please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
I'm blind and went in today with my Guide Dog and a friend for lunch. The Manager herself refused to seat me because my Guide Dog was with me and accused me of being difficult. I explained the law and said that the Equality Act 2010 makes provision for Guide Dogs being allowed in public places like shops and restaurants, I also explained that the Institute of Environmental Health Professionals also confirms that Guide Dogs are allowed in restaurants. DONT EVER VISIT THIS RESTAURANT THE STAFF ARE TERRIBLE - YOU ARE ESPECIALLY UNWELCOME IF YOU ARE DISABLED
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I agree with superyoungisland (Mar 2007). My experience is that the staff are pretty good but you can't describe this place as a pub, it opens for breakfast. I could pretty much guarantee whenever you go in here someone's eating a proper meal of some kind - that doesn't happen in pubs & bars (remember what your Mum said: crisps aren't a proper meal).
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Wonderful looking pub which is completely wasted! Food was overpriced and fantastically bland (fish pie very boring) - how it manages to get booked up I don't know. Its pretty sad to see a nice pub in a good location failing to provide anything worth stopping for. If you like something sweet to finish your meal off, go across the road because the dessert menu is rubbish.
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amazing food - if you don't book don't bother going though!
anonymous - 17 Oct 2007 18:04 |
S'posed to be a bar/restaurant.
Its not.
Its a restaurant with a waiting room attached.
The bar 'area' is a rediculous space as its simply tiny and you are only 'graced' with seating if people choose not to eat in this space i.e when the restaurant is full.
So, unless youre willing to fork out well over the odds for the average food, u'll be left propping up the awkward looking piece of concrete they call the bar.
on this bar is 3 taps - all without signage ( a pet hate). The choice you have is either san miguel or two spanish speciality lagers. The other choice is spanish lager in bottles.
I drank wine.
The staff are hit and miss so im not going to comment, it gets so confusing as to where you are/are not allowed to sit, I cant blame them for being scatty on occassion.
Shame because its one of my favourite interiors and would have great potential to be either a restaurant or a bar....but not both.
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I've eaten here twice and I've stopped for a drink once. I believe in giving places that look interesting and have potential more than one chance. However, each time the staff have pissed me off, the food has disappointed and the drink selection has left me without options. Rubbish, rubbish, rubbish.
There are a lot of clueless people knocking around Issy on a weekend. They seem to like it in here.
The old fella next door who sells antiques / junk on a weekend is very nice - have a chat with him then go to the Camden Head. Avoid Elk in the Woods - at all costs.
anonymous - 17 Sep 2006 19:30 |
Had a very nice breakfast here last summer.Staff were quite friendly. It was a monday morning. I'd have avoided it if i'd read the reviews here first so I'm glad I didn't.
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hate it in here, so does everyone by the looks of it. it will hopefully close down and make way for a nicer place.
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Awful place. Totally up its own ****
anonymous - 10 Jul 2006 15:43 |
Poor poor brusque service, smokey, pokey and pretentious . A nice interior tarnished by a poor attitude.
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Nice enough place though the venison burger did give me food poisoning!
anonymous - 1 May 2006 03:48 |
Not a pub. I don't want to arrive for a drink and be told I've got 20 minutes at the table before the 8pm booking arrives for dinner. Why not take it off the site?
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They did at first try and sell themselves as a pub to be fair to the people who complained ealier. And the staff are pretty graceless - as soon as you walk in you are accosted about whether you have a reservation - even if this is a gastropub/brasserie that is out of order.
I personally would like to see this place starved to death by locals (like myself) and after giving it a fair try, and experiencing the rude staff, slow service, average food, bad drinks selection and uncomfortable seating I now avoid like a plague.
Near here you have a couple of options - down Noel Road you have the Island Queen and the Angelic (not so hot but very gastropubby) by Sainsbury's.
anonymous - 15 Mar 2006 11:19 |
I must be in the minority here, but i have never had a problem at the Elk and i've eaten there half a dozen times. But then, i do not regard this establishment as a traditional pub - actually it's a gastro-pub restaurant - and this is where the problems described above seem to stem from.
Most restaurants, especially small one, would baulk at a large group coming in and just having a "few drinks". That is the same for many of the gastro-pubs in the area, where in the restaurant section, one is expected to order a meal.
Anyone who has been to the Elk will know that this is not a place to order some chips and have a few drinks. I wouldn't do this in any of the local gastro-pub restaurant sections - St John's (Archway), or at House (Highbury) or at the Junction Travern's restaurant section (Tufnel Park).
We have always booked a table and had dinner. And as the place is relatively small, i can see why they require patrons to eat. Islington locals are aware of this, and i have asked a few of my friends and none of them regards the Elk as a drinking pub.
Expectation is everything.
There are plenty of large pubs to cater for large groups.
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At face value, anonymous, your comments are fair. However:
The booking for a large group was made a week in advance and also confirmed on the day. Both times it was agreed that, while some of the party would indeed order mains, others would be having light snacks.
My friend (as indicated in one of the reviews below) had visited previously for a drink and enjoyed it. On this first occasion, she was not bullied into ordering a main by uptight waiting staff. Hence the desire to return to share with friends.
Also, a quick internet search variously describes this place as a 'gastro pub', 'pub' and 'public house'. So the confusion is not simply with us.
k_n_z - 24 Feb 2006 08:49 |
Can I just say it does seem a bit out of order that you all turned up, filled the place up, and then didn't order proper meals. I think this place is rubbish but its CLEARLY not a pub and you should have known that.
anonymous - 22 Feb 2006 10:07 |
I too was with the large group below. What a farce!
Our group was in no way rude to staff, overly loud, or disturbing other patrons. We simply wanted a few drinks and some good food at a place that friends had said was really great.
The table service was unbearably slow. To be expected possibly, given numbers, however it was frustrating that we were not allowed to order drinks from and pay at the bar as other patrons were.
However, having the waitress standing over us saying �is that all you�re having?� in an irritated voice was extremely unpleasant. As was her loud comment, �but that�s only an entr�e� and �why are you not ordering a main?� to the friend beside me.
Neither did I want to be told that our group was costing the establishment money by not eating an amount deemed appropriate by stuff, or that the chef was new and �needed to be cooking mains tonight�. Excuse me, what?
An increasingly agitated conversation with a member of our party and the threat to add a per-head charge for not eating confirmed that we were truly unwelcome.
This place needs to decide whether it�s a bistro or a pub � it has proven it cannot reconcile both. I most definitely do not recommend it for a �beer in the evening�.
I will not go back. Nor, I suspect, will the 20+ people there to celebrate my friend�s birthday that night or the numerous friends and acquaintances to which we have related the entire, rather bizarre, debacle.
A shame, the d�cor was interesting and the lounge chairs were probably comfortable.
k_n_z - 21 Feb 2006 16:05 |
Despite its great appearance, the Elk in the Woods left me thoroughly disgusted.
Members of staff were arrogant to our party (20+ people) from the outset, and after it became clear that we were not spending enough money for their liking (despite arriving at 6.30pm on a Wednesday evening with the plan to settle in for the night), they became plain rude and even nasty.
The management needs to decide if this is a pub or a restaurant, and make it clear to the public. Despite trying to order food, admittedly not the over-priced main meals, we were rudely told that it was not enough. Surely it's within my rights as a customer to order whatever I like from the advertised menu?
We were actually asked to leave unless we ordered more, and were told we were taking up valuable space. However, I did not see a queue of over 20 people in the street waiting to come and take our place.
Luckily, a far more hospitable venue welcomed us with open arms (and an open kitchen). I strongly urge you not to visit the Elk in the Woods unless you wish to experience the most disgraceful service in London.
x_y_z - 20 Feb 2006 15:00 |
Disappointing food and poor service. Overpriced for what it is.
anonymous - 20 Feb 2006 14:15 |
What a dreadful place. Claims to be a restaurant but is obviously just a very pretensious pub. We went for a friend's birthday, but they refused to let us just drink rather than eat. When we complained they claimed that it had all been explained to her on the phone (which it hadn't) and implied that she was lying! They prefered to see 20 people walk out in protest than let us stay and not eat. With this un-businesslike attitude, they deserve to go under.
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Deeply regretted booking a table here to celebrate my birthday.
Staff were rude and unpleasant, complaining that we didn't order enough food. In the end we all had to leave before they added �10 per head to our bill.
(We probably would have spent more than that given the chance but the barstaff's hostility would have made for a thouroughly depressing birthday party).
I do feel that it was a great shame that we were treated so badly, especially as I'd been there before (just for drinks) and had remembered liking it's quirky-but-nice decor and it's intimate surrounds.
Obviously I can see now that I was duped. All I can advise is to take heed of most of the reviewers on this page and steer well clear of this one- add to the long list of Islington's prissy bars with far more pretensions than loyal customers.
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Very poor. Waited ages.
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I think this is totally over rated. I have eaten there twice and both times had the Danish plate which is great, and which I wholeheartedly recommend. However others who have eaten here with me have had disappointing dishes, and considering the expense that isn't on. For the beer lover its a desert. You can never get a seat. I concede that is because its popular, which can't really be classed as a fault, but as a result reservations seem essential. This isn't a place you can come for just a drink and therefore it isn't a pub - its a pretentious restaurant. The service seems friendly but painfully very slow.
anonymous - 5 Jan 2006 13:34 |
Really good. A perfect place for lunch. Sure it's a tiny bit more expensive than pub grub, but it's also a bit better, and if you want something a little special, give this a try. There are some problems outlines in reviews below, but I didn't see any sign of them on my visit, and nor did the boyfriend.
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Good food, great atmosphere, lovely decor. Small cozy and intimate.
BUT Appauling service. Dreadful positioning of guests on tables - we had booked, yet there were 3 of us on a table for 2, whilst 2 people sat comfortably on a table for 4.
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Tricky one this; the staff are great, but the food and the drinks are abysmal. Had a 'venison' burger yesterday and without exaggeration, I got a lump of ciabatta with what appeared to be a beef burger from the tescovalue frozen food range. It was embarrassingly bad, and for 10 quid (paid, to avoid causing a fuss in front of the bird), probably about �9.90's worth of profit for the Elk. Avoid at all costs.
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Awful place. Nice space, well designed but the staff....I've been 3 times over about a year and each time has been worse than the ttime before. As soon as you enter you are harassed as to whether you have a booking. Stand at the bar and you are asked to move "a few feet to the left please". The wine is expensive and my rioja was corked. They were serving it by the glass and the bottle was half full so they should have noticed. Needs new management and totally new staff. Avoid.
anonymous - 15 Feb 2005 13:45 |
Came highly recommended and the atmosphere and setting were great but service, though friendly and enthusiastic, was erratic (white wine when red was ordered and side order of chips didn't arrive until the rest of the food was finished). Mysterious �10 surcharge added to the bill and no attempt made to give us our change. �100 for four glorified bar snacks and a few drinks verging on extortionate. Disappointing
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Great place which is half bar, half restaurant, half pub, if that makes sense? but that's not a criticism. Really cool shabby chic decor and a great location makes this a perfect place to meet any time of the day. I've eaten breakfast, lunch and dinner here and all have been pushing a ten on the comfort scale. Only downfall is the bar staff are a bit quick to turn the lights up from low and chilled, to prisoner-of-war-camp searchlight bright when it gets to 10:58pm. Roll on late drinking laws, please.
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Live in Canonbury and this place is a regular haunt, one of the best places to grab a snack or drink in N1. Relaxed atmosphere and friendly staff, but a cool place. Food is great - again just the right mix of focus on quality and good ingredients, but with a lack of pretension
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Truly great place for a relaxing afternoon. Cosy and eclectic and set in this quiet market street. Interior's a bit like Denmark meets Little House on the Prarie. Go there for lunch, have fantastic Scando Frikadeller or fresh tapas or why not their light pizza-like omelette and stay all afternoon for drinks. Staff is great too. The Elk is on my top twenty global favourites list.
Mr Munch - 18 Nov 2004 16:41 |
Really great food and friendly ambiance . . . wonderful salad with big chunks of feta and lovely olives; excellent ciabatta sandwich with great chips; and the chocolate pot was to die for!
Carmen and Rich - 24 Oct 2004 20:13 |
Fantastic staff, very friendly and helpful. Food was reasonably priced with good portion sizes. Liked the atmosphere of the place and the decor.
Rach - 4 Aug 2004 12:09 |
Higgledy-piggledy decor but it all works if you're looking to chill out. I thought the food was great - ciabattaville meets steak and chips. Very individual place but in a good way and a great place to relax
the hatted bum - 25 Jul 2004 22:08 |
I quite like the randon decor of this place - the stuffed animals on the wall, flock wall paper, and the cowboy style loos. The people frequenting this place are also quite different to the usual Upper Street boozers - and that's a good thing :) The food isn't fantastic - and it's extremely overpriced, but the drinks selection is good - I'd highly recommend it as a place to spend a Saturday or Sunday afternoon
nicola - 21 Apr 2004 14:44 |
First impressions weren't terrific - the bare log cabin-like walls need some pictures or more moose heads to jazz it up a bit, and the tables are too high for the chairs (no, I'm not at all short) - and what's with the Zigfrid-esque exposed pipework? But the staff were friendly and informative, the house red was superb and served in properly large glasses, the food was terrific and reasonably priced... We left v happy.
Smacked Face - 20 Apr 2004 11:29 |
We didn't tell anyone about this place for ages, but now someone seems to have let the cat out of the bag...I like the idea of table booking, even if you're not eating, but book on Thursday if you want to go Friday.
Laura - 5 Mar 2004 17:20 |
Beautiful bar. Beautiful, otherworldly surroundings. Something a bit Neil Gaiman about this place. Maybe that's just me?
Kylie - 3 Feb 2004 12:41 |
style on the backstreets...concrete chic, cabin fever, log fire HP antique clique boards leather atmosphere in a comfortable atmosphere.
This bar / restaraunt was the best find of the year. The kind of place you feel 'at home'.
Don Darblay - 19 Jan 2004 15:21 |
Very bistro like, but claims to be a pub
James Monk - 3 Nov 2003 17:17 |
