The Maid of Muswell, Muswell Hill

Not a bad pub considering it's been refitted to attract the more up-market customer. A lot of the furniture is crap with about half of the tables being too low to eat from. They sell 2 or 3 real ales and have a good range of German and Belgian beers including Kuppers Kolsch, Paulaner and Frulli.

Ther food here is very good. It seems mostly to be sausage and mash, but they also do very good Sunday lunch which, although a little more expensive than is most pubs (between �8 & �9) is well worth paying as it's always very good and generous in size. Well worth a visit.

20 May 2006 12:00

The Horse and Groom, Westbury

A great pub. I used to spend most of my evenings there. I moved away from the area a few years ago and now make sure I pop in whenever I'm in the area. I was a bit worried when the pub was sold a few years ago, but it's actually got better and the range of real ales larger, including some brewed by the landlord on-site which are always very good. Staff and customers are all very friendly. There's a great quiz on a Sunday night in what used to be called the lounge bar which is really popular

2 May 2006 17:23

The Nelson, Wood Green

An absolutely awful pub. First time I visited at night, the lights in the toilets had been turned off when time was called and the bar staff didn't know how to turn them back on. The second time, I popped in for a quick late pint and witnessed a fight and then nearly got my head kicked in outside (OK, so it was a case of mistaken identity). The third time I went with quite a large group of friends, there had been a change of management, but not customers. It was a Friday or Saturday night and it was packed and there were no bouncers. I got into an argument with some woman over an ashtray (I needed one and she had one she wasn't using), everybody seemed tense and the same teenagers were constantly wandereing in and out which never bodes well for a pub. There were some people who'd just left who looked as if they were going to kick off outstide. I don't usually get nervous in pubs, but I got so spooked out we had to leave mid-pint. We ended up in The Jolly Anglers which had very pleasent door staff and a really good atmosphere.

2 May 2006 14:22

BRB at The Gate, Alexandra Park

Not a bad pub. As previous reviews have stated, some of the furniture leaves a lot to be disired. The Scots guy who seemed to be manager a while back was great, friendly and efficient. I too forgot to pick up my tab one night, but I don't think anything extra had been added to it. I've been a couple of time when the music has been terrible an too loud and ended up leaving. The food is very good. The biggest problem with this pub though is the time the kitchen closes. The Belgian waffles are fantastic, but the last couple of times I didn't want to order my desert before I'd had my pizza, so asked what time the kitchen would be closing. When I went to the bar to order my desert (a good half-hour before I'd been told the kitchen would be closing) I was told that the kitchen had closed. I've not been back since. Had the kitchen not shut early, I would probably given the pub a rating of 8 or 9 rather than a 5.

2 May 2006 14:05