Toffs

This place has gone downhill. The chips have been undercooked the last few times we've been, The batter is soggy rather than crispy and the fish just doesn't seem as fresh as it used to be. The service is slow and the decor is just depressing and uncomfortable. We used to go all the time to Toffs, but rarely bother any more.
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Carol
4 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 4
Tuesday, March 12, 2013

We live in Muswell Hill and have been going to Toffs for almost 10 years and it is consistently excellent. In fact I think it delivers more consistently than pretty well every other restaurant I have been too. Staff friendly and fish - we always have grilled - is always spot on. We have never had cause to complain about anything. Toffs rightly has a great reputation and it protects it by delivering very well indeed. We have never had a take away, but there always seems to be a queue.
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Michael
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, January 29, 2013

I wonder whether Toffs has an evil doppelganger, because I simply don't recognise the restaurant described in other reviews. I've been coming to the restaurant for many years, and have never been disappointed by the chips, the fish, or the service. And no, I'm not a gullible pushover. Nor am I alone: the restaurant is always full to bursting, and the queue for take-away is always lengthy and good-humoured. I've always found the staff very attentive, courteous, and very good-humoured, and the owner is always friendly, polite, and concerned for his customers. It's a friendly, bustling, neighbourhood restaurant with great atmosphere and a reasonable wine-list.

Cheer up, folks - it doesn't sound like the much-loved and very popular Muswell Hill favourite. The fish is always really fresh and the chips have never yet arrived cold. As for reheating them - that sounds like a silly calumny. Why would they bother?
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Martin Bailey
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, October 16, 2012

I have grown up in Muswell Hill, and remember going to Toffs as a child. We have been three times in the last 18 months or so, and today was the last straw. We returned the last two times because I was convinced we must have had a couple of bad days, but I'm afraid 3 strikes and you're out. Fish smelled and tasted of ammonia, and the flesh had the consistency of the mushy peas we had with it, chips were chewy and lukewarm, and the chicken I bought my daughter was drier than the Sahara! It is a crying shame, as my memories of this place are of absolute top quality food. This is a classic example of a restaurant riding on former glory thinking that no-one will notice if they drop their standards. Our local humble kebab shop offers far superior chips (chips, not fries), and at a fraction of the price. Don't believe the hype, this place simply does not live up to it's historical reputation.
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Ben
2 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 1
Saturday, August 25, 2012

If proof were needed that when it comes to success in restaurant business that there is no substitute for “position” then this is most certainly it – for surely it can’t be because of the food!
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Howard Popeck - View all reviews by this user
2 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 4
Tuesday, July 03, 2012

I must have got a bad day for the staff, for they were appalling. I was convinced to go for the main meal offer rather than starter and chips which I originally asked for and was deliberately misled that this would be cheaper. Lo and behold the bill was more - that's one thing, but the manager made no effort to diffuse the situation, and I found him aggressive. Funny - the difference was only a pound, so this would have been the tip if I had left one. Foolish PR. Best avoided. Ruined my day.
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1 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Friday, December 17, 2010