The Winchester

I live around and the Winchester was clearly one of the best place in Angel to party and enjoy time with friends. However, since 2012, they changed their security staff, and they are now brutal and unrespectful. The staff is agressive and I saw some of them attacking and pushing people for no reason, which is unfair and frustrating. I will boycott this place for this reason.

I have walked past this place a million times, it just never appealled to me.
So last Sunday i was delighted to discover a really pleasant corner of Islington. To be far, Islington has a lot of pleasant places, so why choose this one?

Unusual Decor
Cute, well thought out, able to reserve large areas, Booths available (i love a booth) Mad Hatter style details (top hat lamp shades, Dining chars on the ceiling, and so forth) yet light, with plently of room to move around

Food
Really nice, good value (we found that our Sunday roast 2 for 1 offer did not disappoint) Crumble and custard to follow recommended

Drinks
Cocktails served in teapots and jam jars, a really comprehensive menu of drinks which demonstrated imagination and consideration

Staff
Honestly could not have been more accomodating. Made a bespoke cocktail for one of our party to suit her needs, responsive, quick , efficient and very affable

The Winchester on Essex Road serves an excellent Christmas luch and very quaffable wine. Staff is friendly and discretely helpful- they don't come to the table to ask if everything is ok, but are there when needed. My impression was one of understated stylishness, everything from food to interior is done with a sort of calm confidence, never going over the top.
The collection of board games makes you feel as if they don't want you to leave!
I'll be back soon!

You know that torrid story about the bird behind the bar you really shouldn't tell anyone, but do, after several pints and a banter? Well this very pub has one very such story that I could be persuaded to recount to one lucky Qyper over a beverage, but just couldn't put it down on virtual paper, it's too damn RUDE!

The crazy cats and I pitched up at this very smart, full of character pub on a blissful Sunday summer's afternoon. However, I spent the vast majority of my time chinwagging in the bogs. I can hereby testify that crouching down in a cubicle (foetal position) is not comfortable. At all. Otherwise a lovely boozer, great for people watching in this wonderful strip of Islington.

A very wooden pub, which on entering can't help but suggest real ale. A pint of Pride, it creaks. Perhaps an IPA or three, it insists. But no, it's just lager here, plus Guinness and bottled Old Peculiar. When will they learn? Good wood, though.

Went here on a Friday early evening with some friends, for food and some drinks - so sat in the restaurant part. It wasn't busy, but table service was slow and one of our starters orders was completely forgotten about!

When the mains finally arrived, the chips were so salty nobody would eat them. Sent back, but they returned just as bad.

Two of us had Winchester special burger, neither of which was cooked as we asked, and mine was cold. By this point we were all so hungry we didn't care, so ate anyway.

Nice manager did take on board our complaints and knocked some money off the bill. But still was a bit expensive.

“Where’s Safe? Where’s Familiar? Where Can I Smoke? THE WINCHESTER!”

Unfortunately you can’t smoke in this particular Winchester, but it’s still a nice little bar. Nice interior (feels more like a bar than a pub though) with comfortable leather sofas and armchairs. The bar staff were exceptional in here last night - very busy, but always smiling and cracking jokes. No real ale here, but plenty of lagers on tap - Sagres, Heineken, Kirin Ichiban are among about 7 lagers they have on draft. We ordered snack food (so i can’t really comment on the food) but the sharing platters that arrived were tasty and decent enough for a large group.

All in all, the Winchester is a great bar for a birthday party or a quiet Sunday drink. Highly recommended.

I’m a resident DJ here and i’ve had my birthday party here: check out the listings for DJ Stoney M. Seconds from Angel tube, great food, parking easy after 7 outside. Funkadelic.

If you’ve ever walked around Angel you’ll know there’s a proliferation of places to eat and drink, but unfortunately the quality of these establishments varies wildly, which is why I was dubious about trying the Winchester- Any place that offers a large range of 2for1’s normally spells trouble in this neck of the woods. I needn’t have worried; the service, atmosphere and food were all great quality, as were the cocktails. I went on a Sunday for the 2for1 roasts and cocktails, and happily chomped on a free-range chicken breast with lots of fresh veg and crisp roast potatoes with extra gravy- I like my Sunday meals to be heavily lubricated to make the eating process a little easier to handle- and sipped daintily on a mojito, and came out with change from a tenner and a much depreciated hangover.
The interior is really comfortable with big sofas ideal for chilling out on, and apparently they show films here some nights, as well as having DJs on the weekends. Definitely a nice local place and a damn sight better than some other local offerings.

This is always my late night backup option for any night out in Angel. Its a fairly large venue, with decent drinks and reasonable prices. Open until about 4am at the weekends, you never have to queue to get in (£3 entry). Has a downstairs dance floor, with good music. Worth checking out if BarrioNorth or Old Queens Head is too busy.

Serves nice food during the day apparently.

The Winchester is a cosy gastro pub serving cocktails and food all day long. Original decoration, the atmosphere is really nice and the staff very friendly. I definitely recommend this place to cocktail lovers!

Just a few doors down from renounded DJ pub, The Old Queens Head, is The Winchester. By day it sells good food, decent roasts on Sundays (at one point they were doing two for one, but not sure if that’s still happening), and has big screens in the cellar downstairs for sports matches. By night there’s a DJ (Thurs, Fri and Sat) and it’s open late: till 3am on the weekend I believe. It’s free in too, so it’s a good alternative to the place up the road if you’re looking for a fun night with friends and a bit of music. Not really much room to dance though. They also hire out the room downstairs for private parties. A decent boozer, worth a visit.

The Winchester is a lovely pub that I discovered just recently for the European Championship final - and frankly, the final was the only thing that wasn’t to my taste (being German…) - but the pub is really great! It’s got a very nice interior, an interesting mix of traditional wall paper, thick golden picture frames and fancy modern orangey lights. It was a good place to watch the game too, not overly crowded, but not too lonely either. We all ordered their Sunday roast, which is served until 8pm, and it was good indeed (well, the potatoes could have been better, but apart from that!). Yummy! They have lots of different international beers and do cocktails too. I haven’t tried those myself, but they looked damn good! Overall, this is a great, original pub to which I will definitely return.