The Barnsbury reviews
Had a surprisingly wonderful meal at the Barnsbury last night. Meltingly tender rib eye beef steak, perfect fat chips and excellent herb crusted lamb. Each of our mains came with a side dish as well, which I thought was a nice touch. Banana and toffee pudding was way too heavy though, like eating cooked rubber.
The fact that all the tables had 'Reserved' signs on them and were empty up until 8.30pm probably contributed to the fact that it was pretty quiet for a Saturday night. The pub needs to be more welcoming to drinkers.
We've just had our Valentine's Day dinner at The Barnsbury and patted ourselves on the back for making an inspired choice of venue. It felt very relaxed and great to have the full menu choice instead of a set price, Valentine's Day menu. Food was excellent and a notch up from when we first ate there a couple of years ago. Fantastic bakewell tart and French apple pie for pudding. Lovely presentation and very fine for a gastropub.
I agree that the service could be a little bit warmer, but that's the tricky bit about being a gastropub. Trying to combine top-notch food in a pub setting where people would like restaurant service but the staff are caught in between pub culture and restaurant culture. The food, though, is really good.
Was impressed with this place on previous visits, but impressive newspaper reviews have clearly gone to their head. Rude staff who don't like people popping in for a drink alone and start to treat you as a second-class citizen if you do. If it wants to be just a restaurant they should rip out the bar and be done with it. A very disappointing development for what used to be a place I would recommend.
by Gavin, 24 Oct 2005I have never been treated with such contempt and rudeness. The staff and owners should be congratulated on being so incredibly successful that they don't need my custom, or that of my 15 friends that they asked to leave on Saturday night. They were happy to take our money all evening, and then told us that there were too many of us and we had to leave and made it clear that we would not be welcomed back. We are not a rowdy bunch of people, nor were we drunk - in fact many of us don't drink.
If the Barnsbury can't cope with groups then they should advertise that fact, or better still make it a members club. They say they are a restaurant, but the main feature is the large bar in the centre of the room and menus are not prominent. The sign outside the place states that it is a freehouse... Keep the management happy and avoid this place at all costs.
A terrible pub. Rude staff, overpriced drinks, slow service, tiny helpings and average food. I will never eat there again.
by Maceface, 23 Oct 2005Lovely staff, quiet location, high standards with reasonable prices and excellent food.
by faye, 18 Sep 2005We like this place. We have consistently had great food here and it is always pleasantly relaxed for an area where Upper Street and some of the other main thoroughfares can seem like Torremolinos on a bad night. Go and enjoy!
by Ricky, 22 Jun 2004Have we missed a great gastro pub in London? Let us know.
Photograph © The Barnsbury
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