My Neighbourhood: Henry Rowley

Henry Rowley has lived in King’s Cross for six years. In that time, he’s graduated from silly lockdown skits into the stand-up comedy scene and onto the red carpet as an actor in Robin Hood. We caught up with him in his home neighbourhood to dive into his favourite local spots and see whether he’d want a Soho House there…

What is it you love about King's Cross, Henry?

How easy it is to get everywhere, of course. But it’s become a bit of a hub in itself in recent years. You've got the Everyman outdoor cinema, the vintage car boot sale, and the food and vintage market that comes every Sunday at Coal Drops Yard. So, on a weekend, a lot is going on. When I first moved in, it all felt brand new. It was like the castle in the first Shrek film when it’s all weirdly empty, even though it's built up. But, over the past six years, it started to form its own identity and community, and growing as part of that has been really cool.

What's your perfect day in Kings Cross?

Pub at 10am, home at 11pm. Perfect day. No, I would say, wander down Regent's Canal, go get coffee. I'm basic as hell, so for me, coffee is Gail’s. Depending on the season and if it's a weekend, I’ll wander through the market. See what's going on. Have a look at the boutique stores. I always end up getting something weird, like bath salts or candles that I will never use. But just in the moment, I'm like, “It's a Sunday, what the hell!” If it's summer and Wimbledon’s on the Everyman cinema screen, that's always good. Towards the end of the day, head to the Star of Kings. If there's a pub quiz, great. If not, I’ll just sit with some mates and have a chat.

If you were the mayor of King’s Cross, what would you implement?

I think I'd go power mad. I'd bring in another pub like the Star of Kings – I think one would do well in the Coal Drops Yard area. I'd lower the prices a little bit as well. And I’d give out ‘I love King's Cross’ hats – big pink and green hats that play music when you wear them. That would bring a bit of class to the area.

What's the best dinner spot?

German Gymnasium is good. Hoppers is nice, so is the Granary Square Brasserie. I also really like Lina Stores. In summer, the outdoor bit of Parrillan is great. You feel like you're in Europe. It's one of those where you cook your own meat, and it's just got a lovely atmosphere.

Tell us about a hidden gem…

Spiritland is probably a bit of a hidden gem. It's not massive, and it’s a very good date spot. You feel cool being in there. They've got active producer music booths. I think they do a radio station from there during the day, or even record there. Importantly, they play really good music. The cocktails are nice. It's low lighting, so it has a speakeasy feel.

If you had to cheat on King’s Cross with another neighbourhood, where would it be?

This is so posh, but Hampstead Village. I love it. The pubs, like the Holly Bush, are unbelievable.

Is there a local celebrity that comes to mind when you think of King’s Cross?

There's this guy who walks around with this massive JBL speaker. He obviously just does it for the people. He's always by himself. He will plonk his speaker down, just sit and chill and nod his head. He's not weird or strange or anything like that, but if everyone's sat on the steps in summer having a drink, he's in the bottom corner just blaring out music. It's always really good tunes, and he brings such a good vibe. He's iconic. He's been here for the whole six years. He’s one of those where we walk past each other and give a little smile, so there's a little bit of familiarity.

Talk us through the three locations for our shoot…

I love the Star of Kings because it's the only proper pub right near where I live. It's nice just to have a place to get a pint and do a pub quiz, and they play like death metal at 4pm when there's no one there, which I find quite entertaining. The next location is Gasholder Park. I walk past it every single day on my way to the station, and there's always stuff going on. There are people doing things like meditation circles or yoga, or a million different music videos being filmed there. It constantly changes throughout the seasons. In the spring and summer, the flowers bloom, then in winter it's all snowy and romantic, and I make snow angels there and pelt the local kids with snowballs. Finally, the Lighterman. I like this one because when my flatmate and I first moved here six years ago, this was our go-to spot, and it made me feel fancier than I actually am. It’s a gastropub slash bar filled with people who'd made it, and it just allowed me to pretend for a little while.

And what are you up to at the moment?

I've just finished filming Robin Hood, which has been amazing. Playing Will out in Serbia has been the most fun I've ever had in my life. I’m currently doing a lot of press stuff around that, auditioning for other stuff, and just carrying on with the TikTok. I've got the TikTok Awards tonight, every boy's dream. I'm up for entertainment creator of the year.

That’s big, isn’t it?

Oh yeah, massive. The biggest. No, it will be fun. It'll be cool.

Would you have a Soho House here?

Yeah, of course, why wouldn't you? I think especially with the new Google building, there's going to be a lot of edgy tech bros as well as the tech tech bros. I'm surprised there's not something like that around the station already. People might want to chill before they get their train.

The Soho Terminal?

The Terminal, that's quite good. Let's do it in the station. It'd be really interesting to see what kind of people you get at a King's Cross Soho House.

Follow @HenryRowleyy

Locations: Porte Noire, Star Of Kings and Word On The Water

Photography: Laura Granados Lafuente

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