene rating 4 (FSA, 27 February 2025). 89 Golders Green Road, NW11 8EN.

Hendon Kitchen, RAF Museum, Colindale

Hendon Kitchen is the main cafe at the RAF Museum. The museum’s food and drink page calls it “a light and bright family-friendly café” with a “hearty canteen style menu from quality British ingredients”, served at the counter. Breakfast is 10am to 11am and lunch 11.30am to 3pm, and the cafe opens 10am to 4.30pm every day, takeaway only from 4pm. A smaller AeroPlay! Café in Hangar 4 sits next to the museum’s soft play. Entry to the museum is free, but it asks visitors to book tickets in advance. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 22 May 2026, listed under the caterer, Restaurant Associates). Grahame Park Way, NW9 5LL. Our listing.

How we chose

These are the cafes that turn up in public records, not a list of our favourites. We looked for independents with a history we could check, such as Oak Hill Park Café since 1996 and Campbell & Syme since 2012, and for the park and museum cafes people head to with children. We checked every one against the Food Standards Agency register and left out anything rated below 3. We also left out several well-reviewed cafes because they publish no website or social page we could check their hours against. Every entry’s hours and menu details come from the cafe’s own website, or the park or museum that runs it, on 27 October 2026; where a cafe publishes nothing, we say whose figures we used.

Run a place that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@barnetlive.co.uk.

More in Barnet: things to do in Barnet, what’s on this month, Barnet playgrounds, walks near Barnet, Barnet restaurants, Barnet pubs, the latest Barnet food hygiene ratings and cafes in our business directory.

Frequently asked questions

Which Barnet cafes are good for small children?

Oak Hill Park Café in East Barnet has its own soft play for babies and under-sixes, with entry at £2 or £4 on the prices it lists. cafédepot at artsdepot in North Finchley has a free soft play area round the corner from the café, and the RAF Museum in Colindale has a café next to its AeroPlay! soft play as well as the Hendon Kitchen café. The park cafes at Victoria Park, Cherry Tree Wood and Golders Hill Park all sit near playgrounds.

Where can I get speciality coffee in Barnet?

Campbell & Syme at 9 Fortis Green, East Finchley, is a roaster’s own cafe, open since October 2012. It serves two single-origin espressos and three filter coffees that change with the seasons, and sells beans and brewing kit. It opens Monday to Friday 8am to 3pm and Saturday 9am to 4pm, and is closed on Sundays.

Which Barnet cafes are open on a Sunday?

Huddle Caffe on High Barnet’s High Street opens 8am to 4.30pm on Sundays, Inky’s Stables Café at Stephens House opens from 10am at weekends, and Hendon Kitchen at the RAF Museum opens 10am to 4.30pm every day. Campbell & Syme is closed on Sundays, and the Cherry Tree Wood cafe has been listed as opening only at weekends from November to April.