Green Dragon, Barnetback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Scrolling down there is some lineage devoted to this place. It is a pretty bog standard "pub/dining" affair with the emphasis very much on the dining element. That said the area by the front entrance has more of a bar set up to it. They had two ales on (Tring Side Pocket and Sharp's Atlantic) with a third (St.Austell brew) coming soon but I swerved them and had a pint of San Miguel (or two) it being a warm day. Not as remote as it appears though - it's a 15 minute walk to/from Barnet and the 614 Queensbury - Hatfield bus stops near enough outside and runs till 11pm Mon to fri. Okay for what it is.
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Essentially a restaurant with a good reputation for food. Attractive location despite being so close to South Mymms services on the M25. Two real ales were on ofer - Sundial and Wandle from the Sambrooks brewery. My pint of Wandle was excellent. Nice bar staff. Definitely worth a visit if you don't object to gastro-pubs.
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Very good and well-priced lunch menu. Pleasant atmosphere, and good service. Haven't tried it in the evening, but well worth stopping for at lunchtime.
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Very pleasant pub cum restaurant. I think they like to have separate eating and drink areas but except at busy times I think you can eat anywhere or drink anywhere. Conservatory overlooks a cornfield and there's a patio for smokers / summer evenings.
Good range of real ales. Stella for me. Also, when eating a good range of well-priced wines by the glass and even more by the bottle. Set price menu offers particularly good value.
Service can be a bit disorganised but is friendly and willing.
For a relaxed evening in pleasant surroundings go there!
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If you're ever travelling along the M25 and have t stop at South Mimms services, simply ignore the services sign and instead take the A1081 Barnet sign. About half a mile down this road is The Green Dragon. Great country pub in a nice location that you would not know it was next to the M25. When my family and I entered we were met by the owner who welcomed us in and also made a point of making sure we had a nice meal when we left. Nice touch and really helps to make you feel welcome. There's a nice cosey fire to the left of the bar but we sat in the rear conservatory area for our meal with lovely country views but very wobbly tables, please sort them out. The waitress staff were all very friendly too. We had a nice quality meal but I would say it was a bit pricey for what we were served and my pie and veg didn't even come with potatoes! Good quality real ale and had Hop Back - Elf & Hoppiness on our visit. I would visit again.
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I must have visited a different Green Dragon from the one with some of the bad reviews here. It was a wet and foggy November evening, so there were few diners. The bar looked very welcoming and comfy, but as we were a party of 8, we went into the restaurant section. That was fine and they turned the background music down at our request (and offered to turn it off if we wanted).
We all had the two course 10.90 per head with coffees/teas to follow. The food was very good at the price, actually very good indeed at that price. The menu was strong on meat, just one veggie choice. Food presented very well, good quantity and well cooked. The main failing was over emphasis on meat and an extra veg would have been good.
For the record, my own carnivores choice was starter of black pudding with celeriac, apple, aioli, good salad - very good inded. Main course of substantial and tender ox-tail with red wine sauce and mashed potato. Not everybody's choice of course, but I thought it was excellent for an 11 pound fixed price menu. Other items on menu included roast cod, piri-piri chicken risotto, chargrilled pork.
Acceptable wine at 14 per bottle (not the cheapest on the list). Our total bill for 8 was 136 pounds plus service (including 2 bottles of wine and some beer), which was fine dining at less than Pizza Express prices. Oh the beer, we only tried the London Pride and that was in good condition.
Service was OK, certainly very polite and helpful, although not very knowledgable about what was on the menu ("I'll go and ask the chef", but he did)
I can only guess from the bad reviews that this place has gone through a change of ownership and is short of customers, but our experience was very good indeed. If I lived closer, I'd be a regular. I'll certainly go back to see if the very good experience can be repeated.
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Nice pub, shame about the indifferent staff attitude though... And don't be fooled by their advertised kitchen opening times as I was. The restaurant closes whenever the chef decides to so always phone ahead if you're planning on eating there...
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Well I never thought I would be writing this review, I used to be a regular diner at the Green Dragon about 2 years ago. The waitresses were always over friendly and could NOT do enough for you, I was on name to name basis with most of the staff. However due to personal life I had to move away and travelled back to visit family last week, I went to Green Dragon and asked if the waitresses I knew were there and was told that one of them had the day off and the other two had gone off to University. However I decided to stay for some food that I knew and loved so much.
However, this sadly was not the case. My oh my, has this place gone down hill. I was expecting amazing flavours in nicely laid out on the plate however I got a slop of unseasoned overcooked food thrown on the plate, which I would add was cold.
It is not the companies fault that they have a high turnover of staff, however when excellent staff leave surely it is your duty to replace them with equally good staff instead of those who ignored us for a gas behind the bar.
Here is my advice; train your waiting staff and get new chefs! I then may return to a restaurant I loved so well.
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Green Dragon Pub, Barnet, Hertfordshire
An absolute let down, Had my good children�s christening reception here and were told that the function room would hold 150 people comfortably - when in fact we were herded in like cattle like chickens in a pen, there was not enough room to sit so we had to stand on top of each other, the majority of the guests couldn�t eat the buffet as there was no where to sit to eat it, half the guests ended up in the main bar area as it was so packed in the function room to even stand, so that meant the guests were split up. In the cost of the reception we had arranged that there was free juice for the children, but in fact once the juice jugs were empty they were not replenished so the guests ended up paying for fruit shoots from the bar. I was thoroughly disappointed in the whole set up and arrangements of it all, and felt so much for all the guests that had travelled from far to be greeted with such a sham. I also feel very upset for the parents of my god children who paid a substantial amount of money for this ludicrous venue. Also I might add that a smile from the staff on the day would have been nice and a response to our letter of complaint would have been courteous also. Not happy is an understatement.
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If you are thinking of hiring this pub for a special occasion think again! I hired the 'function room' for my daughters christening. When I first called to enquire how many people their function room held as I had invited 170 guests, they said not a problem they have had many weddings and parties there for this many people and more. I did view the venue before booking it and the 'function room' was set out as part of the restaurant, it was full of people dining and looked a nice size, plus it was a hot day so the outside area was busy and this also comes with the function room. I had only 100 guests on the day of which 30 were children 10 of them small babies. As soon as everyone started to arrive it became clear that the room was far too small for even 40 guests! The children all went outside as id hired games and toys for them. All the adults were packed in like sardines, and then I noticed the big mirror at the back of the room that makes it look huge!
I was told we would have waitress service but not one of my guests was offered a drink they had to pour it themselves. I could not tell you if the food was nice as myself and half of my guests did not get to eat any of it as you could not move in the room to get to it, even if we had a plate of food we had nowhere to sit to eat it and before I knew it they had taken all the food away without even consulting me. The same happened with dessert but I questioned this as I said I wanted to take some home with me and was told I couldn�t , when I made a fuss my dessert miraculously reappeared!
I was also told that on the day they would supply staff to look after my guests and all I would have to do was enjoy my day. Well it was one of the most stressful days of my life; if I was a bride and that was my wedding I would be mortified. The whole thing was a shambles, the service was nonexistent, guests were leaving as they had nowhere to sit and whenever I asked to speak to the manager she would take ages to come to me. I told her it was ridiculous and she said �it is not my fault it is raining� and �had it not been raining my guests would be outside!� I was then told that my guests were �welcome to go round the other side of the pub� meaning they could walk through the restaurant and past the bar with plates of food and sit in a completely separate part of the pub! It�s so bad it�s actually comical! I hired a function room so I could spend the day with my family and friends to celebrate my daughters christening day I did not want half my guests in one part of the venue and half in the other! How they can have the cheek to say they have weddings in that room for up to 170 guests is an absolute outrage. All they want is your money. I would hate for anyone to book this venue after them selling it to you saying they can cater for 170 guests, that you will be waited on hand and foot all you have to do is enjoy yourself, and then you turn up to a day like I had. I have written them a complaint and heard nothing back. They are not interested as long as they have their money. It is a minimum spend of �1500.00 to hire their venue but you have to spend that per head on food and drink. This is very clever; I think they have this policy due to complaints like mine in the past. I could not tell you if the buffet was what I ordered and if they catered for the 100 heads I paid for as I did not get a chance to see any of it.
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We visited The Green Dragon yesterday for a meal and from the moment we walked through the door, a comedy of errors ensued:
We were told to wait in the bar for a table but when we were collected, our waiter dashed off without telling us which table we were supposed to sit down at. So we picked a free table in the conservatory area but the same man suddenly materialised out of nowhere to tell us that we weren't allowed to sit there.
When the meals arrived, one roast dinner was cold and the salmon had a hair in it (to be fair, the acting manageress offered a hair-free replacement, no charge, and the cold roast was reheated).
However from that point onward, the staff flatly ignored us. No one came over to see if the rest of the food was satisfactory, no one offered us anything to drink and a request for cutlery fell on deaf ears (we ended up poaching knives from the next table). It got to a point where we were laughing out loud at the 'avoid eye contact' attitude of the staff. No one cleared our table or offered us dessert or coffee, yet the waiters were strangely industrious when it came to setting the empty tables around us.
After waiting for an age, we requested the bill and the young woman who brought it to us simply mumbled, "Here's your bill" and then, "Here's your card" (not "Thank you" or "Please come again").
We complained to the acting manageress about this, who merely said, "Yes, I saw you sitting over there, waiting.....���.�...." (And you didn�t come over yourself, why exactly?)
When we told her that this wasn�t the only problem we�d experienced, she said, �But we were very busy� (they weren't - we were one of three occupied tables in the entire conservatory area). However she agreed that the service (or lack thereof) was unacceptable and vowed to sort it out.
But we won�t be returning to the Fawlty Towers of Barnet to see if things have improved.
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Nice location, especially in summer when the surrounding fields are in bloom or at harvest time.
However I've been here a couple of times for food and have on neither occasion been particularly satisfied. On the first occasion the food and service were very slow indeed, whilst the food itself was pedestrian (and that's being kind). The second time, things had improved slightly and it was just the service that needed tweaking (well, kicking about actually).
Perhaps I'll try agian one day.
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Oops - I was getting it mixed up with the Green Man along the road!
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It's rather odd to suddenly see 'reviews' appearing for this pub as it's been shut for about three years now...
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Interesting, Kissa. You have to concede it's odd for someone to comment on three ostensibly distinct pubs which happen to be owned by the same people. You haven't commented on the (average) Peahen or the (excellent) White Hart, I note.
And lo! You do have a vested interest. And you're friends with the owners too. At least you admit it. It doesn't make it a "fake rating", but (like MPs), you do yourself and your comments a disservice if you don't disclose vested interests, no matter how innocent.
You ask what more could you ask for. I'll tell you what. Character and warmth. As I said about the Cock, with all that cutlery laid out you feel like you're drinking in a restaurant. The Verulam Arms in St Albans for example does a much better job of balancing the food/drink thing. Only my tuppenceworth, of course :)
I leave negative comments where they're due. Country pubs are being ruined by thoughtless refurbishments. I understand they have to diversify to attract the high margin food eaters, but if I walk into another pastel, generic cloned McMullens pub or another 18th century public house which now contains what looks like a mid-range Italian restaurant...well, it�s enough to drive anyone to drink.
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This is my reply to Tuppence's comment:
I've been a regular at the Cock Inn for over 3 years now. After work drinks, birthdays, any general gathering - we always celebrate at The Cock Inn, my good friend used to work there as a chef and I also know Katie.
I've done some freelance design work for The Green Dragon because my husband and I often popped to The Dragon for a lazy Saturday lunch and got friendly with the bar staff. I found out about The Pied Bull through staff at the Green Dragon. When we went to investigate - I was truly impressed.
My other favorite pubs include the Peahen in St Albans and The White Heart Tap (where I used to work years ago and have nothing bad to say about the pub or the owners), The White Lion (I'm good friends with Dave/the owner and my friend Craig works there too) - I'd give them all 10/10!
Tuppence - your comment are not fair at all! I was praising these pubs because I like them, I drink/dine there and I honestly recommend them to my friends! I thought I was doing them a favor - and you've turned it into a "fake rating"... what a shame�
I
hope people will ignore the snobby comments and will go and see for themselves - then it all becomes clear - great food, good choice of beers and wine, friendly staff and cozy atmosphere, what else could you ask for?
And cheer up Tuppence � you don�t always have to moan and complain � leave some good comments! ;)
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That should have read "this place, the Pied Bull in Enfield and the Cock in St Albans are are owned by the same people"
....Doh!
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It is, in fairness, perhaps worth pointing out that this place, the Green Dragon in Barnet and the Cock in St Albans are all owned by the same people. Then its worth looking at kisska27's comment history.
Not that she would pretend to be a punter to boost the favourable reviews or anything...
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I absolutely LOVE this pub! Yes, its a bit out of the way but its worth the drive (I live in St Albans).
Great service, reasonable prices and fantastic atmosphere (no football yobs or drunk teenagers).
I�m very picky when it comes to food, I don�t like fish... or shall I say, I thought I didn�t like fish... Turns out I just never had it properly cooked. Haddock wrapped in bacon�is to die for!
They also have quite an extensive wine cellar and a good choice of larger and ale.
The views at the back of the pub are just stunning, anyone who is not sure what to think of this place�please DO pop in, you are not going to regret this!
P.S. Watch out for the �Hog Roast Evening�, I'm salivating just thinking about it!
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This pub is very food orientated, but I cannot blame them for taking that route as this isn�t the easiest pub to get to without your own transport.
As you walk through the front entrance you are confronted by a few stools lined along the bar which has a good selection of premium lagers alongside Becks and Stella. I was happy to also see four hand pumps serving up Landlord, Pride, Betty Stoggs and Greene King IPA and I was even more pleased when I discovered that the Pride and the Landlord were on good form. To the right of the bar there is a small section with a TV, that was off, and some comfortable seating. At the other side of the pub is the restaurant section which stretches around to a conservatory at the back that leads onto some outside seating. This outside seating faces a tree lined farmer�s field to the rear and continues around the corner of the pub where it faces the car park, although it is walled of well enough to not feel like you are sitting in your car.
The food that the misses and I had was of a good standard, but unfortunately the service left a lot to be desired. At the end of our meal we had managed to accrue four pint glasses and three half pint glasses between the two of us. We were lucky to book a table early as once the pub started to fill there were some delays and I had to wait so long for a top up of Pride that I asked for some more from another waitress. To my delight two pints turned up at the same time, but I can imagine less forgiving people getting the hump, as some people around us were doing. I found all of the staff to be very pleasant and I think that the problem is more a lack of ability and direction than a lack of effort.
I certainly wouldn�t go here just for a drink and although the food was good I think that I will try a few other places before returning here to eat.
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Great atmosphere, friendly bar staff and good place to spend evening with some nice food and a pint!
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Oh dear. Under new ownership. Bar service and beer excellent. Unfortunately food and restaurant staff disappointing. Three meals had to be sent back one of them twice. I would be reluctant to revisit to eat.
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This is definately getting tiself on the Barnet map The interior is stylish, the bar staff are polite but new to the trade, the iPod background is quite good. The only downside is the TV that seems to be constantly switched on. Oh, and the managers wife should try smiling or being genuinely helpful every now and then - customers like that sort of thing.
anonymous - 6 Jul 2007 17:05 |
This pub has excellent food and is child friendly. has wonderful views over a meadow so very peaceful. Has an indoor seating area as well so you can eat inside away from people just wanting to drink. Is a great place to come with friends for lunch would recommend.
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fantastic food. its a bit out of the way but definatly worth a visit.
as previous comment the menu isnt extensive but i think it changes daily (from what i could figure out, the date was on the top of the menu last time i went) and its good food.
the type of meal thats been made freshly and not bunged in a microwave ala wetherspoons.
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You have to drive to this pub, which does a limited but great menu - its cosy and friendly and well worth a visit and particularly a meal.
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