TT Landlord and Deuchars IPA on. I had the Landlord, which was OK – at £3.05 a pint much the going rate in London now.

The Island Queen is located in a very quiet road a few yards from the Regents Canal. The building itself is quite impressive. Very high ceiling with tall, clear windows letting in a lot of light at the front of the pub. Numerous original Victorian features – etched mirrors etc – remain, plus what looks like lino floor covering giving the place a very authentic feel to it. Snack food was OK – I had a steak baguette for £5.95; but have yet to try the main meals. Definitely worth dragging yourself away from the Wenlock to find this little gem.
Hoo-Ray and up she rises
Hoo-ray and up she rises
Hoo-ray and up she rises
Early in the morning...

Recently moved to the Area and stumbled apon this Pub. It has a warm cozy feel and is tucked away which is great because you get the locals and regulars. It has just recently undergone new managment which is refreshing to see a women be a pub lady seems warm and welcoming. The food is alright for the price range but dosn't stand out. Quiz night is fun and the pub is at the fullest then. I love the old victorian decor, def one of those places your glad you found but want to keep it to yourself so that it dosn't become mass populated.

Not a bad place to stop off for a pint. The ale range is fair and the quality was fine.

The old wood panelling and glasswork is well worth a bit of anyone's time - you don't see much of this any more.

Could do with a spruce up in some areas though, the seats weren't great.

Atmosphere was a bit lacking on a Friday afternoon.

Worth popping in for a swift pint.nice enough, bit old fashioned and smells a bit musty - not good for spotting any hot chicks and/or if you want to have a fun night - bit staid.This is quite a renowned old boozer and very fine it is too. Makes for a good stop off on a Farringdon to Islington pub crawl, too.

A rather nice backstreet local which could be a million miles away from its location in Zone 2.

A fair range of beer (it's a Greedy King tied house) but I do recall them having a seasonal and a guest, which for GK pubs is always quite impressive. The beer was good, too.

Small and atmospheric inside, only sign of the 21st century was a TV with the football on.

Well worth seeking out if in the area.Lovely pub as all the reviews say but was quite dissappointed about the fact that I was told on the phone they showed both NL-Romania and Italy-France EUROS 2008 but once I got there they just showed IT-FR. It was not even technically possible for them to show two different games at the same time.

As the majority of my mates prefered to see IT-FR we decided to stay but as a Dutchy I was very disappointed to have dragged my mates here and not being able to see my men in orange.

As it won't happen that often that two games are played at the same time I doubt many people will experience the same, therefore I won't rate them for it as otherwise it seems a lovely tucked away pub.What an excellent little pub this is tucked away in the back streets. Went there pre-football and it was very pleasant. Still very acceptable 2 hours before kick off. Very well kept Old Hooky.

I am a regular at The Old Queens Head, bar staff are always great and me and my friends frequently visit the pub for the DJ's at the weekend. Highly recomended for a quiet drink in the day or a massive party at the weekend!I love this Pub, it is so easy to pop in for a drink and get carried away and end up in there for hours!Good music, comfortable quirky interior upstairs and not too bad down, beer ok considering London prices but Fullers London Pride had run out. Got talking to Germans and a Canadian. Friendly atmosphere.

It use to be a great pub, but bit by bit i has been losing its appeal, first it lost their jukebox, then there friendly staff member and last but not least its manager, ever since the Spanish fellow left this pub has become the worse in the area, the service is very poor and slow, their real ales are not well kept and to top this up we can hardly see the manager there, the only thing that keep this place open is the comedy club.Been coming in here for four years on and off and was glad to find that it's still the same old boozer as ever. Cute little Victorian pub with lots of characterful original features and a friendly, cosy atmosphere. A little antique worth patronising and preserving.More than attractive interior but the service left much to be desired thanks to a distinctly rude (non-polish) member of staff.

Bottles of house wine are £6.95 at happy hour, but red is far nicer than the white...but good value. Thai food is ok, if a little greasy. Bar staff are young and range from being fine, to seemingly disinterested in working at all. The ladies toilets are awful, and the general toilet smell in the entire pub last week was enough to make us turn on our heels and leave - smoking in pubs was at least good for masking other smells!One of the nicer pubs in Islington. Lovely old Georgian building. Very relaxed in the day and then very lively (a bit too rammed actually - but always fast, friendly service) in the evenings. Often gets overlooked because of its location just off Upper Street behind the petrol station.I drink in this pub regularily as it has the perfect combination of atmosphere yet it still great for a quiet drink. The sunday roast is always excellent which is why it is usually full of people on a sunday! The refurb managed to keep the traditional pub feel to the place which is great. Overall a great pub can't think of a bad thing to say about it!

Pricey for an off-the-main-track pub - £3.20 for a pint. Can this be right? Chap who I took to be the landlord was a bit odd. I asked directions to another pub and he somewhat forcefully asked if his beer was good. It was but I wanted to move on (and pay less, but was too cowardly to tell him). I thought he could easily get a bit moody if crossed, so I placated him and moved swiftly on. For barstaff who have to work for inhuman #unts.
I worked in this pub for only 3 days, really liked it, cool staff but the owner, violent . I have never been subjected to verbal abuse like I did tonight. I was left pretty shaken & scared by this man- (as if he deserves that title!) all over an extra bit of cash for extra responsiblity. How many managers have walked out over the past few months Mr owner?? Think it could be a few, as one or 2 of your regulars told me, also said watch your back. Story told eh Knob end. Dont give your money to this @#/t. For the good of all underpaid hardworkers. Had to get this off my mind.

Last laugh.

I used to go there regularly in the 90s when the pub had live music, but sadly no longer. Why do so many of those one-time music pubs (the Trolley Stop, the Dove etc.) no longer have live music - has it anything to do with the prohibitive cost of a music licence these days?

Now called the vineyard it has had a facelift. Bar is cleaner and nicer. Food is fried fodder of no real impact. Toilets no longer stink, but the actual toilet bowls are still the same, very low and one of the doors doesnt lock in the ladies...We asked for the white wine on offer and was told it was not on - when we asked if there was an alternative we were told no, so at £15 for the cheapest bottle we left!An Upper Street mainstay. Even though the place isn't in any tangible way 'good', you so often seem to end up here, or at least pop in on your way to somewhere else. Even when the only table you can get is right outside the stinky toilets at the back.I stopped in here on saturday morning/lunch time. Friendly staff ok selection of drinks. Food is typical pub grub. I was impressed with this pub until I went to the toilet. They are a disgrace no soap, smelly urinals, big holes in the wall and it looks like the ceiling is about to cave in. Sort your bogs out please as its spoiling a good pub.

I can't entirely agree with davidb. Yes it serves food but at what is really a basic "need to get some food down me" level. It is not a restaurant (unlike Barnsbury next door). Yes they tend to serve fancy lagers and wine but I should point out that the pub here before which served good ales (sometimes) failed.

It is horses for courses and the lunch trade is the best I have seen since it ever, and I have worked here for 20 years.

We are in Islington and I think they've got it about right for the area. Good to see it open again, but now more of a restaurant than a boozer. Fancy lagers are the only option, but the surroundings are pleasant.
I preferred the previous incarnation when it was still a pub, but worth a try if you're in the area.This is not a review as such, but it would be nice and courteous to the new owners if The Regent was recognised by this site as "OPEN", as currently many will be put off going to this marvellous establishment thinking it is still closed.

This place rocks. Love the bar staff. The London Pride is well kept (and another guest beer promised soon if the landlord Matt is not telling porkies). Staro also keeps the 'connoisseur' lager drinkers quiet. Jack the chef serves up mean fodder too. It's a lovely place and never too packed or moody like its neighbour the Queen's Head. It is just far enough up Essex Road to keep the tourists away. A hidden gem.Seems like a decent pub. For some reason looked a bit rough from the outside, even though I double checked on the way out and the exterior's actually quite nice, with it's Victorian tiling.

Nice on the inside too with it's exposed brickwork. Far enough away from Upper Street not to have that frenetic feel. Friendly, effient service. Quite a comfortable and relaxed feeling. Good solid pub.I really like this pub. yes it's had a refurb but the beer is still good and the fire is still warm and the service is still friendly. It's a nice mix of cosy pub, not too shabby and not too islington

Nice enough- interesting interior with assorted taxidermic specimens and so on.

Having heard about the good beer choices I was disappointed by the beer selection (London Pride & TT Landlord, and nothing interesting in bottles). But then again the Wenlock is just around the corner and much more suited for that.

Food was very nice if a tad pricey & of a very gastro sort. Clientele, well I wouldn't say "alarming" but definitely biased toward the gentrification brigade.Creamy stucco walls, various stuffed fowl paraded in glass cases, decent ales on tap, including a divine pint of Black Sheep - all in all, this pub gets a lot of things right. My quibbles involve slightly below average food (one usually expect better from a pub with gastro pretensions like this) and an alarming clientele of Hoxton lookalikes, almost all of whom are clearly aiming to look "different" and yet achieving nothing of the sort.Me and DeggyT plodded in like a pair of drowned rats just before Xmas when we were trying to find the Wenlock without a map and needed a pints worth of splash-and-dash.

Couple of decent ales on, Black Sheep was good, and served in a handled glass as well. Didn't look too put out when I asked where the Wenlock was either, so extra mark there.

Inside was all white-painted wood, 30-watt bulb lighting and a particular kind of ‘distressed’ look, probably added at great expense I imagine. Some nice glasswork along the pubs frontage and a few old oil portraits of long-dead Georgian nobodies along the walls. Looked like food was a high priority here, took a quick look at the menu whilst DeggyT was downloading – looked fairly reasonable in price.

Will pop back in next time I’m on the way to the Wenlock, would like to explore a little more.

So someone does the courtesy of calling you back on an enquiry, you refuse to find a quiet corner to take their call, and they're at fault for your rudeness? Franke Lambe got one fact right at least, sheesh.

Not been in a while, my girlfriend won't allow it as we first hooked up there and she was the last in a lucky streak I only ever seemed to enjoy inside this place. Must be the low lighting. Glad it's still going strong as it was one venue where even the bouncers took the time to treat you as an individual not a cash cow. Went there for the first time in about 3 years, and all I can say is its still one of the best places in Islington by a mile. The bar has had a lick of paint and there’s a downstairs which I can’t remember from before. The music was good and the beer price was average. The next time I’m in north London I see you there.I visited the embassy on Saturday night and had one of the best nights out for a long time. It was a friends birthday and the staff couldn't have been more helpful!!

Everything from the drinks, the atmosphere, the friendly staff - special mention to Frank who was fantastic - and even the DJ was superb, and really made for a good night out!!!

Without doubt, if you visit this venue, you won't be disapointed

Do the staff actually care about serving customers - have now officially given up on this place which is a shame as the food has really improved. However, sick of standing at bar waiting for some affected pseudo-student type wander about behind not bothering to serve as they have a cappucino to make for a mate. Last time I was in Sunday afternoon, not overtly busy but watched five or six people give up at bar and leave pub before we followed ... there were four people behind bar, one making that coffee, one serving and two chatting to each other very obviously avoiding catching the eyes of the drinkers.re-visited for a quick couple of pints on Friday, first time in about 2 years, still a great pub, very laid back relaxing place to drink.Really nice place down St Paul's Road and so off the main drag of Upper Street. This makes it a bit more relaxing and laid-back. Looks a bit like a country pub from the outside.

Strange pub at lunchtime. One never knows if its open or not. Went there today at about 1:30. Doors open, tables ready outside, chef busily doing chef things. Waited 8 minutes and eventually a bemused chap said "we are not open 'til 3". "couldn't you let us know?" "Its not our policy". OK short trip to the better and more friendly Prince Regent.Large open single-room style place, good food and a good place to watch the footie IF you can get a seat. Staff always pleasant but sometimes overwhelmed. Lacks somewhat in atmosphere. Reviewer below was fortunate to visit on a day when there were "no idiots or lager louts in" - there usually are.Ireally enjoyed this pub. I went in for a quick with a work friend on a friday evening but ended up staying for a while because the atmosphere was no nice. Nice candles lighting all tables, back ground music just right, you can hear it but can also hear yourself talk, good pub for the conversationalists!!

Popped in on impulse only to regret it ten minutes later after an unpleasant exchange with the special needs candidate posing as the manager. Listen mate, if you don't like running a pub and if being polite to customers falls outside your skill set, you know what to do. Took our drinks outside to run the gauntlet of Islington stereotypes, red-faced alkys, wannabee gangsta rappers and yummy mummies with £400 pushchairs. Islington never fails to turn me into a homicidal maniac, and people actually choose to live here. Unbelievable.Aye, tis slightly pretentious. A wannabe-gastropub methinks. Still, the beer's ok and averagely priced for the area (well, other than the Kronenbourg Blanc) and they have a big screen for the rugby. Possibly the football aswell but I don't like football... It's also close to work. Speaking of which, what's wrong with old bill drinking there chucknorris?!Expensive and pretentious.

Pretty much in keeping with most pubs around there.