The St Johns Tavern, Archway - pub details
Address: 91 Junction Road, London, N19 5QU [map] [gmap]
Tel: 020 7272 1587
Archway (0.1 miles), Tuffnell Park (0.5 miles)
Upper Holloway (0.3 miles), Gospel Oak (1 mile), Crouch Hill (1 mile)
Pub facilities/features:
- Food served, Real ale
Pub suggested by Matt on 14 Apr 2003
NB: Information may be incomplete or out of date as this pub is not currently registered.
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> Current user rating: 5.7/10 (rated by 40 users)
> Local guides: London pub guide, North London pub guide
other pubs nearby:
Lion, Archway (0.1 miles), Drum and Monkey, Archway (0.1 miles), Mother Red Cap, Archway (0.1 miles), Archway Tavern, Archway (0.2 miles), New Brunswick, Highgate (0.2 miles) - see more nearby pubs
user reviews of the St Johns Tavern, Archway
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 41 shown - see all reviews
| I had the misfortune of going to this place last night (a Monday night). we had rung in advance to see if we could get a table for 5 and were told that it was fine as they were not busy. we got there(2 of us) at 7.15 to be greeted by a surly guard of a woman who asked us since the others had not arrived to go to the bar. we peered into the restaurant and noticed that it was crowded out by at least on couple and all the other tables were empty. Two bored staff were chatting away to one side. It took several attempts to get passed this pubescent but finally she agreed that they were not busy and we could sit down and wait for our friends. We brushed passed the tumbleweed into our cramped booth. Within a blink of an eye she was there asking us what drinks we would like, we asked her to give us a minute and well trained as she was: dead on 60 seconds she was back. Our friends arrived, we choose our drinks and meal and started to relax. The wine was ceremoniously plonked onto the table and an order for coke took a good half an hour. Throughout our time here we were regarded as an imposition and irritation by the staff. If surly became an Olympic event than these staff would be in with a big shout for gold in 2012. The food was okay and I think the kitchen did a good job but the front staff were obsessed with their attitude problems. Obviously this place is perfectly placed amongst the kebab shops, the pound shops and the homeless of archway and that is why the staff are so snooty. Are they trying to make something here? The locality is fine without this pretentious restaurant/pub. ... At the end of our meal we were presented with a bill. The service charge was included on the bill. We refused to include this when we paid. The staff member was bemused by this and the discretionary part of the bill had to be pointed out to him (you see, the female guard has already decided she was bored with us). This apparently had never happened before..hmm. The service charge is for service not for us to be made to feel uncomfortable and resentful. This place is terrible and I urge everyone to ignore this pseudo gastro pub restaurant until the management understands that it will run out of customers very soon if it does not improve. Maybe they can't be bothered, it certainly seems that way. keiths - 5 Feb 2008 10:42 |
| Good looking pub with wonderful dining room - spoiled by truly awful, surly service and average food. This place used to be an excellent gastro-pub but has gone completely down hill. We were pretty much ignored by our waitress. The last time I had to raise my arm to attract someone’s attention was 24 years ago when I was at school. We felt like we was interrupting her every time we asked for something. Our avocado salad was dressed with olive oil – no vinegar. When I asked for some balsamic I was told that they had run out of it, but the waitress would speak to the kitchen to see what they could do. That was nice of her! When it came to paying I removed some of the discretionary service charge and left. We were chased down the road by the waitress. The waitress didn’t understand the word discretionary and thought we’d under-paid. I explained that I wasn’t paying for the surly service and I would have told her that in the pub if I could have attracted her attention. This place is ok for a drink, but eat there at your own peril! DougieT - 5 Feb 2008 10:18 |
| What have they done to this place?! I use to love coming to gigs here years ago. I've lost count of the bands i have seen here Now its a gastro type effort What is it when "middle class ex students" move to an area they forget what attracted them there in the first place and convert the pubs to one of the bland efforts they left behind?! tottenhamsean - 13 Jan 2008 17:34 |
| Really disappointing meal. I went for sunday lunch with 3 friends; my roast was overpriced and undercooked. Going by other reviews it looks like standards here have slipped over time; the service was really poor, our waiter seemed so aloof we thought he'd forgotten us. But the worst bit came last, when we were told to leave our table and move into the bar area (where there was hardly any room) even though there was nobody waiting for our table - infact there were 12 empty tables in the restaurant! I regret giving this place the benefit of the doubt and definitely advise you eat elsewhere. kate_ - 29 Oct 2007 21:50 |
| Don't know about the food, but why are the bar staff all so miserable? Potentially the best boozer around. Chose this place after I failed to get served at the Palmerston around the corner. At least I got served, but a smile & a thank you wouldn't hurt too much. milfer - 28 Oct 2007 01:27 |
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