please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
With football postponed I decided to tick a couple of pubs in deepest North London, first stop this modern 'spoons in the heart of Palmers Green.
Apparently this 'spoons opened in 2006, it's modern in style and is open plan with the long bar to your right as you enter. Carpeted throughout with the usual seating areas that you expect from this chain. No music on my visit and the televisions were on silent.
I came in just after 10.30am on Saturday there were only a handful of punters in with most of them having breakfast.
10 hand pumps serving 9 different ales and 1 cider. A couple of seasonal offerings and an overseas ale from Full Sail Brewing Co, Wassail @ 6.0% this was my choice and was pretty good.
A pleasant pub, friendly bar staff, decent ale choice & quality, the perfect start to the day.
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This branch of Wetherspoons is always crowded. Friendly efficient staff and a good range of ales always on. The only decent pub in Palmers Green.
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Usual high Wetherspoon standards - clean, friendly service, decent Adnams, and quite clearly the only decent drinking house for miles around.
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Unlike the Gilpins Bell in Edmonton, this branch of Wetherspoons was open to all on a matchday. It had a reasonable selection of ales - Titanic Molly Brown Ale, Belhaven Black Scottish Stout, Pivovar Kocovnik Vivat Bohemia, Greene King Abbot Ale, Ruddles Best, Wadworth 6X, Everards Multi Tasker & Caledonian Brewer's Passion. Cider was Westons Wyld Wood. The place is big enough with a separate dining area and booths in the main bar. Clientele were the usual Wetherspoons sort.
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Had to write a quick update yesterday there was a homeless girl/druggie sat on the outside seats with her shoes and socks off picking huge scabs off her feet!!!
I finished my pint and decided to skip lunch......................Yuk!
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Had to write another review on this place as went back and it really is a total enigma and everyone should go at least once.
They now have a lovely little terrace at the front which would be nice to sit and sip your pint on a summers evening but you cant get a seat because all the local hobos sit in the seats with there cans of white lightning as they are all banned from the pub.
Whilst watching this you can see the hordes of eastern europeans all in nylon tracksuits and bling with there tarty looking birds pulling up in there huge motors even tho they are on housing benefit...amazing.
Amongst all this you will find the odd poor sod who just wants a cheap quiet pint bemoaning what has happened to his country,the odd suit or postman.
A threat of violence hangs permanently in the air ,your feet stick to the carpets buts heres the amazing thing!!!!!!!
The staff are some of the best ive ever seen fantatic quick service ,smiley,helpful....I could go on... a couple of them are pretty and how they do there job so well I will never know in such a scary and slightly smelly place.
Want to see Camerons Big Society pop in here,Illegal migrants by the dozen,benefit cheats,wasted idiots,druggies and homeless people in the best seats!!!
Well done Dave you should come here!
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Ummmmm. sticky carpets ,mostly smelly locals,everyone eating chips and onion rings,tattoos and piercings with thongs hanging out there arses (and the girls are rough as well) But to be fair i had an excellent pint which was well served by a friendly and very busy Manager,3 deep at the bar,smilling happy barmaids which is a miracle because if i had to work here id hang myself......
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A bit limited for space inside. This pub is named after a First World War hero who showed great bravery in the trenches.
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feisty/cheesey smelling high street spoons,guest ales @�2.35pint,my pint of loddon "russet" was very nice,average service and plenty of seating although its all a bit crammed in it would seem,6/10
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feisty/cheesey smelling high street spoons,guest ales @�2.35pint,my pint of loddon "russet" was very nice,average service and plenty of seating although its all a bit crammed in it would seem,6/10
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I visit this pub regularly and it is a fine pub for a quick pint of a lunchtime, an evening as a couple or with family. On a Friday or Saturday night, expect what you would with any other Wetherspoon pub in North London. Full of kids, loud and more than a little tasteless plus surly bouncers but any other night it's fine to sit down for a few drinks, the current staff are all very good and although the real ale selection includes the ubiquitous Ruddles, Abbot and Directors at the pumps there are currently two frequently (more than four per week, usually) changing guest ales. Despite Palmers Green having some good restaurants, Thursday's Curry night and you will find it full of people enjoying their microwaved curries, so don't expect a table if there are more than three of you. I don't know who posted the picture with the muddy 4x4 in front, but it gives a slightly unfair impression of this generally agreeable pub.
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I went in last night for a quick few pints as it was early evening to see if its Improved since last year as there is now a new manager. It was very quiet so I got severed quick which makes a change by the sounds of things. This spoons has a very limited choice of Ales and seems too be aimed at the younger crowed there was only Four Ales on when I went in that was the usual Three Abbots Directors & Ruddles Plus one Guest Ale. I tried Abbots which was Passable but not perfect so next I tried The Directors which was absolute Rank took one gulp and left the rest. Beer quality certainly seems too have got worse. So I decided too leave and go too the New Crown instead.
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This is my local �spoons, but I wouldn�t dream of drinking in here of an evening, as I would be 30 years above the average age of the clientele and would probably bump into my teenage kids and embarrass them.
However lunchtime and mid afternoon is a different issue and I�ve always found the beer, food and service to be what you would expect of a big �spoons.
And yesterday, when myself and no1 son were doing a bit of male bonding on father�s day and were thinking where we could go in Palmers Green that would be showing the grand prix , have reliable beer and would definitely be serving food, the Alfred Herring ticked the boxes.
Suffice to say it was heaving with extended families treating the place as if it was a restaurant, but I still managed to get served quickly up the bar and the food was on our table within 15 minutes, so I can�t grumble with that.
So in conclusion, as a spoons for a lunchtime pint and a reliable bite to eat I have always found it OK. But as soon as the Grand Prix had ended we were on our way to The Woodman for a real pub experience.
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Been here before and it was crap. Still is. 15 yr olds who think they're gangstas. Walked in waited, waited etc then gave up and walked out. Never again.
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It was heaving with a very young crowd when I popped in here late Friday evening. The proactive bouncer seemed to be doing his best to assert his authority which didn�t create the best of atmospheres.
It sounds like I was lucky to be served very promptly, but this alone is not enough to make me want to return again.
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I think the alfred is ok, but lately on a fri and sat night there seems to be heards of young people outside ! slightly off putting and once inside its not much better do the staff know about chllenge 21 !! staff were really freindly a few months ago but thats all changed now, it's a shame
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One of the better 'spoons if you pick your time right otherwise you'll wait an age to be served. I echo the comments about dippy staff and uncontrolled kids. Used to come here often because it was smoke free long before the ban, like its counterpart at Weymouth.
BobOs - 13 Aug 2008 17:19 |
Me & three friends went in here early on Friday evening after waiting ages to get severed we waited over a hour to try to get a table so we could eat. Whilst we stood there drinking for well over a hour and could not get a table because other people were just sitting there with empty glasses and plates in front of them most were just couples or families just talking not even eating or drinking. The management needs to kick some arse with there staff and get them to move the free loaders on when there finished eating. Do not let people sit there for over an hour with half glass of coke over an empty Table it�s meant to be a Pub not a Restaurant. So in the end we left and went elsewhere to eat & drink I would definitely not return until the present management have improved a lot I would say this is one of the worst run Wetherspoons I know.
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As I was in Palmer's Green on Monday I thought I would give this Pub another try and see if its improved as I have not been in here for over 6 Months. Sadly it has not Its still full of uncontrolled kids running around and climbing on the tables. The service and staff were absolutely useless I waited a good 10 minuets to get served the first time even though it was a not that busy as it was early evening. Why don't Wetherspoons have a separate till for all the foodies to order at so they don't take half hour making up there mind at the bar holding up people trying to get a drink I would not mind but then they sit there three hours just eating egg & chips with half a coke. This Pub seem to be run like a licenced restaurant Not a Pub It needs a decent Management team urgently to turn it round and employ more competent Staff. I did try to get a second Pint but gave up after waiting ages and just decided to leave and go to the Whole Hog instead.
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Like every Weatherspoon's in England: Clean, polite staff, good selection of spirits and ales, cheap, boring, microwaved burgers, no atmoshere & the mandatory patrons clinging on to a pint of guest ale for three and a half hours.
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james learn how to spell, then please go and see a doctor about your mental state as its clearly been effected by the array of microwaves installed in the kitchen. The pub is totally souless and crap. Great if your a 15yr old boy who wears his trousers half way down his arse and cant leave his phone alone and has to shout into it every time a call is made. Rest my case.
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Clearly the place i have ever benn to i mean the service was excellent and the food was the best ive had in a long time 10/10 best wetherspoon ever
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I have to say the manager works very hard but I don't know if he has the right style for the place. I think he needs to be tougher and turf out all the freeloaders who sit in the comfiest seats nursing a half for 4 hours when people who are prepared to spend real money can't find a table.
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ugh- it's absolutely dreadful
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Well this is just a bad a restaurant trying to be a Pub but the problem is the food is diabolical & plastic just warmed up pre cooked meals just like on a plane. Trying to get a drink is almost impossible because of the lack of staff. What with kids running around uncontrolled and the amount of under aged drinkers that appear to be in this Pub I'm just surprised it has not been closed down yet. If this is what a modern weatherspoons is like then I will drink else wear whatever the cost they seem to have totally lost touch with what the customer wants & what there original market was witch is what made them good in the first place what a pity.
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possibly the best establishment i have ever visited better than the beefeater
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I Went back in here last night it to see If its any better on a Saturday. NO it was even more full of kids you would have been Hard pushed to find anyone over 21. Its still feels more like a McDonald's than a Pub even on a Saturday night with that Horrible Blackstone bar and again it took ages to get served as there were far to few staff on duty and there only interest seems to be feeding the foodies.
You defiantly get the feeling its not real drinkers Pub because in here theres only foodies buying food and Kids sitting there all night with odd bottle of Lager. It seems to be run more like a restaurant than a Pub.
I still say its the worst Wetherspoons Ive been in with below average Management I would say it defiantly needs a maybe a more mature management couple to improve it.
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Thought I'd give it a go on wed night, wish I hadn't. Lots of youngsters with trousers hanging down round their knees full of attitude other customers nursing cheap pints. Service slow, very slow. Food was from packet and must have missed the microwave as was cold. Guinness was average/poor. Just another souless JDW outlet. Is that smoking area even legal? Won't be rushing back. Other good pubs in the area.
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Went in here last night its far too full of kids for me. Its more like a McDonald's than a Pub with the Horrible Blackstone bar with chrome fittings no character whatsoever plus it took ages to get served as there were to few staff on duty.
You defiantly get the felling the management don't want real drinkers in here only foodies buying food its run more like a restaurant than a Pub.Only One out of Ten from me. Usually I like Weatherspoon Pubs but this seems to be the worst Ive been in.
CAMRA LM
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great pub, great food with great ales
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What a crap pub. Takes about 10 mins to get served even when theres hardly anyone in there. Guinness is poor to ok. Couldn't care less about the cost of anything in there, I don't choose a pub on the price of their beer like most frequent wetherspoon customers. Had a microwave meal in there that tasted like it was about to go off, complained and got sent out one equally as bad. Decor is nice but cant have a smoke and don't want to stand out the front of a pub for all passing to see. Much better pubs in palmers green, Inn on the green and especially the Fox. Won't go back!
anonymous - 26 Apr 2007 13:46 |
Totally disagree with the last post. The staff at the Hering are probably the friendliest I've met. They always ask if you enjoyed your drink and are generally polite. The pub itself is a good 'un. Non-smoking and cheap, and the food is good also. Beer, burger and chips for �4.25 is a must!
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I have been to this pub and i found it very unfriendly..The bar staff was slack and not friendly.And all the regulars was staring and some staff was staring @ myself and my two friends when we was just sitting chatting..Homophobic???
anonymous - 6 Mar 2007 12:41 |
I regret having to disagree with most of the previous comments. I visited this pub on Saturday, 4 Novbember and quite honestly thought the atmosphere was funereal. Very dark brown woodwork and seating in the annex. Not helped by the uninspiring carpet mainly black. At the far end of the annex there are tables with large circular lights overhead. Anyone over 5 feet tall has to duck every time they get up!
The real ale range was poor and it can not get much better as there are only 5 or 6 handpumps.
I agree with the comments on the staff. They were on the ball and friendly.
This is one pub I would not visit again.
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Brilliant - Enough said!
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Credit where it's due to the oft-maligned Wetherspoon's chain - on those occasions where they get it right they really get it right. This is just such an occasion.
Firstly all the elements that Wetherspoon's normally do well are all present and correct; cheap prices, cleanliness, and a vast range of beers and spirits. Add to that they have managed to overcome the two perennial bugbears of the chain by hiring staff that are well mannered, keen to help and capable of taking your order correctly whilst showing the necessary urgency to keep the queue moving and also finding kitchen staff that pay due care and attention to the food preparation. I went on a busy curry night and never waited longer than was reasonable, got the right drinks with friendly service and had a very tasty meal indeed.
Better than all of this though is the interior of this place where the designers have excelled themselves. Just the right mixture of cosy feeling separate areas each with their own mood but also the feeling of spaciousness. There are comfortable leather benches in one section which also houses a nice couch and a range of comfortable chairs around different types of table, some of which are conducive to drinking and conversation, others more practical for food. There are some good lamp shades that give a modern but not trying too hard look and candle light in some sections makes for a nice ambience. The sections to the front of the pub that have the benefit of large open windows so that they remain cool and you can watch the world (or at least Palmers Green such as it is) go by are well worth bagging if you get there early enough. The carpetted mid section is reminiscent of a more traditional pub and all in all there should be a table to suit most people's image of a good drinking environment.
Truly outstanding and the best pub in Palmers Green by a mile easily outdoing the previous incumbent The Fox. Also this is now the best Wetherspoon's within a five mile or more radius seeing off Wetherspoon's Wood Green by a comfortable margin.
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Another Wetherspoon pub in the area. This is the first non-smoking pub in london and have to say it's not bad. There is a very small outside area where you can smoke and the inside is nicely smoke free. There is a good selection of beer on offer -especially at the moment during the world cup. There are lots of tv screens but also areas where you can sit away from them. Will be interesting to see what it's like in a 6 months.
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