The Prince Arthur

Having eaten here a few times and loved it, I took a group of friends on Saturday night and couldn't believe how far standards have slipped - I wish we'd just gone for the local turkish. Rabbit pasty was dry, undercooked and served with a weirdly oil-free bean salad. So dry I had to drench the whole thing in tomato sauce. The other special was a steak pie, which was oversalted and we were told 'you should order a side with this as it doesn't really come with anything.' Cheeky!! Service was on the snooty side, and a bottle of wine that should have gone on the bill didn't, so one person had to pay for it on top of the meal - though this was the waitress's fault she did nothing to remedy the situation, and you can't make a fuss over things like that when the bill has already been divided up. I was going to have a sunday lunch there after my wedding but won't bother now – there's too many good value restaurants around to bother with these profit hungry gastro-franchises.
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Zoe
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 1
Monday, July 14, 2008

Love it, love it, love it!!!!

Tasty food, excellent wines, friendly service, beautifull building, what mare can I say?
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Nicola
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, April 29, 2008

I read about The Prince Arthur in the Guardian a few weeks ago, and thought I would give it a try this weekend. I was pleaseantly suprised. Although I didn't book, they managed to find me a table amongst the considerable number of other diners. I started with a lovely gravadlax with blinis and horseradish cream, which went very well with the delicious bottle of rose the waitress recomended. I then had the steak, mushroom and ale pie, which was exactly as a pie sould be, thick gravy, tender pieces of steak, topped with shortcrust pastry, and served with a generous helping of creamy mash, perfect on a rainy day.

Unfortunately, after all this, I was unable to sample the desserts, but I shall certainly be returning soon to try these.

In all I was very impressed with both the food, and the service, which was attentive, but not over bearing, if you are in the area, I suggest you visit!
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Sarah
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Having eaten here before a couple of times and been content with the food and service, it was quite a nasty surprise to find that not only has the quality of the food declined but also the service. Attempting to eat the lamb (unsuccessfully) was what I imagine it would be like if I ever decided to chomp my way through the soles of my brogues! The nettle soup or should I say cream soup (no nettles to be seen) was like, er...cream! The service was stressful and rushed and for a big group of us (fifteen to be exact) spending a decent sum of money, we were most definitely not serviced! What was once a promising new local pub has certainly now lost and previously held credentials. Sorry chaps, you've certainly let things slip somewhat.
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Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 1
Monday, April 28, 2008

I had Sunday lunch at the Prince Arthur a few days ago, Easter Sunday in fact, with 3 friends from the other side of London. They were initially a little sceptical about going for a roast in a Hackney pub, but once we arrived, they were rather impressed with my choice.

We were greeted by a friendly barman, who seated us at our reserved table quickly, we were fortunate enough to be seated on the comfy banquette seating, where we surrounded ourselves with papers, and possibly the best bloody Marys I have ever tasted, celery and all!

Our roasts were served to us quickly, the medium rare beef with home made horseradish cream was marvellous, but I think it was the nut roast that was the biggest hit on the table, it even came with its own Yorkshire pudding.

Although the roast were pretty huge, we still had to have a dessert. I opted for the homemade ice creams, Baileys and butterscotch, coffee, and plum, topped with chocolate fudge, while the others shared the famous deep fried jam sandwich. Both were absolutely delicious, although I did have to envy the carnation milk ice cream served to my friends with the sandwich.

By this time we thought we couldn't eat another bite, that was until chocolate eggs came with our bill!

Our bill was reasonable considering we also had a few bottles of a very nice Argentinian Malbec, and quite a few of those bloody marys.

All in all I think the Prince Arthur is wonderfull pub in which to enjoy good food and wine in relaxed surroundings.
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Jenny
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Having just moved to London Fields, I simply had to spend my first few weeks checking out the local pubs and restaurants. I must admit, initially I was rather dissapointed, finding only over priced, over cooked dinning, in unimaginative surroundings. Then I found The Prince Arthur.

It took a while, as it is hidden a bit out of the way, but once I got there, I never wanted to leave! I knew I was off to a good start when the friendly bar staff were able to answer all my questions regarding the history of this beutifully

restored building. The menu was British based, with some more adventurous specials. I choose a ham hock and smoked black pudding terrine, followed by grilled pollock with savoy cabbage and saute baby potatoes. Both were fabulous, but surpassed by the sticky toffee pudding, which was, without a doubt, the best I have ever tasted. There was good selection of wines by the glass, and my partner enjoyed the reals ales, which he said were definately the best in the area.

We left very impressed with the Prince Arthur, we have found our new local.
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Amanda
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, February 07, 2008

I ate dinner here with two friends on a fairly busy (but not overly busy) Friday night. Having eaten at The White Swan on Fetter Lane on numerous occasions (which is always very good both in the restaurant and bar) I was keen to see what my new local had to offer under the same owners.

The pub and kitchen are small but very nicely decked out. The staff are friendly and attentive. There is no set dining area and few tables so booking is essential for weekends.

My friends had beetroot & goats cheese salad to start with, which by all accounts was pretty ordinary if not a rather mean helping of both beetroot and cheese. I had a rabbit terrine to start with which was tasty, but it was accompanied by a very mean helping of toast (single toasted slice of ciabatta) and chutney. Overall, starters satisfactory but not outstanding. To follow we had roast pork belly, which was very dry with no flavour, in fact so dry I couldn't finish it. Roast pork belly should come with an ample amount of crackling, but this amounted to two pork sratchings detatched from the pork belly which lay on top (weird). One of my friends had chicken pie (with ceps & blue cheese) which was again mean; all sauce and not much filling, possibly akin to a ready meal pie. We didn't stay for dessert. The bill wasn't huge, but with disappointing food i wouldn't say 'value for money'. The wine list is fair.

I am not sure I would bother with the pub for food again as I was disappointed -it is a pleasant enough place for a drink & a bag of nuts.
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Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5
Monday, January 14, 2008