The Junction Tavern

This is a very good gastropub. I was taken by a friend who knows Tufnell Park well. He said the Juntion Tavern was one of the best gastropubs in the area and he wasn't wrong.

The starter was some very good gravadlax on bruscetta followed by steak & chips and because I was feeling greedy a chocolate brownie and ice cream dessert.

Washed down with a couple of bottles of wine it came to about £40-a-head Not cheap but the ingredients didn't taste cheap either.

The service was also very good.
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Julian Bailey
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Saturday, July 19, 2008

Great place. I lived nearby for years, but never visited. Good Guinness. Good selection of starters - I had sweetbreads with broadbeans on toast - very tasty. Nice drop of pinot noir (it was a warm evening). waiter wore a spiderman t-shirt and was very friendly. Strangely, I ordered the vegetarian option for main - feta, pea and potato samosas. Whilst not strictly being samosas (more of a quesadilla type thing) they were totally delicious and the salad was fresh and tasty. One criticism - he cheese at the end was way too warm - too sweaty by far.

If you live anywhere near here, I would advise you go. I'm not a huge fan of gastro pubs - but this one is brilliant.
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Coops
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Saturday, May 31, 2008

Although I am spoilt for choice when it comes to good local pubs, the Junction Tavern definitely rates as my favourite to while away an evening.

Firstly, it has the most wonderful lighting, dim and candle-lit, which sets off its old-fashioned wood panelled interior to perfection. Secondly, it serves top notch food. And lastly, it is one of the few pubs I have visited on my own as a woman and not felt intimidated or just plain weird for doing so.

Because it’s popular with locals, it always has a warm buzzing atmosphere without a hint of aggression. Plus the staff are all friendlyand go out of their way to help, even when run off their feet. All the ‘extras’ aside, the Junction Tavern still takes its alcohol seriously. It has regular real ale nights and serves up a wide range of wine and spirits. In fact, if you’re into red wine, check out their delicious Nero D’Avola!

The only criticism I can make is that occasionally when it comes to the menu, its starters can be more creative than its main courses. But on those nights, I order a variety of starters and treat them as tapas.

Last night, a friend and I popped in quite late for food. With two minutes to spare before they shut the kitchen, a table was found and our order taken without a murmur. We shared a tomato and mozzarella starter followed by wild boar sausages served with creamy mash, savoy cabbage, apple, mustard and gravy. It was a simple meal made fabulous by the quality of the ingredients and cooking.

My friend left impressed and rightly so!
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Tanya D
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Monday, May 26, 2008

Am really surprised to read all of these nasty comments about the Junction staff - I've been coming here for about five years and have always found them to be polite & friendly. I suspect jealous rival operators at work here - the Junction is always crammed full, whereas nearby pubs are struggling to find customers......
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Janice B
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Monday, April 28, 2008

I phoned ahead and booked a table and pre-ordered lunch for 8 people today. i The building is lovely and the pub has a nice setting. The food was ok - nothing special and things were alright generally. However, when we went to pay at the bar, we wanted to pay separately for our bill (something we had done on a previous occassion). The staff member made a quite a loud comment to another member of staff saying how she hoped we wouldn't all be paying separately by credit cards as that would take ages. The staff member then told us to just divide the bill evenly between ourselves - even though we had asked to pay for our food separately. The staff member was quite rude about it - I subsequently told her that we would not be doing it again as we would not be visiting the pub again.
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G. King
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 3
Friday, April 18, 2008

ii booked a table for 13 adults, 3 toddlers and two babies on good friday. they gave us a table in the conservatory so we would have plenty of space and the kids could go in and out to the garden.

we had such a great lunch that we stayed for five hours! service was really great. they bought drinks to our table regularly, all the mains arrived together and piping hot. portions were quite small for the price but the food was beautifully cooked.

i made a birthday cake which we had for dessert. they were really nice about this, bringing us forks, plates and even washing up my cake plate to take home again!

i was shocked to read to reviews on here. it makes me scared to go back again. what a shame because it was the best lunch we'd had for ages. the staff were really nice about our toddlers running about and couldn't have been more helpful..
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caz curtis
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Friday, March 28, 2008

First of all they asked for our credit card before ordering. Then we waited ages for our meal. Pricey.
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Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Tuesday, December 11, 2007

We went to the Junction for an evening meal at the weekend and were very pleased with the experience. The menu is always imaginative and the ingredients and cooking are way better than the prices would indicate. We invariably find the staff to be as friendly as they are proficient - and are surprised at the negative comments about them.
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Nosher
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, November 12, 2007

I would agrree about the management, they seem very complacent. I can;t believe the state of the toilets - the mens are an absolute disgrace , like something in a working mens club. Whats more the smoking ban means the whole pub stinks of them.

They must be making a fortune from great beer and food it would be good if they could invest some of the profits back into the building.
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Peter Mattravers
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Tuesday, August 07, 2007

I would agree with the above complimentary comments if it wasn't for the pub's current management. This is a lovely building, with a fine selection of beers and always used to be friendly. The current management clearly do not value the customers. Many of my friends who have been going there for years have left and gone elsewhere for a pint but I have tried to remain loyal. However, it is becoming difficult when the senior staff seem determined to sneer and scourn their way through the evening making the customers and other members of staff very uncomfortable. I hope something is done soon so I can get back to enjoying my local pub again.
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byan - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 5
Thursday, August 02, 2007