please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
We had our wedding reception here in May 2010. The food, service and organisation (especially by Annie the manager) were superb. Everything went like clockwork and so many people in our party said how great the place was afterwards. Would recommend it to anyone thinking of having a pub reception or a party of anykind. Top notch.
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Visited yesterday and recommend it highly, good range of drinks and contrary to what the other reviewer said the food has always good and I have been several times on different days of the week. Nice and friendly bar staff and good to be able to get Doom Bar bitter on tap.
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Our visit tonight for dinner was a big disappointment. The beer was very good but the food was very poor.
Over cooked, old oil tasting chips. Battered fish even Captain Birdseye would reject and odd tasting peas that were mashed (not mushy). A pie with a very under cooked, limp crust and gloopy innards served with 'Smash' like mash. The only redeeming feature was the perfectly cooked broccoli.
Only beer for us in this place from now on. At the prices they are charging there is no excuse � it could be so much better.
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Our visit tonight for dinner was a big disappointment. The beer was very good but the food was very poor.
Over cooked, old oil tasting chips. Battered fish even Captain Birdseye would reject and odd tasting peas that were mashed (not mushy). A pie with a very under cooked, limp crust and gloopy innards served with 'Smash' like mash. The only redeeming feature was the perfectly cooked broccoli.
Only beer for us in this place from now on. At the prices they are charging there is no excuse � it could be so much better.
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Wasn't taken by the new decor at first but by the time I'd had a couple of pints and mellowed out it grew on me.
Haven't tried the new menu yet but will soon. Glad to see the pub open again as it always was a favourite meeting place for my friends. Ales were in good nick.
So far so good.
IgorA - 26 Apr 2010 18:00 |
Went to the revamped pub last night, having seen mixed reviews here.
Firstly, this pub wasn't very good before. It was overpriced, and the food was ok, but highly overpriced and didn't use good enough ingredients to justify cost. It was the weakest link in the Newington Green / Albion Road pub sprawl, though a couple on Church Street gave it a run for its money.
I thought the refurb was ok. They made it less dingy out the back (it was never cool enough to pull off the Camden skank thing anyway), and seperating the restaurant area from the drinking one isn't a bad move.
The beer was superb. The barman was an expert on ales and their storage sesitivities. A big plus in an area where that's not always the case (the Alma and the Snooty Fox have appaling beer).
I didn't eat the food, but the menu looked good and the prices were lower than before and closer to acceptable for what is still a pub, not a restaurant.
Main problem was that there were only four of us there between 7 and 9pm, so it was freakishly quiet.
The Shakespeare is the best pub in Stokey, for sure, and the Prince is probably better than the Londesborough, but it's close, and with more people to fill its cavernous walls this place could go far.
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Disappointing. Was looking forward to it after the re vamp but found it very soul less with the loud music made even louder by bouncing off the large walls . A poor pint of Timothy Taylors made us walk round to The Shakespeare.
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Hi have been a regularly to this pub for a few years now.
I have been in a couple of times recently since the refurb and new managemnt takeover.
The service has improved but the wallpaper at the back of the pub is vile and a real turn off. I quite like the can collection but having the wallpaper as well is just over kill. iot gives you a head ache and feels cold and unfriendly.
I had the steak which was nice but over priced at �15. it was not sirloin but rump as it was a bit fatty and tough. It had an insignificant amount of mash on teh side. come on guys gives us some real portions. i'm all for nice plate presentation but don't get a reputation as stingy. its just all over london these days!
better furniture in the garden. but please change that wall paper!
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Just been to this place last night for a meal with friends last night and must say we had a great evening. Not only was the food excellent, we had great pies, the ale was well looked after, Otter ale and Landlord, although they ran out of the former, and a bonus they had guys playing some nice tunes. Thoroughly enjoyable. Just to say to other comment about " garish wallpaper" it kind of pales into insignificance when all the above is so good.
We will be coming back!
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I too live near to the Londesborough and used to go there many years ago when it was first revamped. However in the last 5 years it just went downhill exactly as the last reviewer said with the food being served in quanity rather than for quality.
I stopped going and hoped that someone would buy it and turn it back into a great local you could go to as an alternative to eating at home.
I have been there 4 times to eat since it reopened a few weeks ago. The menu has been the same since it opened and was quite short so I have tried just about everything on it! My favourite was the vegetarian option of the pithivier which is quite a result as I am an avid meat eater. Sunday roast was excellent too although the place was very busy. I heard that the menu has changed this week and now has 4 starters, 4 mains and 4 desserts as well as a selection of daily specials which I'm looking forward to trying. The pricing is spot on with hardly any main on the menu over �10 except the steak which is to be expected.
There are also some very good beers available and the wine list is a massive improvement on the dreadful selection that was available pre the take over.
Best of all the pub is dog friendly which is quite unusual in London these days.
I found the comments of the expectant father reviewer quite unfair and he really does appear to be judging a book by it's cover or rather a pub by its wallpaper! Yes it is pretty lively wallpaper but it would be a bit dull if everywhere looked the same and let's be honest, it's the substance not the show that counts. So while he's staying in contemplating the price of nappies for the next few years I will be having an excellent well priced meal and a glass of first class wine with my dog in the Londesborough!!
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wow get the violins out!
One man's meat...I live less than a hundred metres from the Londesborough and used to frequent it on a regular basis. My wife and i stopped going nearly three years ago as the standards slipped and slipped again. When it was first spruced up the then owners took great care of the building but that was many years ago. The toilets were some of the worst i have seen and the garden was crammed with the ugliest oversized tables and chairs in existence!
The food has been of a very poor standard ( some might call it stodge)with giant portions masking any flavor and ridiculously expensive! The BBQ kitchen hadn't been opened all summer.
We too were exited to see the changes under the new owners and we popped in for lunch last saturday. The pub looks amazing with pop art wallpaper and jewellery cabinets housing the new owners beer can collection or part of as i later found out...I met the new owners who are brothers and also run the very well known Peasant in Clerkenwell. Super guys and so passionate about the business they are in. They gave me a full rundown and showed me and my wife the kitchens where we met and chatted to the Head Chef who incidently trained with Gordon Ramsey and several other very well known Chefs...how cool is that for your local!
We are so happy about the all the changes, the building looks transformed, clean and stylish. the menu is great and the quality of the food we had was A class. I wish the Brothers all succes and we will show our support by going back 'Long Live The Londesborough!'
ps
the toilets are superb too!
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For 4 years now this has been one of my favourite pubs in London. Before my fiance moved over here from Ireland, we used to go there for Sunday lunch before she got a flight back home. The food was always excellent, the service first class and the decor warm and inviting. She finally moved over here 2 years ago and we still frequented the Londesborough regularly for dinner or perhaps just a bottle of wine. We found out she was pregnant in March on a wet Friday evening and walked from the clinic to the Londesborough to sit down and gather our thoughts on how we were going to deal with this new chapter in our lives. We sat down the back, the Smiths were playing, the place was quiet as it was only about 6 and the rain falling outside in the growing gloom. It was a very memorable hour or so we spent there. So as you can see, the pub has always been very close to our hearts.
Then recently new owners came in and took it over and decided to re-decorate the place. It re-opened the weekend before last and we decided to go down for Sunday roast as was an original tradition of ours. The shocking decor that met us at the back of the pub completely turned us off eating there - we had a a drink and left.
Its probably well worth going to the Londesborough to see the incredibly garish new wall paper that festoons the walls at the back of the pub - we thought when went in that it was temporary wall paper while they were finishing off the job but to our horror were told it was permanent. The celings were painted a dull shade of grey and all the character the place once had for us was gone.
I don't know if we will go back there again. The staff were always first class and very friendly and thats not going to change. But on top of what one eats or drinks in any establishment, the decor is as important in my opinion and the whole experience has now been ruined for us.
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Generally good, just a picky problem with the menu today. I always thought it was "roast rib of beef" and "rib-eye" was a steak.
Also asparagus in August. Why?
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I moved to London about a year ago.
The roast in the Londesborough is the best I have had anywhere; good portions, always really good meat, fresh well cooked veg, nice roast potatoes, the works. 10 out of 10
It is more expensive than other pubs, but I'm always happy to pay extra for a really good restaurant quality roast.
I used to eat here at least a couple of times a month.
However, the management have got very greedy lately, which is a real shame,
This is a pub remember, not a restaurant, yet the staff insist on table service now so that they can make some extra cash in tips.
When I eat I usually leave 10 % service anyway, but like to be given the option in case the service has not been up to scratch. What is really annoying about the present system is that you cannot order food from the bar even if you are ordering a drink, and you want to do it at the same time. Why not?
So you try to pay for your drink, but the bar staff tell you to sit down and someone will take your order. Err no thanks, I'll just pay now please. No you must sit!
So someone takes your order and you wait for your food. When it's ready they bring it. That is the only service that you get.
In a restaurant, at least you know the drill. You sit down and the waiting staff make sure you're ok for drinks etc.. not here.. Which is fine - because it's a pub not a restaurant. So just keep it like a pub.
My point to conclude is that in your local you just want to order your drinks and food and have a nice chilled out sunday, without the hassle.
You could say don't go, which is fine, but then i'd miss out on some great food in a great pub.
Shame about the service...
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I love this pub the food, service and ambience is just lovely - It really feels like a lovely local .. I even booked a table for 18 the other week and they just could not have been nicer - it's definitely child friendly but even though I don't have any children do not see it as any way negative .. It's always clear after 7!
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A very creditable pub, the garden is very nice in the summer. Drinks are a bit on the pricey side and I felt a bit ripped off paying �12 for an unseasoned steak (!), but that said I'd happily spend all day Sunday here.
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Michelin Stars...
Cleary this user has never been to a Michelin Starred Restaurant. You'd be looking at a lot more than �16 for a main.
What some pub-goers don't realise is that the hospitality industry is very transient and managers, chefs and staff move jobs, hence inconsistency in service and food quality.
I quite like the Londesborough, it was one of the first pubs I drank in in Stoke Newington when i moved there in 02. Good pub, even though I rather ridiculously got asked to leave after Stoke Fest last summer. Apparently being a bar-maid's ex-boyfriend is a legitimate reason to refuse service...
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I was looking through these posts and just had to respond. I worked at the Londesborough for quite a while over a year ago but still drink there. I will say although I see where everybody is coming from, I have also been on the other end trying to explain these seemingly nonsense rules and felt it only fair to explain the method to what seems like maddness.
1. Personally I still eat there because I know the food is fresh and aside from paying some poor person to sit and cut the hand cut chips 24 hours a day it goes against what the place is about. It's not a boozer it is a gastro pub for people who do want to eat a full meal and stay where they are for a drink or ten without being shoved along. They have an adequate snack menu for those who don't want to eat. Although I think it does serve chips now.
2.... It is Stoke Newington! Everybody has a bike! You let one in you can't turn the rest away. Or ... they could let everyone and their bike in and the pub would be over run by bikes which someone would inevitably trip over while drunk and sue the pub. You don't ask at a supermarket, a restaurant, a cafe, the cinema,the doctors or your office so why ask at the Londesborough.
And 3. It is Stoke Newington! Everybody has a kid! There are families living here.There are kids everywhere. If you don't like children don't live here or simply accept that they are a part of life here and get on with it.
So although I do have my personal reasons to love this bar ,most of you have already agreed with one or all that it's good food, good drinks, friendly staff, good music, good atmosphere, generally happy and placid clientele and a nice garden. If we're fair I thought thats what it was all about.
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I haven't been back since they refused to let us put the bikes in the yard after a session at the climbing centre. Brownswood Park Tavern is bike friendly and my choice if in the area.
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Sorry, LemonGrass, I wasn't clear. I'd actually hoped to take the bike through to the beer garden. Even so, it is perfectly reasonable for them to refuse, but somewhat unnecessary, and the consequences were a shame.
However, the bike had a crap lock, and would have vanished eventually, anyhow. :-/
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USED to be a great pub. Til the staff got too far up their own jacksy's, the chef had a misguided dream that he was chefing in a michelin star restaurant (with michelin prices) so wont serve chips on their own, and word got round that its fine to take little Johnny and his baby sister in arms and let them run riot because its a sunday. Note to parents - if you're going to take your kids then at least keep them occupied - its not a creche. Gone are the days when parents used to take their kids home when they played havoc.. or maybe i was just brought up well. Anyway, shame its turned into a kids club. If you're going to go for sunday lunch - aim for after 4 when the kids club is over. Otherwise you may get run over by a toy tractor and then be shouted at by mum and dad for ruining little johnys game, just when he was looking and sounding so cute.....NOT!!
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Sorry to hear about your bike, che, but I do think it's reasonable for the pub to refuse to let you bring your bike in
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Like it generally, in spite of it being a bit bike unfriendly. Was refused permission to bring a bike inside last year, and it was nicked :( Staff very helpful though, and got straight on the blower to the police and the bicycle patrol.
Anyway. Good food. Good drink. Good atmosphere. Good beer garden. Too expensive.
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Peanut73 (plus others) are correct - too many uncontrolled children. I've had kids under my table as I've tried to eat, while their oblivious parents natter away on the other side of the pub.
I've also seen more than one person nearly have an accident attempting to negotiate the groups of kids who sit unattended on the step in the middle of the pub. If one of the darlings got hurt in the process, their daddies QC would shut this place quicker than you could say Health and Safety.
I guess that chap stokenewingtonsurfclub was too busy thinking about his epilepsy inducing myspace page to notice this.
Ultimately, to get the best out of this place avoid weekends and stick to weekday evenings.
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Yes to chips!
No to selfish "Stokey" parents who want to get drunk with their mates while neglecting their obviously bored kids.
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Chips. CHIPS. Not Wedges. Chips. I think Monsieur Le Chef should take notice. Charge �100 a plate. I reckon people will probably pay.
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Hoorah for the Campaign for Single Portions of Chips in the Londesborough! I have asked at the bar several times if I can order a single portion of chips and the answer is always �the chef says no�. I�m not about to spend �12.50 on chorizo risotto or a stuffed aubergine. So Londesborough, you are missing out cash from your local and very regular customers. If you sell chips we will buy them. Please convey this to the chef.
(Also, may I just add, you need more green olives in your mixed olives)
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Right on Sisters!
There is a limit to the quantity of beer that can be soaked up by crisps, nuts and olives (from personal experience I would say about 2 pints). I say - Let them eat chips!
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I couldn't agree more with Carol below. It seems ridiculous that the chef refuses to serve chips on their own (or even potato wedges which I find quite an acceptable alternative). As I regularly spend half my salary on drinks in here, week in, week out, it would be nice to be able to snack on a potato product more substantial than crisps and not necessarily accompanied by a pan roasted poussin and all the trimmings for �12.50. I hope the notoriously sensitive chef reads this post and takes note.
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PLEASE SERVE CHIPS AS A SIDE ORDER!
This is our local pub and we often find that we don't want to pay �12 for dinner or snack on crisps all night long.
Is it too much to ask that you can order a side of chips??!!
Apparently the chef gets too annoyed to serve chips on ther own but PLEASE this is a local pub for local chip-munching people. I know lots of people have asked the staff about this and the response is always a flat "NO". The manager needs to listen to the people and get chips on the menu.
JOIN THE CAMPAIGN! FIGHT FOR YOUR FRIES!
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If you are a grumpy old fart with a chip on your shoulder about happy people who know how to enjoy themselves and if you are such a miserable, unfulfilled prat that is unlikely to find anybody who would even contemplate having children with you, then this is certainly NOT the pub for you.
I have spent many an enjoyable afternoon with and without kids in the pub. The food is always great and the staff are very friendly and the clientele are are lively, happy bunch. But then I love life - unlike the sour, dour Peanut73 who can hopefully find a quiet snug somewhere where he can spend all day on his own crying into his half a pint of bitter....
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If you are a smug, middle class trendy ex-hippy with multiple children under 5, who is into extremely liberal parenting and you don't give a monkeys about irritating anyone in your vicinity then wheel your buggy right this way!
Invite your friends who also have uncontrollable children who like to scream and throw things and make it a regular Sunday outing - for all the family.
Take over the couches and enjoy your pint with your smug friends while the fourteen or so toddlers in your group scream, vomit, roll on the floor, cry and throw tantrums.
Please feel free to block all access routes with outlandish three wheeler mountain buggies. Act as if nothing is wrong when you see fellow diners/drinkers grimacing and taking paracetamol to try to abate the splitting headaches they have developed from the shrill screams of your out of control toddlers.
Absolute nightmare. Shame, because if it wasn't for it resembling a playgroup it would be a decent pub.
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Fantastic. Great meals, well priced, and really really friendly staff. Best Bourbon Sour ever! Only thing is had a couple too many, and didn't have enough money left to leave a tip appropriate for the great night we had! Nothing to do with their prices, more to do with my lousy maths! Will be back to make up for it! Many thanks!
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Walking the tightrope between being an enjoyable, quirky, hangout or an annoying, pretentious shambles (see also all of Stoke Newington). Either way, for Nathan Birch to say it has "gritty East End boozer" characteristics is frankly hilarious.
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Q: Whats the difference between the Londesborough on a Sunday and a creche?
A: The children in a creche are kept under control.
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I haven't been to this place for some time as it was generaly a bit 'slap dash', but on my recent visit back to 'Stokey'the Londesborough has proved itself to be one of the best bars in the area. The staff were full of life and very welcoming. The atomosphere had an unpretencious vibe and service was swift when ordering the huge roast chicken (enough for two)on sunday.Friday night was a bit rammed because was it because of the ecclectic music that Stokey folk love? The cocktails have gone up but so has the standard.
anonymous - 30 Nov 2006 19:15 |
I've visited only the once and that was a month or two ago on a Friday night. Although it was thankfully free of designer toddlers (and their smug, "couply" parents), I was still pretty disappointed. My overriding impression was of a vast, noisy, brash and styleless bar for aspiring city-types and football heads. The overly loud (and irritatingly generic) music meant there was no chance of having a decent conversation, and, worst of all, the outdoor space had that nasty chrome furniture.
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Errrrr, Bristol would never have anything lie this cos Bristolians have taste. And fewer buggies...
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It's bike unfriendly so we never go. Push-chairs are fine though so maybe I'll make sort of bike cum push-chair thing, wheel it in and watch the fashion hair quivver with confusion.
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Firstly - |I haven't been here in a while so someone please tell me if the staff have changed because the staff were always super friendly (the manager let my boyfriend borrow his mobile etc)
Secondly - It IS in Stoke Newington Kiddie capital of London SO for those who like a quiet pint stay away until 6pm!! when we've taken the kids home to bed. This place is a godsend to parents who still want to go out and feel socially normal!!!! And still really great after 6pm when you've bribed your single mates to babysit on a saturday night.
I agree the No Chips on their own policy is daft but apart from that i love the place.
Wish on earth Bristol had something like it.
anonymous - 16 Feb 2006 17:22 |
is this the most misguided pub in north london? The rudest bar staff imaginable - I was told that I had 10 seconds to order my round or he was going to serve some one else. I don't know anyone in Stoke newington who doesn't have a rude barman story or 2 from the Londesborough. Overpriced food - �9.00 for a ploughmans anyone? A no chips on their own policy - you'll offend chef - for gods sake, this a pub not la gavroche. good dj and great bloody marys though
anonymous - 26 Jan 2006 15:18 |
Only been on a Sunday. Overcrowded and overpriced. A hamburger cost �9 in October 2005. Friendly Staff and the layout is good. Very Stokey crowd - 30 something new media, black rimmed glasses, low-slung satchels, copy of the Guardian surgically attached to the obligatory three wheeled buggy, cracking your ankles as little Tarquin screams his middle-class lungs off. Pubs are for adults, dig? I won't sit in your playground drinking a pint, if you don't crawl in my pub screeching and puking, making me feel guilty for smoking a fag. Deal?
mikez - 13 Dec 2005 16:33 |
Er, did I go to the same pub?
I thought this place was just way to far up its own arse. I really like the Bird Cage but this place is just trying way to hard to be cool. They have a good range of beers and sprirts and they've clearly spent a lot on decor, but it just doesn't work. The bar prices reflect the cost of the furnature which was clearly bought becuase it looked expensive not becuase it looked good, or fitted the venue, or went with the other furnature. I imagine the process of selecting the furniture involved the habitat catalog and a dart board.
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Went here the other night - it's a nice enough space, small-medium central bar as you walk in with some tables near it, opening out to a large area with sofas etc at the back. Nice enough decor in the modern/traditional/revamped stylee. There was a DJ noodling away - seemed a bit halfhearted, and the music wasn't great (though maybe that's just me). The disappointing thing was the drinks, I'm afraid. Over a tenner for 3 drinks (though this did include a large glass of wine) - the Pedigree bitter was poor, and the Fosters also tasted a bit chemically (though some people would say it always does). Disappointing really. The kind of place where it might be nice to sit back on one of the sofas with a bottle of wine, but go somewhere else if you like your ale
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Went here a few times last summer. Yeah, was pretty good if a little pricey. Good atmosphere, music ok though DJing a little random. I guess it's cool if you like listening to other peeps record collections.
The main attraction had to be the two barmaids who were there last summer, the one looked like Uma Thurman and the other like Helena Christensen...sensational stuff!
Don't know if they're still there.
Nice Mojitos.
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Sister pub to The Birdcage. Very nice place, good beer garden, but come early or you'll be left standing... the place gets extremely packed. Good DJs sometimes.
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friendly, chilled, great beer, great food, comfy sofas, DJ brings atmosphere but doesn't drown you out. Love it!
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UPDATE: Agreeing with Chris below, especially after they wouldn't let me bring my bike into the yard on a fine, quiet evening. Too much crushed ice and not enough Stokiness. Imagine not being bike friendly in Stoke Newington! Fools!
Dan - 6 Sep 2004 12:49 |
Started well but bar has gone down hill in recent months. Average waiting time at the bar is about 20 minutes even when it's not crowded. The bar staff slowly grind away at bits of ice as they try to make up cocktails while painful crowds build up waiting to be served. You know the kind of place.
Chris - 17 Aug 2004 08:58 |
Very nice, large interior, great food, big yard out back, good range of beers. Well 'Stokey' but blinkin good with it.
Dan - 14 May 2004 11:39 |
Excellent food, great hosts, and brillant atmostsphere. This is undoubtly the best pub in the north of London, along with its sister pub the Birdcage, and the brand new bar recently opened - The Talbot. A must - same relaxing carefree environment, designed to an excellant standard, brunch second to none,with a vast choice in menu.Excellant choice in wines and beers. What next for these young enthusiastic bar entreprenures - who know's what other new ventures is on their horizon. A must even if you do not live in the area. Top nite out.
Gary 19 April 2004 - 19 Apr 2004 23:56 |
this is the coolest pub in stokie. great beers on tap and good selection of spirits. they have a Dj every night with really good sounds, nothing too obtrusive, just chilling out tunes, decent food (worth the price) and a nice little beer garden with comfy furniture inside and out!! what more could ya want??!!
laura - 27 Feb 2004 14:58 |
A great place, quite simply the best pub in North london. I've trawled most of the bars in Islington, and this is without doubt the best lonodn has to offer. It's got everything you look for from a pub. Great menu of simple, hearty but well produced food, perfect for the previous evenings hang over or sharing with friends. A sunny courtyard for summers afternoons. A good selection of beers, wines and cocktails. A cool mix of gritty East End boozer and cool urban hang out. it's even got firplace to read the paper next to. Don;t miss it if you're near.
Nathan Birch - 4 Feb 2004 13:43 |
Usual fare on offer here as any local-trendy bar; leather sofa's, dj and mainstream beers all present and correct. However despite being a chain-owned bar it retains a good ambience. Good use of lighting creates an intimate atmosphere and a laid-back feel which attracts a varied crowd. Preferred it much more to The Birdcage as its spacious and set back from the main road.
Matt - 22 Jan 2004 10:54 |
Like the Birdcage, just further away. It does have the advantage of a little garden though. Proper beer too, but not cheap.
Pauly - 20 Sep 2003 15:14 |
Sister pub to the Birdcage, another local in the vicinity. Good contemporary decor, while keeping orignal boozer character and feel. Well furnished garden for when the sun shines. Brunch menu by day and shared plates in the evening. Nice mixed crowd and good music in the evenings creates good ambience.
craig - 15 Aug 2003 16:23 |
