Great atmosphere, works till relatively late! Drinks super tasty:) staff's also firendly read more

The Alwyne Castle - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

See all

Remembering this place from years back when I visited with my mum while living in London in 2012, I sought it out as a locale in which to have a holiday lunch with my partner and their siblings this winter. We made a reservation for 3pm on December 24th and requested the table by the fireplace. After walking over from Dalston, we enjoyed settling in to the couches by the fire (too bad it's an electronic fireplace though). The atmosphere was appropriately festive, and we enjoyed the warmth, both physical and aesthetic. The mantlepiece decorated with white candles and baubles was a nice touch. After ordering a round of drinks (they've got a great gin selection, nice variety of beers on tap, and nonalcoholic beverages) we perused the wintry menu. The four of us split a starter of grilled piquillo peppers served with Maldon salt. Delicious. Then on to the mains: I'm vegan, and was blown away by the impossible burger with cheese on a brioche bun served with chips, all 100% plant based. Probably the best burger I've had in years. My partner had the braised pork belly with cavolo nero and mustard mash. Their sister ordered the herbed roasted chicken breast with winter roast veg and Yorkshire pudding, and their brother opted for the fish and chips. All were excellently cooked--I cheekily stole bites from everyone since I'm not going to order meat but I'm enough of a foodie to try a morsel here and there for the grand cause of taste-testing. Special props on the crispy fish and chips. Not a soggy bit in the lot. We enjoyed our visit, staying to play some board games at our fireside table after eating. Service was friendly and menu options were enticing. I hope to visit again once social distancing and pandemic protections allow me to feel safe doing so. read more

I loved this pub while I was staying in London. I always make an effort when I return to grab a meal and a pint here. Good food, good pours, and a fantastic place to watch football. Can't ask for much more than that! read more

On New Years Day after Dog eat Dog, we all fancied desserts and thought it wouldn't be too difficult to find in Islington, How wrong we were!!! We went up and down upper street and the places were either closed for the day or we didn't like the look of their dessert menu, someone remembered this pub, so we came here and it was lovely. The atmosphere was nice, we luckily managed to get the table by the fireplace and it was so nice and warm. We all managed to find something for dessert that we liked. I had the cheesecake which was lovely, I know some others didn't enjoy their desserts as they found it too sweet or too dry. It is a lovely place not far from Highbury & Islington Station, can imagine it getting extremely busy during Arsenal Matches at home. read more

The Alwyne Castle - Dessert menu!! - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

I bought a chicken snitzel for £14.50 and it definitely was wasn't worth the money as it was bland and only came with a tiny salad so I was still hungry. Though the starters were good, would only order those if I was to come back. Drink prices are also overpriced, £11.50 for a double! Priciest I have had in this area and I have been to most pub bars around here. read more

Oh, I loved this place. Spent a drizzly Sunday here on cozy couches, from the afternoon through the evening. Grabbed a Scrabble game and used the tiles to play rounds and rounds of Bananagrams. Sipped some damn good IPAs. Nibbled on hummus. Chatted through the night. I love the warmness and coziness of this pub, and all the comfy sofas and nooks in which to sit. I could spend many lazy Sundays here. read more

The Alwyne Castle - Alwyne Castle Pub. Front room (with main bar). - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

The Alywne has become my favourite pub! It was a cold rainy day and I was out walking around and decided to go into the Alywne. This is a pub that I've walked by dozens of times and I'm kicking myself for not checking it out sooner. The first time I walked by was in the summer and tons of people were sitting on the outdoor patio at tables soaking in the sun and drinking. Everyone look perfectly relaxed and I told my flatmate that we should check it out. Of course, we just never got around to it. Today, things changed! When I walked into the pub I was immediately struck by the size, the place is huge. The pub area has several coaches arranged together for optimal socializing. There is also a working fireplace and it was so nice to feel its warmth on such a cold day. There is also a second section with tables for people to eat. That area was full and I noticed several families, which is always a nice touch. The Sunday Roast is reasonably priced, for less than £9 you get a choice of meat and several sides, including roast vegetables. Since I was in The Alywne to use it in its pub capacity I made a mental note to return next Sunday. I selected a coach to settle into and ordered a drink, something to take the chill off. I was surprised to see that in addition to alcohol they offered cappuccino, coffee and hot chocolate. It seemed wrong to order a hot drink, but I couldn't resist and settled on a cappuccino, which was good. Since you can't enter a pub and not have a real drink I also enjoyed a tasty cider. The environment in the Alywne is so laid back and comfortable at times I felt like I was sitting in my living room at home. This is a great pub and I'm a total fan! read more

The Alwyne Castle - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

See all

So the NYE recovery crew continued our food journey on the hunt for the perfect cheese cake. I don't even like cheesecake but someone in our crew REALLY liked it so cheesecake it was. We ended up at The Alwyne Castle, a place which used to be my favourite place for Sunday roast until their food took a turn for the worst. I hadn't been there for years. Anyhoo, The Alwyne Castle is a huge pub a short walk from Highbury & Islington underground station. It's a great place to hang out with lots of seating and also room to breath, it comes with lots of little cubbyholes were you can chill out with friends, family etc. There's also a pile of board games and others like Jenga to play for the gamesters. As soon as we walked in I spotted the seating around the fire place and dove next to the 'fake' fire as it was so cold. We all ordered desert and drinks which had to be ordered and paid for at the bar. Some of us received orders delivered fairly quickly while others such as myself had to wait along time. I had to enquire if the desert was still coming and in the end two lots of my dish came, with one being sent back to the kitchen. Due to the cold I ordered jasmine tea (they only had 2 or 3 teas to choose from), and sticky toffee, date pudding with vanilla ice-cream. The jasmine tea served in a teapot was fine but the pudding was sickly sweet (even for me), I could only manage maybe a tenth of it before I had to stop eating. The ice-cream was average. The feedback from the crew were mixed. Overall, a cool place to hang out but I'm not sure about the food. read more

The Alwyne Castle - Roaring fire, warmer than it looks - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

See all

Ah maaaan! So it's New Year's Day and I was with a bunch of lovely Yelp friends looking for dessert in Islington! Easy, right?!! Oh how wrong you would be. We walked the length of Upper Street with no luck for a place either open or serving cheesecake! After debating whether to give up, we took a gamble and walked over to this lovely looking pub, which is been eying up since I moved to the neighbourhood! What a great decision that was! Not only was this place OPEN.. It was serving dessert including cheesecake! Win win and they had board games and a cute looking log fire! Oh my:. something out of a dream! Exciting! Dessert wise, we couldn't decide, so we choose pretty much the entire menu. The desserts, it sounds stupid but they were just too sweet for us and we couldn't finish them at all! I think it would better if they could do a mini dessert platter, so you could try them all, like sample size! Onto the desserts, we tried the peanut butter cookie dough cheesecake.. Which was.. Well as we discussed there was no words for it! It was just too much.. Very, very heavy and I maybe they overdid it with the peanut butter.. Like it was nice, but no way we could have more than a few bites. I reckon they need more cheesecake and less cookie dough in it. It was a similar story for the rest of the desserts, the sticky toffee pudding, which was like way way too sweet,m. The profiteroles were nice, but a bit too rich to eat too many of them, was so glad I was sharing these. The brownie was my favourite, hot moist chocolate with ice cream melting all over it! Oh yessss! Super cute place, which is great for catch up with friends, as we did or a date night! Next time I'm back, I'm trying the mains, it could move to 5 star after this and also checking out the board games. read more

See all

It a good local bar with a great range of beers and spirits. No old people, just a community vibe. read more

The Alwyne Castle - Outdoors without being outdoors - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

Large, very popular and sprawling pub a few minutes' walk from Highbury Corner and Highbury & Islington station. The pub itself is a traditional-looking brick-built building, with a large conservatory. An oddity (pretension?) is that the pub sign has dropped the 'Castle' and replaced it with some dots - ie "The Alwyne.." Inside, there is a very large main bar area, with a spacious room off that, and an equally spacious conservatory; the décor comprises lots of unstained wood and strong designer paint colours - with a mix of traditional tables and lots of old sofas. The overall feel is shabby-chic, which suits the very varied mix of Islington regulars. A big feature is the huge outside garden, which can apparently accommodate around 300. The main weekly event is a very popular quiz on Tuesday nights, when you can expect every seat to be taken. They serve a good range of real ales, and have a modern pub grub menu of burgers and more traditional main courses - all between £7 and £10, which is not half bad for Islington. They also do snacks, which include wasabi peas - just to reinforce you're in trendy North London. The main downer for me - and the reason for losing the fourth star - is the service. On my last visit it was incredibly busy inside and the two bar staff were unable to keep up even with the small number of people at the bar. It took us 10 minutes to get some beers, and all without the least hint of a smile or apology. I dread to think what it would be like if the garden really did have 300 customers as well... read more

So we seemed to have ended up on a lunch crawl on New Year's Day and after walking the whole length of Upper Street without finding a dessert place open, or anywhere having any decent desserts, especially cheescake (and I don't even like cheesecake!) we ended up here on St Paul's Road, passed Highbury and Islington, with its open fire and restaurant ambiance, not a pub feel at all. Then the cheescake turned out be more peanut butter cookie dough. However, the profiteroles, and the warm choc brownies with vanilla ice cream were good though. Shame they had ran out of the mulled wine. We sat at the table by the open fire, which was lovely. Check out the ceiling mural by the bar. read more

The Alwyne Castle - Tea and dessert by an open fire - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

See all

This is currently my local pub and im a really big fan!! It has a great cozy atmosphere and good pub food. Real ale on tap and also a good selection of continental lagers. Staff are very pleasent and remember locals. Large venue with a conservatory filled with sofas and armchairs. Board games available. Very large outside seating area out front - great for smokers and the summer! Btw, avoid possibly after Arsenal games - as can get a bit boistrous (if thats not ur thing) (also part of chain that owns the Bull on Upper st, so sameish style) read more

The Alwyne Castle - The Alwyne.. - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

Oh I love the Alwyne...i'm still not 100% sure how you pronounce the darn name, but what I do know is that as far as intercity pubs go, this place is fantastic! For London standards its extremely spacious inside and out (beer garden for those long, sunny summer days) and the staff are extremely helpful and knowledgeable! They serve Blue Moon, one of my favorite wheat beers, as well as Sierra Nevada and some awesome Czech choices. The wine selection is pretty good too, albeit a bit expensive, but its worth it as I'd much rather pay the extra couple of quid and sit here rather than at that DIRE gang-banger-of-a-weatherspoons down the road...yeah, the one with security guards permanently fixed out side, you know the one. Quality ambiance is important to me and I'm happy to pay a bit more for it. Food wise, I've been fortunate enough to try both their main menu food and their Sunday roast. The burger and the Fish and Chips are fantastic..very fresh and flavorsome and the portions are quite generous. I did try a salad once which was a little sad, but really that's my fault for ordering a salad at an English pub. The Sunday roast is fabulous!! Its an excellent hangover cure, so if you're at the Alwyne wetting your whistle on Saturday eve - definitely consider coming back the next morning to lift your spirits and fix that hazy head. They also do a weekly pub quiz...but watch out...it's quite hard!! read more

I have passed this place so many times on the 30 Bus, the sun shining, the biggest terrace I have ever seen.. and thought to my self! I HAVE TO GO THERE!! And I never have! Well that all changed when I was googling places to go for mine and my Husbands date night and I came across a picture of a meat/cheese board with a lovely looking baked camembert on it. SOLD ! It may be the last we see of the sun too, and I am sitting on that terrace!... It was pretty dead when we arrived at 5:45pm, which meant we could get one of the huts they have outside. I took the picture I had seen on google to the bar and said "I would love my table to look like that" (see pics). I love it when the staff have a joke and join in with the cheese enthusiasm I had. Sure enough the lady behind the bar made it happen. AND it was delicious. Pro : We asked for more bread to eat the rest of the cheese, as there wasn't enough. It arrived without hesitation, free of charge. Con: Our wine glasses where dirty and it took her a few tries to find clean ones.. YUCK.. (hence the 4 star) and.... It may have been a bit on the pricey side. (but the extra free bread made up for it a little bit!) I BET IN SUMMER IT'S THE BEST PLACE TO GO! read more

The Alwyne Castle - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

See all

As a pub to spend a Sunday afternoon I would definitely recommend this place for a quiet drinks and relaxing time in the sun out in the beer garden. But if you're looking for a decent Sunday roast I'd definitely look elsewhere portion size is pretty average but quality is very poor (nearly as bad as the customer service). Had to send my food back twice (waiting 30mins before I could start eating) before it was actually cooked I like my steak rare but prefer my chicken not be frozen inside. I got pretty much no sympathy from the staff which would explain why when I finally got my food why some of it had mysteriously disappeared. read more

Me and my bf went here on Saturday and it was overovercrowded. Maybe we had to reserve a table but we just want to had a few quick beers before going to the club. We wait at the bar for more than 10 minutes and nobody looks interested in our presence. So we left and surely we will never come back. read more

***Rating does NOT include food, as I did not eat here*** I came to Alwyne Castle tagging along with a friend to attend someone's bday gathering, and I knew nothing about it. For someone that doesn't really 'do' pubs, I found this place to be a pleasant surprise. The best part about Alwyne Castle is the sprawling beer garden space (less emphasis on the "garden" part)...it has a slight 'upmarket' aesthetic compared to other outdoor spots (well-placed color arrangements, cozy banquettes with mosaic tile tables), and I really appreciated that. The music when I went (a Friday night) was good ol' soulful old school tracks from the 80's, and it felt in no way hokey or contrived. The downside would be the service (as everyone complains about)...it takes quite some time to get a drink here. Other than that, on a rare nice day or evening in London, I wouldn't mind a re-visit at all. read more

Both times I have been there, the food was delayed for so long that we wanted to leave rather than wait. First time, we ordered eggs and soldiers and the egg was hard boiled. It didn't seem a complicated order and yet it wasn't done right. As a chef, and in my personal opinion, they have too few people working in the kitchen and too many people ordering food. The menu needs to be much simpler and there needs to be more people on hand. Last time I was there, on a Tuesday evening, the place was absolutely rammed and there was one lone chef. This issue of understaffing is also common at the bar, which is about as many people deep as the Oxford Circus train platform at 7 p.m. read more

One of the best kept secrets in the N1! I thought that pubs like the Alwyne Castle were only reserved for the suburbs and places in the country. Its large, open beer garden (I believe the website claims it seats ~300) definitely does not follow the trend of the densely packed, minimal outdoor seating of the busy Upper Street/Highbury Corner area, which is merely steps away. The interior is just as nice. It is large, yet cozy; unpretentious and intimate. Beer purists (including myself at first) may take umbrage with the fact that most of the beers are on draught are owned by the megabreweries Diageo, InBev and the like. But the beer selection is still quite good and not just your standard Kronenbourg/Strongbow/Guinness fare. What really pushes the Alwyne Castle to the 5-star level is the friendliness of its staff. Everyone I have encountered there has been nothing short of inviting and welcoming and just lovely. As much as I love the hub-ub of Upper Street, the Alwyne has proven itself to be a nice, quiet getaway right in the heart of Islington. read more

This pub has so much potential, the interior is nice, quite big, attracts a local youngish crowd, they have a massive outside area - but, it's weird, the outside area extends towards the car park - but they never have any shade over the tables there.....meaning, it looks odd, like you are sitting in a car park and not a beer garden....also, it's no good if the sun is out, cause there is no shade...and then if it's raining, it's no good either.... They could do so much with this, and bring in heaps more customers just with a bit of a cover over the benches.... It's A-OK read more

A recent refurb has upgraded both the interior and the huge outdoor space and made it much more inviting, despite the noisy traffic on Balls Pond Road. Now, just in time for the warm summer evenings, they have installed many more tables and organised the outdoor area with booths, tables and bench seats with a much more appealing layout. Service is still a bit slow somehow but it's probably one of the best places in the area if you want to sit outside. Inside they have a pub quiz on Tuesday evenings. Plus the beer garden stays open late, more than I can say for some other pubs nearby. Haven't tried the food. Beer prices are a bit on the steep side though but overall the positives outweigh now. read more

I absolutely hate central beer gardens that are full to the brim during any hint of sunshine in ole' London town, and the Alwyne has never let me down for outdoor space! They have a massive front garden (which is admittedly odd, but works) and are far enough away from tube stations to shoo the non-regulars away. The charcuterie platters are excellent and they have Blue Moon on tap. This has sort of become my new local :) read more

Okay, I suppose it was late Friday night, and I was probably too sober to appreciate whatever joys this pub holds over the shouting but my god was it a disappointment indoors when we we moved in from the (lovely!) beer garden! Super loud music played over bad speakers making tunes and tones completely undecipherable from each other, not that they really sounded like they'd be interesting tunes to listen to anyway.. Looks like a nice little pub on the outside but inside they've ripped out whatever character full furniture there presumably once was and managed to replace it with a complete lack of character! Shame really as the staff are nice and they've several decent real ales on but I'd definitely steer clear late on a Friday night. Should know better I guess I'll try it on a sunny afternoon and may come back with a more positive report. c* read more

We were looking for a place to have lunch on a bank holiday Monday, and this was the only place open. We were a bit sceptical at first, looking at the menu, as it seemed to be extremely standard pub fare. Nothing innovative in terms of the dishes. But the prices were good (£8-£10 for most main courses), so we went for it. The food took its time to arrive, despite the pub being almost half empty. But I guess it does take time to prepare good food, as the dishes were cooked to perfection! My partner had the fish and chips, which was a huge fillet of fish in batter with what looked like flecks of seaweed in it. THe mushy peas looked good too - although it was a bit too minty and mushy for my taste. I had the burger, and I have to honestly say that it is probably one of the best pub burgers I've ever had. Very juicy beef patty, and the bun was toasted just right, not too hard or burnt. It came with a purple cabbage coleslaw, which really did brighten up the plate! Chips were so-so - if they were better, this could have easily been the best burger I've had in London. Overall, good price for decent pub food! Would definitely visit again if hankering for a fish and chips or burger - but I just wished they did more adventurous food as well. Reviewed by The London Insider http://www.london-insider.co.uk/ read more

Dropped in here last night while a local restaurant had sent us away for 10 minutes, and was really impressed. It doesn't look like a brilliant pub from the outside, which is mostly hidden by trees and fences, which I always thought was the mark of a dodgy boozer. But inside, it was warm, welcoming and very roomy, with some excellent wines and beers (including several Beligian fruit varieties) in stocl. Would definitely 'risk' a longer visit next time! read more

This place does great Sunday roasts, good sized portions which are really tasty. Also had some tasty mulled wine. The decor has a really cosy feel with plenty of comfy old sofas and chair to laze about on. Find the staff to be a mixture of unfriendly and just plain rude. read more

It looks attractive from the outside yet awful service, overpriced drinks and don't even start with snobby attitude like get over it it's just a pub in Islington. read more

A nice pub, much improved from the old days when it was a little rough (and called something else, which has slipped my mind). There is a large front garden, with heaters and big spacious wooden tables. The inside is large too, with some lovely corners with comfy sofas to rest in of a Sunday afternoon (it suits a hangover). The style, atmosphere, and seating all make this a great place to go as a large pack for a midday chill out, with some nice (slightly over priced, mind) food, wine and a natter. The staff have improved as well, so service is getting better I think. One of the better pubs in the area. read more

This was one of my locals when I lived in Highbury and it was one of our regular hang outs - I even had my engagement party here! It apparently used to be really rough in the past but is now really nice and has a really lovely laid back decor with an open fire and comfy sofas. It is a really nice place to come for a chilled evening out or a cosy Sunday afternoon. They do really nice drinks and a pretty decent Pimms, if that is your thing! The food is always excellent and their Sunday lunch was particularly good. We hired the conservatory for the party and it was really great with the staff doing everything they could to make the evening as special as possible. I would definitely recommend it as a venue. The nearest stations are Canonbury and Highbury and Islington and it's a short walk away from both. read more

Sunday lunch and a couple of pints with friends before they fly home to Australia. Tube station quite close by so convenient for their trip to Heathrow. In future, however, we'll go a bit further down the road to The Snooty Fox. At the Snooty, the portions are much larger for the same price (£12). The menu said pork with crackling. The crackling was about twice the size as my thumbnail. The pork at the Clapton Hart (where I frequently go for Sunday roast) is huge in comparison with oodles of crackling too and for the same price. Somehow or other the vegetables were all cold within five minutes. The dribble of gravy wasn't enough to enliven the crusty yorkshire pudding. After finishing it off I was still a bit hungry. A friend who wasn't quite so hungry as me ordered a plate of sweet potato wedges. It was one sweet potato, not a large one, divided into quarters. For four quid! What a rip off! On to the ales... London Pride and Doom Bar were two of them. Sigh. Why such boring run of the mill ales when there are a thousand plus breweries in the UK? Boring, boring, boring. So I went for the Leeds Brewery stout. It was okay but nothing to write home about. I've had Leeds beers elsewhere and they seemed to be of good quality. In this pub the mouthfeel was too watery, the flavour bland. And for £4.10 a pint! The nearby Snooty Fox does better ales at a cheaper price. And that's where I'll be eating and drinking when I am in that area in the future. read more

It's a nice pub with a large beer garden. However the service can be extremely slow, even at times there are very few customers at the bar. The selection of beers is ok, it's fairly priced. In terms of food, poor value for money, not a Sunday Roast recommended. Burgers are fine. To summarize, it's an ok pub, in the summertime, if you're not hungry. read more

I really like this pub in the summer because there's lots of outside seating and it's a good place for people watching. You can bring your dog which is nice. I don't have a dog but it's nice to see other people bringing theirs. The food is ok and reasonably priced for London. read more

The term do not judge a book by its cover is never more relevant when describing The Alwyne Castle. For years I passed the Alwyne but it never crossed me by its exterior that this would be a good bar to hang out with my mates. But after years of passing The Alwyne I finally got to enter the doors of the underestimated Alwyne for a university 3rd year leaving party. To my surprise the atmosphere was really chilled relaxing, down to earth the perfect place to chill out with friends relax and leave your worries behind you. Ratting: Vibe/Atmosphere: (B+) Nice chilled down to earth environment. Price: (B) Prices are not to steep considering the quality. Drink Selection: (B) Decent selection could do with some more cocktail selection though. Staff/Hospitality: (B-) Staff are not pretentious and they have casual aura which makes you feel comfortable but they lost points on lack of friendliness. Overall: (B) read more

Cosy pub, food was OK, but the staff looked miserable. Not one of them smiled and when they served our food and we said 'thank you'..we got no eye contact and an 'alright' and she walked off as if every customer was a hassle. If only they'd make everyone feel welcome and they made it look like they enjoy their job... read more

Sadly the Alwyne Castle is not a castle of any sort. However, it is large and airy with a lovely front yard drinking garden and extremely well priced drinks. A lovely space to spend the evening, if only I lived closer and liked big pubs. read more

Big spacey, lazy pub with comfy sofas, great food and a big outdoor drinking area. Only downsides are 1) it can take a while to get served and 2) the outdoor space is by a busy road rather than a lush green garden. Nevertheless, definitely one of top choices in and around Highbury and St Pauls Rd. read more

Not the first time I have had a bad experience at this place. If you order food, you better get comfortable, it's going to take a while. Service is slow. I had the fish and chips and it was underwhelming to say the least. A thin, poorly fried piece of mush. The batter under-cooked and not seasoned at all. The fish was under-cooked too. That's the last time I'll be going there. read more

Great little Pub. went there once and liked it very much. has a nice atmosphere, and cool old english decoration very cosy indeed. I had a burger with chips and it was very pleasant for pub grub. On fridays there is a DJ spinning cool retro tunes. Recommended if you are in the area. read more

Me and my bf went here on Saturday and it was overovercrowded. Maybe we had to reserve a table but we just want to had a few quick beers before going to the club. We wait at the bar for more than 10 minutes and nobody looks interested in our presence. So we left and surely we will never come back. read more