Sawyer and Gray

You'll find yourself on a quiet stretch of Canonbury, where Sawyer and Gray sits as the kind of place locals actually want to spend time. It's not trying too hard — the coffee's excellent, the food's inventive without being annoying about it, and the staff clearly give a toss. The space has that lived-in quality you get when a café isn't designed by a focus group: mismatched seating, natural light, the sort of room where you can comfortably sit with a laptop or just people-watch over a flat white. Brunch is properly good, and prices won't leave you feeling mugged.