St Johns

I used to live near St Johns and we went with my husbands lots. It was our first visit after a few years last weekend and I immediately remembered why I liked going there so much. Fantastic atmosphere, great food and the pavlova is always to die for. We straight away booked in to go again!
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Joanna
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, June 24, 2008

The bar staff is rude and looked like we are bothering them when placing an order. Never ate there as the bar experience was my first and last drink there. They should change the whole bar staff.
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Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Sunday, May 04, 2008

It had been a while since I'd last visited St Johns, and I had heard some mixed reviews from friends. As usual, the menu was full of simple, tasty, earthy dishes, and as usual I struggled to chose. With a table of 7 we covered a reasonable number of dishes on the menu. Starters eaten were crab bisque (tasty, but too tomatoey and not quite fishey enough), goats cheese tart (not close to being cheesy enough), soused mackerel (light and delicate and well spiced) and rabbit rillette (rich, gamey and buttery) - so 2 good, one not bad and one disappointing. Mains followed a similar theme ....... veal and pancetta steamed pudding (my friend couldn't stop singing its praises), sea bass with tapenade (well cooked fish, tasty sauce), coley in beer batter and chips (great chips, decent fish and batter), haloumi and squash parcel (all squash and no haloumi - disappointing). Moving swiftly to puddings - I was devastated to discover that the apple, cinnamon and nut crumble had sold out by about 10 pm, and disappointed that they hadn't prepared enough. Considering at this time the restaurant was half full with maybe 30 covers still to order desert, I thought there a certain lack of planning to run out so early. Chocolate and caramel slice was very much enjoyed by a few members of the party and I had to console myself with a bowl of excellent, sweet, light and frothy custard.

Service was friendly and attentive (as I have always found it - although I would concede that it has been a little slow on occasion).

All in all, St Johns delivers good quality and well cooked solid British food. There is nothing fancy about the dishes they prepare, and if you want something light and subtle then I'd suggest you go elsewhere. Dishes sometimes fall short of expectations, but overall it continues to deliver.
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littlehippie
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Sunday, March 23, 2008

Went here on Saturday night with my partner. Arrived half an hour early, asked the waiter if he could seat us early, and after a drink in the bar we were seated ten minutes before our reservation. The waitress was impeccable and one of the best I have had outside of a five star restaurant. As with the Junction the waiters around junction road seem to be proud practitioners of their art, confident, competent and easy to talk to. The meal was fantastic, mussels for her, scallops for me as starters both good and extremely generous. Asked the waitress to recommend a bottle of wine and she did, and it was excellent, silky and powerful, a great compliment to the steaks we had for dinner which were cooked perfectly. The chips that came with this meal were as good as those other very famous chips served just outside London. There was no room for desert, no matter how good it looked. The ambiance was a real buzz, conversation humming from the groups of foor. The room was stunning in a down to earth way, given a very eclectic arty edge by the large wall of paintings and the high bronze ceiling. Recommended. Lots.

On the rating below, Locanda Locatelli would be a 10, so 7 is a top mark for something of this kind.
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Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Friday, March 07, 2008

I went there last week after long absence (could not agree with service there, so it took for a while for me to take a courage to go back) only to find the reason why this place got such a mixed reviews. My food was very good. Spanish fusions in good ingredients. Starters were nice (laser clams with chorizo) but portion was very small. For the main, meat. was a bit leathery but seabass was good. However, service was very snotty as before. I only hope the tip we left just go to kitchen staff, not to the floor staff who, i have to say, if they are not happy to serve, should not work in the restaurant! They really jeopardize whole experience. Don't underestimate the customers. The point to do dinner locally is we want to get 100 relaxed like at home without worrying about the way to be back etc. In this, I rather go to OK food places with humanly warm service. Unfortunately the visit will be definitely our last visit to this place. Three of us agreed it silently. Adios.
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Suk - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 4
Friday, February 15, 2008

Took my boyfriend last night for his birthday and we were both very impressed. The dining room is wonderfully characterful, and feels special enough for a a celebration. Food was excellent, especially the beef rib which was cooked to perfection. Our starters were slightly slow to arrive, for which our waitress apologised and, unprompted, offered us desserts on the house - very impressive customer service. Two courses each plus a bottle of wine and water was just under £60 - incredibly good value for the high quality of the food we had. Will definitely go back.
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Alison
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Monday, February 11, 2008

I had the misfortune of going to this place last night (a Monday night). we had rung in advance to see if we could get a table for 5 and were told that it was fine as they were not busy. we got there(2 of us) at 7.15 to be greeted by a surly guard of a woman who asked us since the others had not arrived to go to the bar. we peered into the restaurant and noticed that it was crowded out by at least on couple and all the other tables were empty. Two bored staff were chatting away to one side. It took several attempts to get passed this pubescent but finally she agreed that they were not busy and we could sit down and wait for our friends. We brushed passed the tumbleweed into our cramped booth. Within a blink of an eye she was there asking us what drinks we would like, we asked her to give us a minute and well trained as she was: dead on 60 seconds she was back. Our friends arrived, we choose our drinks and meal and started to relax. The wine was ceremoniously plonked onto the table and an order for coke took a good half an hour. Throughout our time here we were regarded as an imposition and irritation by the staff. If surly became an Olympic event than these staff would be in with a big shout for gold in 2012. The food was okay and I think the kitchen did a good job but the front staff were obsessed with their attitude problems. Obviously this place is perfectly placed amongst the kebab shops, the pound shops and the homeless of archway and that is why the staff are so snooty. Are they trying to make something here? The locality is fine without this pretentious restaurant/pub. ... At the end of our meal we were presented with a bill. The service charge was included on the bill. We refused to include this when we paid. The staff member was bemused by this and the discretionary part of the bill had to be pointed out to him (you see, the female guard has already decided she was bored with us). This apparently had never happened before..hmm. The service charge is for service not for us to be made to feel uncomfortable and resentful. This place is terrible and I urge everyone to ignore this pseudo gastro pub restaurant until the management understands that it will run out of customers very soon if it does not improve. Maybe they can't be bothered, it certainly seems that way.
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keith sargent
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Ate here for the first time on Sunday. Excellent food, charming and efficient service, and a warm cosy atmosphere on a cold night. We had three courses plus coffee and a bottle of wine for £35 a head: not dirt cheap, but worth it for generous helpings of consistently good quality food.
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Tuesday, December 04, 2007

I can only add to those who do not understand the negative review or two on here. My wife and I have been going to St Johns for a few years now and always enjoy going there.

The gently bohemian atmos, good relaxed staff and decent food make it a fine deal for the money. Decent wine list too.

If you want somewhere more picky and precise then head into town and spend more but don't knock this place for having done a fine job for years now.
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Jani Moodinen
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, November 21, 2007

I have eaten here on about 4 occasions and really enjoyed it every time. The food is really good and the service is polite. I would recommend this restaurant.
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Sophie d - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Saturday, November 03, 2007