The Winchester, Islington - pub details
Used to be: the Bar and Dining House
Address: 2, Essex Rd, London, N1 8LN [map] [gmap]
Tel: 0871 951 1000 (ref 27988) - calls cost 10p per minute plus network extras
Angel (0.4 miles), Highbury and Islington (0.7 miles)
Essex Road (0.4 miles), Highbury & Islington (0.7 miles), Caledonian Road & Barnsbury (0.8 miles)
Are you the Licensee? Click here. ** SPECIAL Royal Summer Sizzler offer! **
> Current user rating: 6.1/10 (rated by 14 users)
other pubs nearby:
Living Room, Islington (0.0 miles), Old Queens Head, Islington (0.0 miles), Colebrooke's, Islington (0.0 miles), Slug And Lettuce, Islington (0.1 miles), Kings Head, Islington (0.1 miles) - see more nearby pubs
user reviews of the Winchester, Islington
please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
5 most recent reviews of 12 shown - see all reviews
| Went here for a birthday meal on a recent Sunday - The service was absolutely terrible and the food wasn't much better. At one point we had to order the same round of drinks 3 times before they were actually made. The staff really didn't seem to care and when we complained we were told a manager would be in after 4pm but that manager never arrived. We were told the sunday beef was cooked medium rare/medium but it was horribly over done. Half the party including a pregnant woman ate their food without drinks and when we asked for them to be taken off the bill we were told they would only remove soft drinks. When the table was booked online no-one from the pub called us to confirm as indicated, instead we had to call twice to check we had a table. And when we called to get our deposit back and asked why it hasn't been automatically returned, we were told it's the customer's responsibility to get the deposit back. This is a pub which is only after your money and doesn't give a hoot about customer service. DO NOT TRY IT. honestreviewing - 22 Apr 2013 16:33 |
| (Since I have posted this review i have been offerred some compensation, so am glad that i will be able to return for cocktails and hopefully regain my trust to the Winchester) deenaegham - 21 Dec 2011 12:16 |
| I have been going to the Winchester for years, massively rated the cocktails and the 2 4 1 sunday roats (one of the best pub roasts for that value in london). I therefore dragged all my work colleguages there for our christmas dinner (which we have to pay for ourselves). �25 per head for the starter and main. The menu looked amazing. I was so upset at the outcome, the food was inedible. the turkey dinner was dry, the home made stuffing was solid (my colleagues were coughing it up), the vegetables were tasteless. And it was all smothered in thin bistoey gravy - how difficult is it to add some wine or flavour to a gravy? i just dont understand what kind of chef can actually make such awful food. why do they even bother being a chef??! My "venbison steak rolled with proscuitto & mozeralla flambeed in masala wine" was a overcooked tough piece could hardly cut into it) of non rolled venison, with a bit of cheesy bacony stuff on top, with non seasonsed broad beans...although the potatoe dauphinoise was okay but very small. I tried to give feedback on the night but was told to email the booking manager, so i did, i was very psoitive about the cocktails and staff however as they were still amazing. I was paologised to and told that she hoped the cocktails made up for it. I responded explaning that they were good, but didnt make up for a dreadful dinner that we folked out a total of �225 for (inlcuding pre paid service charge...). There is no excuse for food this bad, especially from a venue that is really good usually. I think it is awful when places take advantage because they know its christmas and they will be booked up. And sadly will not be going back or ever reccomending this place again. It doesnt take much to deal with a customer complaint effectively, but this was not met with any effective response either. 1/10 food 8/10 cocktails and bar staff deenaegham - 20 Dec 2011 09:46 |
| This is a pub that sums Islington up perfectly, all style and no substance. In the rush to tart up the interior and put the organic food on the menu, it seems they have completely forgotten to stock any beer and overlooked the fact that their customers might ask for it. If you're after a proper ale the best you'll get is a bottle of something that's been chilled in the fridge to within an inch of its life. rob1981 - 28 Feb 2011 23:11 |
| Been here twice for people's birthdays and it's useful for that sort of gathering because there are large tables that can be reserved for groups and the two for one cocktails are excellent value. I found it strange that you had to go downstairs into the kind of club room to order the two for one cocktails instead of being able to buy them upstairs as well, as they did have cocktail materials behind the bar upstairs, but maybe it's easier to serve large crowds of people down there and keep the upstairs free for food orders. The first time I went though a DJ set himself up and started playing awful music so loudly that we had to ask him to turn it down because nobody could hear what other people were saying. catfitz - 10 Apr 2010 14:24 |
see more reviews |
