The House

Disappointing. The waiting staff were sour, our waitress had poor English & struggled to understand our order and as a result there were various misunderstandings i.e. our order wasn't carried out in the way we asked. First came here a couple of years ago but it appears to have gone downhill.
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Camellia
3 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 3
Sunday, August 22, 2010

Just moved in to Islington and looked up some reviews for dining out here. The House came up and thought why not try this place out, it had a lot of good reviews on line and a few bad ones too.

So I and my partner made our way here on Thursday evening. We didn’t book but the Waitress managed to get us a table on the terrace, which was perfect to dine on as the weather was so good, and so was everything else.

The food was great and good portion sizes too, I had the Crab and Crayfish Salad to start with a Bloody- mary dressing, worked so well, followed by Sea Trout with Cous Cous and a Red Pepper Sauce which again was delicious. Ted had Duck to start and said it was tasty.

Chicken with Lentils and a Spring roll, also delicious {I tried some of that}

Service was spot on and the bill was what I would have paid for everything we got.

This will be my Islington Local {hopefully will get discounts on future visits}
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K.Adams
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Monday, July 12, 2010

What an exceptional night out in Islington we had here on Saturday night, The House in Islington is a great place to take your friends and dine out, the atmosphere was buzzing and the food is fantastic.

Service could be a little better, maybe employ a few more waiters/waitresses if the place is always that busy??

A bit on the expensive side for a pub, but well worth every Penney.

Will be coming back very soon.
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Matt
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Monday, July 12, 2010

I'm getting to know my local pubs and restaurants, and after success at the Albion and Canonbury I thought i'd give the House a whirl.

The lady at front of house was a delight, getting us a table on the terrace despite us having no booking. Sadly that was the only moment we experienced friendly service. The other waiting staff were heavy handed and grumpy.

The menu looked pretty promising, resulting in my husband and I nearly fighting over who could order what. I plumped for asparagus, duck egg and brown shrimps to start followed by mussels in cider and tarragon. He had scallops with lemon thyme risotto and then chicken with lentils. HA how stupid we were. What sounded delicious on paper was in reality one of the most disappointing parades of dishes we've eaten in a long time. the asparagus starter was crying out for salt and a squeeze of lemon, maybe some bread to mop up the egg? it tasted of very little, and the asparagus was woody....I was willing to forgive this actually until I tasted the scallop starter. Whilst the scallops themselves were cooked very well, the risotto was so overpowered by the thyme that you couldnt taste anything else! What an ill conceived dish!!

Mains were no better...I thought mussels with cider and tarragon might have some sort of sauce...rather than a clear grey broth of basically just herbed hot water! nothing to dip the chips in, no flavour at all. The sauce just needed some cream, some salt, some white wine, some garlic cloves...I'm no chef and I could see what it needed for flavour. Sadly the kitchen didn't.

I think the chicken was OK....we rushed through the mains and legged it home after paying far more than the food deserved. I will not be returning, and urge any locals looking for a good restaurant/pub in N1 to avoid this place.
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Sonia - View all reviews by this user
3 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 2
Tuesday, July 06, 2010

Ate there weekend just gone with family, have had mixed opinions in the past but it seems they are very on the ball, everything was wonderful service and the food, we are going back for my sisters birthday next month cant wait :)
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timmy
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, June 16, 2010

I and my lovely husband had dinner here on Saturday evening, and my god has it improved since my last experience here over Christmas, This was our local a year back and i must say it will be our local again now after the fantastic meal we had.

The Ceviche Menu is a treat and the Trout dish to die for, my Husband had the Rib eye, which he commented on that it was cooked to perfection.

I will now be back to try your Sunday Lunch.
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Emma
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Thursday, June 03, 2010

We have lived in islington for a few years and somehow have managed to avoid The House but were very excited to try it out this Friday evening. The ambience layout and decor of the place is fantastic but sadly that is where our enjoyable experience ended.

The menu looked promising and well thought out including the sourcing and provenance of the food which is important to us. The reality was that our sea bass ceviche was over powered with green peppercorns and too much grapefruit and little thought had been given to allowing the flavour of the fish to feature in the meal. Our main courses were terrible; the mussels (how can a chef mess up mussels) were flavourless and risotto was not cooked properly and bland.

The bill came to £75 which was an insult given the quality of the cooking. We would never go there again which is a shame.
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Philippa white
3 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 0
Monday, May 31, 2010

all thats wrong about some gastropubs. first visit a while back was good enough, sunday was shocking. sat down unattended for 10 mins, asked for bread for the kids 5 times during the meal and instead of the promised fresh-baked stuff, someone must have hightailed it down to londis to get whatever was left on the shelves.

Food quality was sub-standard and prices extortionate (£15 for a pork dish, sides extra). Expertise in describing the provenance, method of capture and cooking style of a dish cannot dress up poor cooking - especially when you can't spell - "Longhorne (sic) beef"? Poor waitress was clearly overstretched to the point of having a running argument with her colleagues. When I showed my annoyance to the guy in charge of service he arrogantly reminded me it was because they were busy (as if that's ever an excuse for incompetence, let alone on mother's day).

The bill arrived and service had timidly been excluded - as if they felt it were best not mentioned. Well at least their corporate masters would have been happy with the takings for the day.
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drake ramoray
2 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 0
Tuesday, March 16, 2010

We eat out a lot and quite simply The House is the most reliable local restaurant (and there are dozens) in tems of food, service and ambience. The staff are informative, the menus wide enough and the cooking is always top level. This is where we go when want a guaranteed good night out.
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andrew bernhardt
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Maybe there has been a change in management but my wife and I popped in last Thursday and had a lovely meal. The staff were friendly and attentive and the food was delicious.

We started off by sharing the scallops which was served with a delicious parsnip puree and a crunchy piece of pancetta. Sublime. For our main courses my wife ordered the Shepherd's Pie not usually associated with fine dinning but The House certainly pulled it off. Deep flavors set off with the most tasty potato topping. I had pork with puy lentils with was excellent although would be devine if served with more jus. To finish a yummy crumble with creme anglais.

Highly recommended.
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James
7 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, October 14, 2009