please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Pleasant enough Dutch sounding bloke behind the bar but the house ale was undrinkable and so was the replacement. This place should give up on ale.
anonymous - 16 Feb 2016 20:20 |
A very nice old fashioned proper pub - comparatively unspoiled but smaller on the inside than it appears from the outside. Often live music on Saturday nights. The staff seemed nice enough and the regulars a decent bunch too. A nice selection of real ales on tap, but very overpriced for the area! This would put me off going back as my wages have risen over the last few years at a MUCH slower rate than the beer prices in some pubs. I was in The Griffin last night and couldn't see any justifiable reason why I was being charged nearly a pound a pint more than I was paying in the Queen's Arms only a mile up the road - the ale in The Griffin was OK but nothing special and the cheapest ale was £4.10 a pint - too much for the area.
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Still pop in here when I'm in the area - lovely pub, atmosphere is great and additonal seating outside is perfect on a hot day. Noticded the prices creep up over the years, but still the best pub in the area
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A welcome relief from the pretentious pubs frequented by pretentious idiots in the area. Good beers, decent food and regular music.
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A lovely we'll presented clean pub with good range of real ales, worth a visit.
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What a welcome find having escaped a dreadful cocktail party for the Norf London Tosserati nearby. Weathered Northern Soul Boys/Girls entertained by a 5 piece Jazz/Funk outfit. Flirty bar staff pulling real ale from 5 pumps. Got so rat-a*sed, can't remember what ales. Chatty mixed clientele. Return guaranteed if I'm in the area again
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Gave the place another try... a nice pleasant girl was behind the bar though the ale (Thwaites Wainwright) wasn't up to much. Seems like they have got rid of some of the obnoxious staff they had - now they only need to sort the ale out.
anonymous - 12 Dec 2010 01:59 |
This by far the best pub in North London if not the whole of London. The beer is always good as is the food and both are .very competively priced.. The staff are always very polite and service is quick. The pub has 3D TV and runs many events such as quiz nights , barbeques etc and has a great beer garden & covered patio. It's a joy to go to and well worth a visit if you've never been there.
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Found no hint of the stroppy bar staff that has been mentioned. Good atmosphere, mixed clientelle which was a mixture of lads watching the football, couples and groups of ladies on a night out. Would come here again if in the area. Drinks are average London prices.
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Found no hint of the stroppy bar staff that has been mentioned. Good atmosphere, mixed clientelle which was a mixture of lads watching the football, couples and groups of ladies on a night out. Would come here again if in the area. Drinks are average London prices.
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good for a quick drink before dinner in one of whetstone high road's many restaurants. garden is nice in the summer but i do find some of the bar staff a bit stroppy. not rude just not as polite as they could be. seem disinterested which makes me worry about the care they take in the cellar and with the pumps.
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Immature, ignorant spoilt brat behind the bar. Enough said.
anonymous - 5 Apr 2010 11:56 |
Great pub. Great beer garden. Enough said.
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Proper pub with attentive staff even on a busy evening. Would agree with previous posters that this is the best one in the area.
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Great pub, good atmosphere, fantastic garden when the sun does shine.
A sound 8/10
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Well done for The Griffin yet again! Still top on my list of favourite places. The new guy Andy seems to be doing an excellent job keeping the place busy and the punters entertained. There's darts night once a months now - what a terrific idea and a good news for all the enthusiasts of this great and often forgotten sport. On such night Griffin not only offers great fun, there's free food to be had as well!!!! Who else does this these days?! With the purchase of our drinks
we got a platter of chicken wings absolutely free. Good thinking there guys. We're definitely coming back
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I liked it in here even though the service was excruciatingly slow. Once the staff did get round to serving they were nice enough.
The Deuchars was good, but the Bombardier was off. Fosters, Strongbow, Kronenburg, Guinness, John Smiths and Bulmers were also available.
The pub doesn�t look that big from the front, but there is a huge beer garden located out the back, which if the pubs self advertising is to be believed, is the biggest in North London. Before entering the beer garden there is a covered smoking area that has some seating, table football, a projector screen and an outside loo.
There are loads of TV�s in the pub and the staff seemed quite happy to change the channels when requested, so great for watching sport. There is also a dart board in another part of the pub that has some comfy chairs and another TV screen. Apparently this area is also available to hire out for private functions.
There seems to be a lot of effort being put into the pub with something happening almost every night from �cheesy disco� nights to quiz and poker nights.
All in all a good pub that I will be visiting again.
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I went in here on Friday evening for the first time since it was a Scruffy Murphy's and was terrible in those days. After reading some good reviews on here I thought I would give it a try and I was surprised at how much better it is now completely changed now seems more roomy than before and with very good Ales in good condition. Only stayed for two Pints as it Was Packed with office staff being a early Friday evening so couldn't find a seat. I will try it again when I get time during the the weekdays but from first impressions I say well worth a visit.
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The Griffin is by far the best pub in N20. With my mates we spent many a drunken nights there and we were never dissappointed. We have had quite a lot of functions held there and it's always been a lot of fun. The garden there is fabulous and the smoking area's quite cosy too.
Recently we went there on a Sunday, with our hubbies and children and it was great too. Not only are they children-friendly (unlike most of the pubs on the High Road!) but also willing to do kids meals eventhough not on the menu.
We had a fab time and the food- as always- was simply exquisite. If you're up for a good time, few drinks and delicious fresh home-made grub then The Griffin is the place to go to.
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No doubts, the best pub on the High Road between The Elephant Inn and Red Lion (North Finchley - High Barnet, nice 3 pub crawl!) with very well kept Bombardier and Deuchars. Usually have live music on a Saturday which on the most recent was a solo guitar player/singer. Lovely food too, well worth a visit.
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This is far and away the best pub in the area.
The draft beer is spot on and the food is excellent.
The bar staff are very friendly (unless you are vegetarian) and always good fun. The stars of the show are MCR fan and Bendersova- always a good crack.
If you are vegetarian, I would recommend that you go there in groups of 3 or more.
Almost time to be heading back.
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The Griffin is the best pub in N20 bar none. I�ve lost count of the number of enjoyable days and evenings I�ve spent in there. I can�t agree with the negative staff comments as I�ve always found all of the staff (including the barmaid referred to negatively below) to be very friendly and helpful. For example during the summer the fridges weren�t working and it was never any hassle to get bottled lager chilled in buckets of ice.
As well as the usual choice of beers (Fosters, Kronenburg, Guinness etc) they also have a selection of bottled Polish beers which I can heartily recommend.
The food is also of a high standard and if you are looking to embark on a full days drinking then the all day breakfast will keep you going for a long time!
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Hey Hampster - what you talking about - the girls are just great in the Griffin - sometimes get a bit fed up with us boozy blokes when we won't go home - but who can blame them! The pub is great!
anonymous - 26 Nov 2007 12:35 |
In the area over the weekend and was introduced to the 'Griffin' by some friends - excellent - the bar staff were very friendly (especially the girls!) - roast yesterday was as good as you would get anywhere although a little pricey - plenty of screens for the sport and a lovely area outside for us who still insist on smoking! Will definately visit again!
joey8 - 26 Nov 2007 12:27 |
Best pub in whetstone by a far mile. customers are nice and not the scummy lager louts you get in the bull and butch most nights.
good facilities with food, very large gardens with play area for children, a covered area for smokers, pub quiz, big screen, sofas. resonable priced but if you are 18 beware as they become a 21s on certain evenings.
still the best pub in whetstone and i agree with the previous poster the barmaid is a cow, she has no social skills, not great bar skills and at closing time is the rudest member of barstaff i have ever encountered on numerous occasions. fire her and it would be alot better. maybe even a 9
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I went to this pub on a Friday night while the rugby was on the TV. I orered a panini, which they'd clearly forgotten about because it took way too long to arrive and when it did, it was cold. There were a few bar staff, mainly male with one barmaid. My friend had the unfortunate experience of being served by her and her lack of customer service. Maybe she was having a bad day, but when it was closing time, she was the grumpiest barmaid I'd ever encountered!
Other than the food and the barmaid, it's a nice pub and I would go back
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Had another fantastic stop off yesterday that lasted 2 hours to long, in the dog house now but this place just makes ya stay
excellent garden aswell
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Popped in yesterday for a pint after a disappointing visit to the three horseshoes. A pleasant pub with the best beer garden for miles - it's huge! Couple of real ales, expensive but in good condition. Staff fiendly(ish) and a good atmosphere. Will be making this my regular over the rubbish three horseshoes.
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The garden is O for awesome (to quote a not to bright All Black) it has had a make over out there and looks wicked apparently the Manager and his team did all the work themselves now thats determination!
Well done guys I love visiting this pub it is really one of my favorite places on a warm day.
Best staff in the area by far!
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I was there a couple of years ago. Truth I did not visit it just before the review, but I have visited it.
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Great little oldy worldy style pub with friendly staff live music and a good atmosphere. There is a big garden at the back and the food is decent
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Well managed pub, good choice of real ales and well kept Guinness. Massive child-friendly garden at rear.
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Having determined to walk another leg of the Dollis Valley Walk (and part of the London Loop), but only having an afternoon, I met up with a cycling friend for a lunchbreak. The Griffin looked the most welcoming, and we had absolutely no regrets on our choice yesterday.
In the glorious sunshine we got there about 2.30, and a quick check confirmed lunch was still being served, and two beers were on offer - Wells Bombardier and Deuchars IPA - �5.70 the round. Both were well kept, with a natural bit of zizz to them. We looked at the beer garden and the coach house, but with several family parties in we opted for the relative quiet of the front bar, in one of the bay windows.
Ok, it was a quiet afternoon, but service was excellent, the two girls behind the bar friendly and helpful, and careful to serve a full pint. We tried the Sunday roasts - lamb and beef - and good quality and reasonable value for �9.95 and �10.95 respectively.
I gathered the pub had had a makeover, but retained much of the graceful and warm wood panelling, and fireplace - and possibly the clock. The two tone green paint color scheme was pleasant, and even the not so big screen sports didn't intrude too much. When we asked for the volume to be turned down, no problem.
Leaving about 5.00 the prospect of another 1.5 - 2 hours before ending the walk at Highwood Hill wasn't so tempting - but I made it!
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Was in there yesterday. Its pretty big when you include the massive garden and the old coaching side entrance which has been converted into an extra room.
Two ales pumps but only one in action (Bombardier I think).
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Just a question for beeronaut
the Griffin is a fantastic pub but
It is quite small!
Has two real ales?
And has not sold Belgian beer for over two years
Were you ever really there ?
its great that you have given an good review but your facts do not add up?
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Friendly large pub with a good range of ales and Belgian beers.
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Very nice pub and extremly welcoming - the bar staff are always friendly and the food always good. Just a very nice all round pub!!!
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Been in this pub a few lunch times. Agree the food's good, it's a nice pub and the staff are friendly BUT NO STELLA. I had to drink that Kronenbourg muck.
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This is the best traditional pub in Whetstone.
The series of refurbs (Scruffy Murphys etc) didn't do it any favours though. Griffin forever.
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Nice pub, good food and friendly staff. Nice big garden for the summer too.
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I used to work here when it was just 3 kiwis behind the bar (Danski, Nathan and me)in 2000 and 2001. Twas called Scruffy Murphys then. Hear its had a bit of an upgrade. Good people!!
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surprised its not on here (unless I just can't find it!) as its as old as the hills. Recently done up and I think is owned by the Firkin people, they do excellent food, have a huge garden at the back, a nice courtyard area for families (with a big screen for the big matches). They also do 2-4-1 on a Tuesday evening on Beers of the World, generally super strong Belgian bottles etc. Good, friendly staff.
Simon - 14 Jul 2004 16:37 |
