please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Handy for the tube and always meet my mate here. Seems to have been done up a bit - or maybe the lights were down a bit. Decent pints of Ringwood Three sheets were consumed. Nice pub.
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Use this place before (and after) concerts at the Islington Academy round the corner - it has more character than the usual chain pub places
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Charged �3.90 for a pint of soapy tasting 80/- last week. The music playing quietly in the background was Cliff Richard's Mistletoe and Wine - in early October! Were they being ironic? This used to be a reasonable if unspectacular pub. It was OK for watching sport. But if not watching sport - you might as well go a few doors down to the equally unspectacular Steam Passage but where the beer is about 70p cheaper.
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Very average - not a bad meeting point because it is right opposite the tube station and rarely gets busy, but it's unlikely you'd want to linger here for a second pint.
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Decent pub very close to the angel station and the islington academy. Managed to get a table at 6.30pm on a thursday evening, bar service pretty quick and efficient, if not that friendly. Had a nice pint of london pride, black sheep was also on offer. Pretty good atmosphere was the manics playing quietly in the background. Will visit again!
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The staff were friendly, food was decent and the beer hit the spot.
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Not a bad pub. Went there at lunch time and was quite quiet but this was fine by me. Got served without waiting and the beer was good.
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Not so bad - a case of what-you-see-is-what-you-get. Some decent people, a fair number of drunks wandering in and out. Not somewhere to stay all night, but if you want to meet somewhere near Angel and actually get served within 10 mins, then this probably beats the others in the immediate vicinity.
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Went there on Saturday evening and was nearly empty. Real ale was terrible as they obviously do not clean the lines. Dark and dingy. There are plenty of better pubs in the area
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A good place to meet people (in line-of-sight from Angel Tube) but not worth hanging around for more than one pint.
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For food AVOID - measly almost invisible chicken burger served with few chips. They got the other order wrong and it was a small portion for the price - even though we told them of an allergy to onions they put onions on the replacement food order!
For beer only it looked OK
Will find another pub next time for pre Islington Academy food & drink
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Dingy, poorly laid out and really really dull. To make matters worse there always seems to be a large group of drunk, noisy idiots in one corner.
The staff are friendly though.
katep - 26 Apr 2006 16:01 |
Not a bad place - slightly lower quota of 40-somethings dressed like 21 year olds than a few other places I can think of on Upper Street. Cheap gin, and the chilli peanuts are good. A pub for boozing, not posing
anonymous - 28 Mar 2006 23:28 |
A very ordinary pub for a half-hearted pint or two. I can't put my finger on anything specifically wrong with it, and we weren't treated rudely, but I felt like leaving anyway.
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Started an almighty leo on Sunday in here with my little friend Ross. He had half an Adnams and I had half a Guinness (don't know what came over me).
A rank pub I have walked past a million times so decided to give it a chance. Won't do so again. Not absolutely terrible by any means but really not worth visiting either. The York across the road is better and that isn't saying much. At least the skylights at the rear of the bar cast some light on an otherwise gloomy exterior. Somehow this place reminded me of the kind of faux-British/Irish pub you'd find in Italy or France.
So I give this 4/10.
After our quick halves here we went on to the Camden Head to watch the rugby (Scotland v France). Ross is Scots you see.
anonymous - 6 Feb 2006 10:14 |
Went here for a Xmas drink with workmates, nice to find a traditional pub with music levels that allow you to chat. Friendly staff and the 25+ crowd meant no hassles and we had a great night out.
anonymous - 16 Dec 2005 11:13 |
Quite a dull,nondescript pub.Big screen for footy dominates one end.
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nice one barSTOOL, seems only your comments are relevent - just commented as I found it actually - I don't even know the management but I have worked in pubs and can appreciate their problems at closing time. I should imagine they would hardly miss your custom anymore than the staff at the Garden where YOU also had problems!
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Sounds like the management have twisted the arms of a few friends to write some nice comments. All I can say is that we were treated unbelieveably rudely, it was nowhere near closing time, and we were by no means the only ones. Maybe things have improved but I won't ever be going back to find out.
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Well said hobbie! I've just visited this beer in the evening site for the first time and couldn't believe what had been written about my local. I've been drinking at the Nags for 4 years now and think it's one of the best pubs in the area. Never seen any trouble and my friends and I have always found the staff polite and friendly (and, as is common with most pubs, there have been a lot of them!) All us regulars know what time the pub closes and we always manage to finish our drinks during drinking up time. We have seen people who think that they're 'special' and can stay until they're ready to leave. As hobbie said, if you can't finish a drink in 20 mins don't buy one at 11.00. Not many real pubs around these days so pay it a visit and make the most of it
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Had to go to this pub just to check out the 'rudest staff in London'. I have to say I was really disappointed - nothing like previous comments. The staff were GREAT, service was speedy and with a smile. I watched them through the evening and even though it was a busy night the staff were polite and efficient. Seems most complaints were about closing time and drinks being grabbed at 11 o'clock so I decided to hang around. Couldn't see what the fuss is all about, the staff rung the bell at 11 and started clearing up. I had a near full pint and none of them bothered me. At 11.10pm one of the girls came up to me and politely told me I had 10 minutes to drink up which until the laws changed seemed about right to me. I finished my pint (a descent Adnams Best) and as I was leaving at about 11.25pm saw two idiots refusing to drink up and giving the staff a hard time. I guess that's the problem, some people think the laws have already changed or the current ones don't applly to them (the pub was busy at 11 and everyone else had managed to drink up and leave without trouble). My advice is enjoy this traditional pub and the decent beer they serve but don't buy a drink near closing time if you can't finish it in the drinking up time. Staff have a job to do and don't need hassle from people who think they can hang around as long as it suits them.
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The rudest bar staff in London. If you like being insulted you will love this place. All nearby alternatives to this place are better.
It has cozy all-wood interior, fun/friendly young crowd. Could be great, but staff are so aggressive and hostile to the punters I wouldn't go back in a million years.
The earlier comments about whipping away unfinished drinks, rudness at closing time etc are all true.
Don't go here.
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This place has the rudest staff even judged by the high standards of offensiveness that maintain in Upper Street. They refused to replace a completely flat Coke because �it�s just coming out that way� and then denied entry to a smartly-dressed group who dared to enter the place at 10.40, because it was �closed� � and this while other punters were being served quite happily. If you are meeting up before or after a visit to the Academy then try the North One, the Angelic or the Agricultural � at least these places seem to want some customers
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Nice clean pub with friendly staff. Jazz on Sunday night was cool, will be going back again soon.
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Used to meet here regularly but in the last few years it's gone right down hill. I too have had my drink snatched away, which was a cheek because it took me half an hour to order the damn thing.
The staff either seem to be untrained novices or confirmed sociopaths. Either way the service is pretty poor and the atmosphere is like the dingy and depressing bars that you find in small train stations.
Alright for a quick beer on your way to a better pub, but not worth sticking around.
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Unbeleivably rude staff. Actually took my pint of me, which is heresy. My friends and I called in for a quiet drink before closing and at 11 were practically forced out the door. NEVER go here.
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i reckon you're pretty fcked down this end of Upper st really,...this boozer really aint no great shakes,..but when you put it up against the competition it stands up reasonably well,...smokey and dark but better than the tedious all bar one and the despicable wetherspoons
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A lazy place that I've been to too many times because it's opposite the tube station. It reminds me of a touristy soho pub. Average booze, average food, a few suits, often hard to get a table. Make the effort to go somewhere better like the Camden Head, not too far away across the road.
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Found this to be very unfriendly, staff are happy to serve you a pint at last orders then 2 minutes later are harrassing you to leave - to the point of being verbally abusive and swearing at you to go. WIll certainly not be going back and would not recommend it to anyone looking for a nice quiet pint in Upper Street
Paula - 25 May 2004 10:22 |
Nice pub that is bigger inside than it looks from the outside. Has an old feel to it with ornate mirrors, chandeliers and clocks for decoration. They advertise traditional ales but it was disappointing to find two of the three pumps not working, only Courage Best was on. Very much a lager and white wine pub in keeping with the area. A pleasant visit.
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Moderately busy when we visited, initially smokey but good selection of beers and pleasant bar staff.
ian - 22 May 2003 16:31 |
