please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
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.
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(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)
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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
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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.
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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.
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Anyone know what this was called when it was an Irish bar ?
Mo
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Not a beer drinkers pub, and certainly not the biggest place, but the staff are friendly and know how to make a cocktail quickly - which is a start on many other places I've been to!
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Top spot for a post dinner cocktail with bartenders who seem to have a sense of prde in what their doing
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I'm not sure which gentlemen's club the previous commenter frequents. I visited this last Friday night and agree that for a late venue in Islington it is better than average. That said, a predictable lack of real ale counts against it and also the music the DJ was playing was pretty terrible. I also slightly objected to paying for entry at 10pm in the evening to what is essentially a glorified pub, although it probably does keep riff-raff out if truth be told. Didn't venture downstairs much although it looked OK.
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Great atmosphere - has something of the gentleman's club about it. Gets crowded at weekends.
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I liked this place, no real ale but a good atmosphere unlike quite a few other pubs and bars nearby.
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Nice enough place for a late night drink in Islington. Better than the Living Room just down the road and miles better than the hellhole that was The Bar and Dining Room which was in the same place before it was refurbished/renamed. Can get pretty busy downstairs on Friday and Saturday nights but always good fun.
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