please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
No pub décor and a poor drinks' choice - Doom Bar or Pride, poorly kept.
Agree with the reviewer below: this is more like an upmarket Harvester for the nouveau riche and it's miles from anywhere.
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This place has alot of potential and from the outside you would expect the food and service to be of very good quality. Unfortunately it just isn't.
Last night I had dinner there with some friends. Our waitress was friendly, despite having very limited knowledge of the menu. However, the server that was assisting her was consistently rude, saying more than once 'oh yes we don't have that item available, normally we do'. Oddly after he said they didn't do fresh mint teas, he then served us desert with quite a lot of fresh mint as a garnish. Should I simply have ordered hot water? He also made a mistake in calculating our bill. He didn't bother to explain what that mistake was and ended up charging us for something else. When we said he needed to explain to us the change before taking our money he ignored us. When we asked if he'd heard us, he said 'yes' and shrugged, he wasn't really too worried.
Aside from the poor service, the menu didn't clearly reflect what you were actually getting, ie my lemon chicken was covered with garlic mayonnaise, not mentioned in the menu.
Additionally there wasn't a healthy alternative to frites other than mash that has lashings of butter and cream. I did ask for the cabbage, leeks and peas. There were no leeks or peas, just cabbage swimming in butter. Also one of my friends ordered the Lemon Posset which was runny and lumpy.
Overall very disappointing. Personally, I would rather spend my money at some of the other gastro pubs in the area. There are a number of really good ones.
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In its drinks menu, the Orange Tree talks about the importance of real ale and having a decent selection...
And when I got to the bar I found Pride and Old Speckled Hen on tap. Not the most exciting selection really.
Staff were friendly and attentive, so would disagree with previous comments, but it's definitely not somewhere I would return in a hurry.
Food was okay but expensive, and the menu pretentious - frites instead of chips, and we had to get the staff to explain what a couple of things were on the menu. Not something you should expect to happen in a boozer.
Starters average, mains much better and, to their credit, decent-sized portions (this from someone who will happily chow down a whole 500g bag of pasta on occasions, so read into that what you will), but not enough to entice me to return.
Way too far out to be convenient, which is a shame, as given the location, the pond and large beer garden outside, and the pleasantish interior, it could be a really decent pub.
J
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Yup. Just another old boring second-rate foodie outlet.
How the mighty have fallen.
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Not somewhere you feel wlecome unless you are eating. At least during the Summer you can take your pint outside.
anonymous - 11 Apr 2010 23:05 |
Staff are very pretentious and unfriendly
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The Orange Tree used to be a fantastic pub. I remember being taken there by my grandparents 30 years ago and having to book four/five weeks in advance to get a table for the Sunday roast.
I have been back there a number of times in the intervening years and it has slowly gone down hill for differing reasons.
What is left is now little more than a fairly average bistro in a beautiful pub exterior. Sadly the food is not great and the atmosphere on the inside doesn't match the beautiful setting.
Would still go there on a balmy summer's evening, just to sup a pint in such a pretty location. Such a crying shame that they can't do better with what's on offer!
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Due to organisational incompetence managed to miss the start time of the chosen film at the Barnet Odeon last night. �Never mind. Let�s just go for a drink� was the comment of the misses. � Good idea, lets go to the Orange Tree in Totteridge. We haven�t been there for a couple of years and that used to be a great pub with great beer.
Oops� Should have read the recent reviews in BITE first.
Can concur with previous reviews, now more a restaurant for the well heeled of Totteridge rather than a pub. Large seated dining areas at both ends with a thin bar area in the middle. Unfortunately as reported below that has sparse seating, so if you miss one of the 4 available tables you have to stand up the bar and block the through traffic.
Lots of foreign lagers on draft, but only two ale handpumps , one of which was off and The London Pride wasn�t brilliant either.
Nice makeover with lots of wood and an open modern metallic fireplace at one end of the bar area before you enter the dining seating. Must have cost them a pretty penny, but I usually prefer to drink somewhere that has a bit more character than an Ikea showroom.
So it is with a heavy heart that I have to report that the Orange Tree is no longer a great pub for a short drive from North London but now more a restaurant whose target clientele are those for whom the credit crunch is something that happens to other people.
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Looks nice from the approach, I suspect it was once a lovely place for a pint or two. Unfortunately it is nothing more than an upmarket harvester for the nouveau rich. Completely devoid of any character or individually. If it was in an airport terminal it would be ok but not out here in the real world where people have a choice. So many of our country pubs are being taken over by big chains and turned into glorified service stations, preying on towney sheep types who don't know any better, its such a shame.
The same review applies for their other pubs the bull and bush and the freemasons.
It thinks its posh and so do the hapless fools who eat there. Wise up people the joke is on you.
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The Orange Tree is in a lovely setting with a very nice refurb having been done. Unfortunately it is let down on a number of counts. There is not enough seating for people merely wanting a drink, service is always slow and the food is overpriced! My friend paid �11 for fish and chips recently. This is pricey to begin with, but once you find the chips came in nothing bigger than a ramakin dish, you could have counted the number of chips with one hand! The 'beer battered fish' was nothing special and there was a small dollop of mushy peas on top. I had the starter risotto at �7.50(!) though it was tastey and filling. Despite plenty of staff milling around, the service at the bar does seem to be more focused on the diners which leads to a long wait every time you go up for a drink. Overall a mixed experience. Such a shame.
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I visited the Orange Tree for the first time last night and liked it very much. The interior is bright and modern and the staff very polite and efficient. As for prices, I paid �6-50 for a pint of Peroni and a Bacardi and Coke which I thought was fair enough. The pub area was quite busy so we sat at one of the tables outside, which was very pleasnt. Overall, it's a very nice pub/restaurant well worth a visit.
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I never went to this pub in it's former glory days and have also yet to dine there. For purely a pub experience it is lacking space. It is not a pub at all. 80% of space has been allocated to dining. The 'pub' space is very small with limited seating. If you drop in on a busy evening and are unfortunate to have no place to sit, you will find yourself blocking staff and other customers. They do a nice pint of Guinness, but due to Totteride being a wealthy area, all their drinks are overpriced. Bar staff are polite, but it is such a shame as this is a wasted opportunity of creating a lovely warm relaxed atmosphere. Could be so much better, but after reading other reviews, it sounds like a glorified Harvester.
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Food overpriced. I paid �9 for a plate of pasta I could still taste 2 hours later. My wife's burger was OK (if you think �10 is acceptable for a small burger and a handful of chips). The waitress was unhelpful - stroppy when I asked for some parmesan cheese (which wasn't offered when they brought the food), and then she never bothered to get me any. Service at the bar is slow. Left very unhappy.
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the refrub just make you want ot cry! Used to be a great olde worlde pub - an old building in great settings. Now it's an awful upmarket pizza restaurant - not a pub anymore. RIP Orange Tree. They should at least change the name - Pizza Tree or summit!
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I know they say don't take this too seriously - and indeed they are correct.
However I say this as a warning for those thinking of going for a Saturday Lunch.
The service was appalling.
The main course pizzas had to be returned TWICE. One because it was the wrong order and again because they were cold. The deserts in the end were cancelled because after an half an hour wait - we gave up on them.
If you choose to go to this pub for a meal - I hope you enjoy it and your experiences were better than mine.
I will not take the risk with this pub again for a meal - until they learn to appreciate the concept of Customer Service.
anonymous - 7 Aug 2006 10:04 |
When I first visited in 2005, it was just a pub, then I heard they had dining rooms and decided to go there for a birthday meal. However, I did not book and it was completely full.
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This used to be a great pub but was taken over by a foody chain and is now full of boring families. Great building and grounds though.
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It has never been am Ember, it was a Vintage Inn, I used to be an assistant manager there.
I drove past the other day but did not have time to stop, its not a Vintage any more and I would love to drop by and see the old place.
anonymous - 11 Jan 2006 00:21 |
yeah its been recently rennovated. more like a restaurant now. used to have an old country pub feel to it.
im not too keen on it now to be honest, i preferd it how it was but thats just my personal preference.
visited it on the day after boxing day and it was absolutely packed. service was a bit poor but thats understandable as it was very busy and a bank holliday.
we didnt end up staying and decided to go somewhere else. i think it will do well.
but definatly more of a restaurant feel than a pub feel now.
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Lovely pub, although it's more like a restaurant as the bar is very small. The decor is fantastic (assume it has recently been renovated?), and there is a good atmosphere. The food is delicious - mainly pizzas, pastas and steak. Have eaten here 3 times and the food has always been spot on and the service impeccable. Extensive wine list and a varied selection of beers. Good value for money and a good location for a romantic meal or dinner with friends.
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Family friendly pub - with no smoking section. Food is good, drink competitively priced - go there quite regularly.
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It is a Vintage Inn, I think. Has been disappointing for a long time. When I checked recently the food continued to be poor, the beer tasted watered (I'm not saying that it WAS though!) and the service was nothing to write home about. Years ago it was properly run and was worth travelling to - no more, I'm afraid.
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great location, great garden, great pub, but the food has been very disappointing on several visits - which is a real shame.
Alice - 29 Sep 2004 10:33 |
Absolutley marvellous setting. I hope Ember haven't ruined it like most other pubs.
Dan - 3 Aug 2004 15:57 |
ember inns.
in a bit of grren belt land in london suburbs . nice, though very out-of-the-way setting
dan - 4 May 2004 12:49 |
