The Sir john Oldcastle in Islington

Affordable price,and just a great atmosphere

Must be the worst wetherspoons ever, staff have not got a clue behind bar, walking past tables and not clearing them, mens toilets a mess, 10 minutes up the road is the Penderel's Oak 100% better run

Very busy pub. Went in just after midday on a Friday and had trouble finding a table for 2 for lunch. Still good service despite being busy

Authentic London pub. Very good value for money.

Abused by the security staff. Unbelievably forced outside, and not let in back to take my belongings. Missing values from my jacket. The door staff thinks it's in war zone when customer are just enjoying themselves.

Very nice pub, crowded, but still able to chat. Good, prompt service. Great for stations & central London - Holborn area

Siempre pienso que con Wetherspoons, lo que ves es lo que obtienes. Este estaba limpio con el personal que se preocupa por lo que hacen y cómo lo hacen. Yo volvería, por esa razón.

Nice and friendly pub with a good atmosphere. Wouldn't hesitate to go in again. Only had a drink but the food looked good 👍

Quick meet up for a lunch break of a Thursday. Very busy(first sunny day of Feburary in the 4th week). Other than getting served still water and not sparkling, it was a good visit. Got the chicken katsu curry. Was not a rock solid lump of chicken, garnished fine, drinks were good. Will be back.

Pub atmosphere, choice of dish between Fish and chips but also very good ramen. Cheap.

Every time we visit London we like to eat Fish & Chips in this pub. The atmosphere is extremely friendly and like the English pubs we have in France. The food is good, the prices are fair. Wide choice of beer although it seems to me that last year there was more choice. The staff are really friendly and helpful. We will come back! Hello from France ;)

A nice pleasant Witherspoon with attentive staff. Close to farringdon station.

Lovely helpful staff but it was packed and extremely noisy. It was impossible to hear what friends were saying unless you shouted in their ear. Just had tea

Nice Wetherspoons pub serving a good selection of beers wines and spirits. Staff were friendly

Got a couple of drinks and some food. The food was delicious, and the service was good. It's a 'spoons so they usually have a nice selection of beers but I'm not a fan of the decor in this one. Can't complain at those prices. I'd recommend the meaty sharing plates, 3 for around £14. Fries weren't great. Busy pub so you may not get a table.

The "Sir John" isn't just a pub; it's a time capsule. Stepping inside for breakfast is like stepping back into a Dickens novel, albeit one with better coffee. Dark wood paneling, worn but comfortable armchairs, and the gentle hum of conversation create an atmosphere that's thick with history and genuine warmth. Forget sterile, modern cafes – this is where the soul of England resides. The breakfast menu is classic, no frills, and utterly satisfying. A full English, cooked to perfection, arrived with crispy bacon, plump sausages, a perfectly fried egg, and those glorious, golden hash browns. The toast was thick-cut and buttery, the accompanying pot of tea strong and hot. It was the kind of breakfast that sets you up for the entire day, a comforting ritual in a setting that feels like a home away from home. Beyond the food, it's the ambiance that truly sets the Sir John apart. Locals chat amiably at the bar, the landlord offers a friendly greeting, and the air is filled with the comforting aroma of freshly brewed coffee and sizzling bacon. There's no pretension here, just genuine hospitality and a sense of community. If you're looking for an authentic English breakfast experience, one that nourishes both body and soul, the Sir John is an absolute must. It’s a reminder that sometimes, the best things in life are the simplest, enjoyed in the most traditional of settings.

Another spoons. Another average meal. I was hungry and there was no other option

A very nice and convenient pub! Love the online ordering. The inside could use a little bit of a refresh, but otherwise a nice place to hang out and get a pint.

Very unfriendly bar person who took our order

Esta es una crítica mixta! En primer lugar, este lugar podría ser increíble... especialmente porque los baños están en la planta baja! El servicio y la comida sin embargo no era genial. Nuestro pedido se arruinó y cuando señalamos esto el personal actuó como si fuera un gran inconveniente. Nos dieron una patata de chaqueta en lugar de patatas fritas y los dos filetes no eran como los pedimos. Recibí el filete raro que mi compañero pidió y mi compañero terminó con un filete bien hecho carbonizado que estaba destinado a ser mi medio raro. Él trajo un Pepsi max y un Pepsi de azúcar completo, pero no podía recordar cuál era cuál, soy diabético y por eso importaba. Sin embargo, los cócteles estaban en su punto y muy buena relación calidad-precio. El pub tenía un buen ambiente y volveríamos a ir

It's a Wetherspoons you can't go wrong

Served a beer at 11.56. expected to leave at 12. Wasn't told we had to leave at 12 otherwise wouldn't have ordered drinks Ridiculous

Nice looking pub, bar staff pleasant but two security wasted no time hurrying us out as soon as it was 11: 30 pm closing time. They kept on and on, 20 minutes drink up time meant nothing and one pretended he didn't know English. We had to gulp down the drinks and the pub was empty by 11:40. We also had two large bowls of chips at £4.50 each. The clueless south east asian female kitchen staff member didn't even bring some condiments and cutlery. We were supposed to use our fingers. I went and got both. The chips were a weird unpleasant mix of brown old and tan less old. Pubs wonder why they're dying off.

A solid Witherspoon, nice and comfortable.

This bar is an excellent option for the place where all the bars around are located, they are quite expensive and this one is relatively cheap for being in the place where it is.

Excellent experience, typical English pub with orders via app or at the counter. Fast service, helpful staff and food all normal. Convenient prices. I would go back!

Typical London tavern with a very good atmosphere to enjoy good food and a wide variety of drinks with friends

Very noisy. Food horrendous. Considered sending it back. Fish was dry and almost inedible.

Typical and untouristy place where you can eat like those in London and at a good price.

Crowded, noisy - unsurprisingly for this location on an early Friday evening in late November. Slightly agressive groups of already liquored young men added to the atmosphere. I wouldn't come here again.

Great tor Breakfast at an affordable price for central London

He venido a este pub un par de veces y ha estado bien, pero en esta ocasión me pareció que parte del personal era muy grosero. Mi amiga estaba casi usando su bebida porque se golpeó en la mesa tan fuerte.

Parecía ocupado un martes por la mañana. Aunque solo estábamos en el almuerzo había un montón de otros bebiendo - presumiblemente después de haber terminado su turno en el mercado de carne Smithfield. Ordenó un Miner’s Benedict que incluía pudín negro en lugar de jamón. La comida estaba bien.

The best Wetherspoon I ever been

A very nice Whetherspoon. Good cask ale at good prices. Decent food

Love the location and the prices and the speed of service. Could have done without the barman yawning in my face as he served me.

Great wetherspoon pub next to Farringdon station 🚉 Affordable fish 🐟 & chips 🍟 and great selection of ales 🍺 👌 😋 👍

Estábamos celebrando una fiesta de cumpleaños el viernes pasado y por primera vez en mi vida he llamado a un gerente para hacer una queja y recibí una respuesta grosera y sin sentido. Básicamente me pidió que me fuera porque me quejé de su servicio grosero. Sólo tomé una cerveza al día, tan lejos de estar borracho. Solíamos organizar nuestras fiestas de verano, Navidad y cumpleaños en tu casa... ya no (soy yo quien decide el lugar para nuestras fiestas de empresa). No es de extrañar por qué el lugar estaba medio vacío un viernes por la noche. Vas cuesta abajo... completamente patético.

Big Wetherspoon pub right opposite Farringdon Station very busy but a great place to meet and a good choice of real ales at the usual low Wetherspoon prices. Once you move on from here you realise how much more the other pubs charge for a drink in the area. Unlike some Wetherspoons I have been to, the service here is very good and helpful.

This is probably my best experience in a Wetherspoons pub for ages. Barman, friendly articulate and knew his stuff (even though he was "on loan" from another pub, as he told me). Pub was busy, (we got the last available table) but despite this, food came out in good time, food was really well cooked and great value for money. Toilets also on the ground floor (always a bonus) . REALLY GOOD OVERALL EXPERIENCE!!

I don't usually trek this far up in London. But I decided to visit this pub to see what it was like. I must say, I'm very impressed. The service was a bit slow, but that is understandable as it was very busy. Normally, I would've given the service 4 stars, but that would've been unfair to these guys and gals. I did order food on this visit. However, it was almost delivered to the wrong table. I won't fault the server because I suspect she is quite new to the job. She did apologise to me. But I found it quite amusing. So I'm still giving it a 5 star rating. With that said, great job, guys and gals.

Amazing service from Bartender Sujith. Definitely made our night :) recommend! 100%

Solid wings. Pints more expensive than you’d expect for a spoons

Me acaban de echar de aquí, porque tuve la osadía de traer un Costa Coffee, aunque acababa de pedir y pagar el desayuno. Prefieren reembolsar mi compra del desayuno, antes que dejarme un Costa con él. Si su máquina de café fuera mejor, no habría tenido que hacerlo en primer lugar.

I've just been kicked out of here, because I had the audacity to bring a Costa Coffee in; even though I'd just ordered and paid for breakfast. They'd rather refund my breakfast purchase; than let me have a Costa with it. If their machine coffee was better; I wouldn't have had to in the first place.

It's a Wetherspoons. Bit of a known quantity. You can pay as little as £2.79 for a pint. Staff are friendly and helpful enough. A mix of older couples coming in for a low cost meal, business people killing half an hour with a pint, and hardened drinkers in for a low cost session.

Decent Wetherspoons very close to Farringdon Station, Quick service and Staff friendly and helpful, Usual menu which is good and great value in the City.

Fuimos a desayunar todos los días de nuestra estancia de cuatro días cuando el pub no estaba ocupado y fuimos testigos de lo limpio que se mantenía el pub. Incluso limpiaron la pintura fuera del pub. El desayuno salió rápido y estaba bien presentado y caliente. Tuvimos una cena aquí también y a pesar de una corta espera ya que el pub estaba ocupado , una vez más la comida estaba bien presentada y caliente . Las mesas se mantuvieron limpias y se despejaron rápidamente. Este pub es un buen ejemplo para otros pubs de Wetherspoon sobre cómo ser dirigido y mantenido. Bien hecho a todo el personal de este pub.

What’s not to like it’s a Spoons

I recently had a disappointing experience at the Sir John Old Castle pub. When I ordered nachos, I was surprised to find that the portion of sour cream served was incredibly small—possibly the smallest I've ever seen. When I brought this to the attention of our server, Marta, I was hoping for a solution or at least some understanding. Instead, she bluntly informed me that I would have to pay extra for a larger portion. This level of customer service was quite shocking and unprofessional, especially in a chain like Wetherspoons, where I've usually had better experiences. It's disheartening to encounter such unhelpfulness, and it left a negative impression of the establishment. For anyone considering visiting this pub, I would advise looking elsewhere. There are plenty of other places that value customer satisfaction and provide a more pleasant dining experience.

I love coming to this branch as I am always seen to right away and the food is great. Thanks to Ajito for his great service & always knowing my order x

Really good pub with great staff and we all enjoyed the food.spoons food is never the best but 3 meals and 3 pints for under £35 in the centre of London is remarkable really and the burger I had was the best I'd eaten while in London for the weekend and I'd eaten a burger a day.my dad's curry was really good aswell and I'll be trying that in the future..nice clean and roomy pub aswell with outdoor seating..would definitely recommend coming here if it's for food or drink or both..loved it

The best scrambled egg I have ever had in any wetherspoons ever ( and I have been to quite a few !) .

Rude bouncer on the door. Asked what was in my bag so showed him, when he saw I had a couple of food items, he shouted that I wasn't allowed in with them. Since when has Wetherspoons banned someone taking their shopping into the pub?

I ordered the same cider I had last week here. It was disgusting! It was REALLY sour and bitter. 5 people at my table tasted it and also said it was horrible. I took it back to the bar and explained the something was wrong because it was horrible. They had someone taste it from the tap, and they said it was “fine” even though 5 people confirmed I wasn’t crazy, and it was bad. The manager then said what do you want me to do about it, and I said I’d like a different drink. He said we can’t exchange product just because someone doesn’t like it. It’s not that I didn’t like it, something was wrong. I get the same cider everywhere I go! I know what it should taste like. Terrible terrible customer serve. I just gave them back the drink, lost my money and didn’t order anything else.

This has become my regular lunch spot after starting work in Farringdon and feels like home, as always. Ever-inviting and rarely too busy, it outshines other lunch options just for convenience and vibes alone. For a cheap and cheerful lunch with fast and friendly service it can’t be beat. The wide windows are wonderful for watching the commuters trundle by.

After an issue with food ordered ......I was completely disgusted with attitude of staff .......East European (supposid manager)....was completely insulting and obviously in the wrong industry , neither interested or prepared to resolve my complaint.........I would strongly recommend anybody to avoid this place like the pkague due to attitude of staff towards customers.... Shame as was once a nice establishment with genuine competent staff.......Sadly , a reflection of the london of today ..........

Ate here several times during my visit to London. Spent ~10-15 pounds on breakfast, I think it's a good deal for Central London. The service is good (you need to order at the bar and wait at your selected table), the food was also really nice.

We spent around 2 hrs, having drinks only, very close to Farringdon station, no food had

FOOD POISONING - from Chicken burger! 10 days in bed violently ill! Nearly had to go to hospital, doctor confirmed Campylobacter food poisoning! NEVER eating in a spoons again! AVOID!

Great place, didn't try the food so can't comment but would definitely recommend

Standard city spoons, good for a drink after work if you don’t mind standing up in a packed pub. I think most of the customer had been there since breakfast time. Good location

Busy London pub convenient for Farringdon Station, Good value fòd and drinks,

One person serving behind the bar on a busy bank holiday, no one administering online orders and tables piled high with empty glasses and dirty dishes. A one off visit for sure.

Atmosphere was pretty cool and close to train station, the food however was not good! Wings were deep fried and dry and nachos had hardly any cheese, jalapeños and chips were so bland. Drinks were good!

Have been here before but not reviewed. Stopped of here from Breakfast en route to Borehamwood, an area that recently lost their only Wetherspoons branch, madness! A medium sized branch very near to Farringdon Station. Handy if you need to eat en route to elsewhere for a more reasonable price. Had the Vegetarian Breakfast and a pint of Mauldon's Black Adder Beer. Beer was £4.68 and Breakfast £6.40. Prices are typical of Zone One branches nowadays but more expensive than most branches elsewhere. Breakfast was well prepared and served. For some reason got an extra piece of toast! The Vegetarian Sausages have changed, do not appear to be Quorn ones that I've had in other Spoons branches. No issues with beer, got a top up without quibble when too much froth was given first time. Recommend a visit if about in the area.

Good food, cold beers, nice ambience and good prices. What else? The curri's are the must on Thursdays (curri's special day) The free house in Farringdon.

Seriously, worst meal I've ever had. Doesn't even deserve 1 star.

This Spoons is very convenient to Farringdon Tube, but it’s not a ‘classic’ one, as other reviewers have claimed. As a Spoons veteran I can tell you that the food, service and booze are all up to scratch. However, the actual venue is a bit run down and there are serious issues about patrons being robbed — even to the extent that they’ve got warnings near the door. If you go, try the morning or afternoon, but I would avoid the evening

Nice, large pub from the well-known chain, as always a good overall package :)

Nice pub just by FARRINGDON TIBE TURN LEFT NICE OUTSIDE SPACE NICE STAFF POLITE WELCOMING sorry Deleates most photos Dawn of the Oak meet up nice crowd in there burger chips only £7 -£8 food was Ok well cooked toilets Ok also

A Wetherspoons. No more, no less!

Nice quiet evening, dinner drinks and coffee. The simple pleasures that made me smile

We always ate in this pub even though we had the apartment. Brilliant solution because with an average of 13-14 pounds each you ate a nice dish and drank what you wanted!

Very good Wetherspoons close to Farringdon Station. Lots of room inside inside and very clean. Always serve a good pint here and the food is decent. Will visit again.

Basic Wetherspoon, you gotta run after them because they forgot your side once the main arrived.

Just like a normal Wetherspoons pub, atmosphere is always noisy, food prices are reasonable with a wide selection of drinks. You can order through the app or at the bar.

The worst Wetherspoons pub I've ever been to. I visited on Christmas Eve, there were about 8 other customers so I struggle to understand how they put out such bad food. Here's a photo of my "pigs in blankets", on the top of my burger with a skewer through the top of it. The bacon was burnt to the point of being crumbling carbon.

Food always nice an freshly prepared.

Every time when we are in London, we visit this Pub. Even at Saturday evening you get a comfortable seat.

Great spoons right near the station was packed when we got there only just managed to get a table. Other than that was your standard spoons in case of the food and drinks, can never go wrong with it.

Great service from all the staff. Izida was the perfect hostess and really looked after us.

Didn't eat here but it had a nice atmosphere & the beer was typical Spoons prices. Trying to visit as many of Tim's pubs as possible. Another tick in the box

It's a Wetherspoons - enough said.

Pleasantly surprised for a Weatherspoons.

Great place to eat, drink and meet people for lunch or dinner.

This is my usual spot especially after uni. I would love to give my appreciation to Steffy! She is a fantastic person who helped me and you can tell she does her job with passion!! The staff members too are amazing! If I could, I would definitely give more than 5 stars to everyone.

Affordable prices and good aperol spritz, but... this is the cutlery I got with my food. Absolutely disgusting and disappointing

Pre-pandemic, I used to bring a monthly social group here because it's got great links to transport and is relatively accessible to those with mobility issues. We decided to return in November 2023, and were greeted as if we'd never been away. On a recce a few weeks before a manager was so pleased to see me I thought he might give me a hug! Our first meet went very well and I noticed at least two manager level staff who I recall were here when I first visited way back in 2016. That must say something about working at this pub. Prices have gone up a bit but are still cheaper than anywhere else in the area. It's still a nice place to come for a cheap dinner, some genuine quality drinks and a catch up with friends. This pub shows why the 'spoons business is so successful. It's spacious, staff are great, it's busy but not toooo noisy, no loud banging music. It's right by Farringdon station with links to national rail, Elizabeth line, tube and bus routes.

Lovely staff Too busy for peak time though

For a busy Friday evening the drink service was fantastic! The atmosphere was typical London pub but it was chilled with no trouble. Didn’t eat so couldn’t review that.

Our go to Spoons whe staying in Farringdon, good food,good service

A nice pub. The staff are were well organised and the pub well run.

Good service but the chefs are lazy. Waited 20 minutes (app said 7/8min wait tops) for my food at 2pm on a Wednesday (I ordered a BBQ chicken bacon and cheddar cheese panini with chips). Came out and it was so dry it was inedible because there was no sauce. Terrible from the chefs

Place that makes really good impression of Original English Pub, great place to sit with friends and enjoy drinks

Food was fresh and hot sauce was nice. Lovely staff. Lovely atmosphere will go again.

Very well run place. Excellent staff and quality ales on offer.

Not very good for wheelchair accessibly,

Really good traditional english breakfast.

A good wetherspoons, service & atmosphere good & as usual pretty good prices.