The site has housed pubs since the 1700s, with the current building being built in 1888.[2][3] At one point, a cable car service up Highgate Hill terminated outside the tavern.[4]
In 2014, the Archway Tavern was closed because of a licensing dispute.[5] It was briefly re-opened as the Intrepid Fox,[6] and at one point operated as a venue called Dusk till Dawn,[7] but remained largely closed for several years.[8] In 2020, plans were made to reopen it,[5][9] following the resolution of licensing issues regarding the pub and its adjacent nightclub.[10] As of 2021[update], the pub is back to being open full time.
During the shutdown, the building was locally listed by Islington Council as "a historic feature and a focal point of the Town Centre" to resist any change of use of the building from being a public house.[11] The building is now owned by the property company Searchgrade Limited, which bought it for £3.8m in 2019.[12]