Woodbine in Islington

I have also thought about writing this review as I really wanted our visit to be a good one. Sadly not. We went for a family Sunday lunch where we had booked for 7, the table we were given only sat 4 although the pub was empty we were not offered an alternative table. We ordered starters and Sunday roasts and all the food arrived at the same time. The Sunday menu is limited which is not an issue but when asking the waitress why the food was arriving at the same time she said she didn't realise that they were starters. We replied the starters are clearly marked on the menu she said no she didn't know. Really disappointing response. No deserts as they had run out of Ice cream, etc. The staff had zero interest in the customer experience. It's fine for mistakes to be made and things to run out but it's how the staff handle these things that can turn around a bad experience. The staff had no interest at all in the customers.

What a great pub! Great beer & bar staff very friendly! Ended up there twice over the weekend! Highly recommended! Trad session was class!

I feel sad to write this review but compelled to do so. This pub is a local to us and we went in good spirit ahead of a football match in which my team happened to be the away side. We enjoyed a couple of beers beforehand and returned - after we had been well beaten! - after the game. We sat with home fans and chatted convivially about the game - as it should be. I had a scarf in my pocket and was told it was home fans only. That was understandable, but on this occasion, I said I would conceal it in my pocket and told the member of staff that we were in fact local to the area, regulars, and were chatting with mates. The home fans with us supported this view. There was zero tension, just football fans - including us as a local couple - reflecting on the game in a corner of the pub. At this point no colours were on show and still a female manager continued to pursue us with no reason. I accept pub policies but on this occasion, for regulars who were drinking in good spirit with fellow fans, it felt mean, unnecessary and inhumane. I used to really like this pub and tonight it made me sad. I don’t want to and won’t return.

1 The manager was completely unreasonable despite repeated attempts to explain how another customer was being violent/ violating the pub rules and ruining our experience.

Friendly staff. Has a real buzz and our go to place before the Arsenal matches. Even reserve us a table. Thanks Mick and your team.

Slechte service, het eten was niet lekker en de ober was geïrriteerd toen ik vroeg of die een cocktail kon maken. Ook was het personeel niet vriendelijk. Het is wel een gezellige tent en de prijzen vallen goed mee.

I took the time to book a table for our date night and turned up to find we’d basically been forgotten about and sat on two tiny drinks tables on stools facing a wall. The bar staff said they we’re busy and that’s all they had. I wish you’d just refused my booking and we could have gone somewhere that could actually cater for us.

If you want a friendly genuine place to have good food and the best Guinness in London - chose this place!

I tried to exhange a food I ordered as it was unetable and had some sharp pieces. And got a lot of abused from staff for that. They physically wouldnt let me out till I pay for something I didnt eat. Basically, if you go there you have to like everything otherwise you get abused

Went for drinks and dinner during a period of COVID restrictions so it was table service only. Not a problem for the staff who provided prompt service and an optional app was available if preferred. Went for the Thai menu and it was terrific. A lovely selection of starters which all came out fresh and crispy and the mains were tasty with good portions sizes. The Thai ladies running the kitchen were friendly and attentive.

Nice local pub with Thai kitchen in the week and really good Roasts on Sundays. Staff are welcoming and helpful. They offer decent burgers on weekends too. Very good drinks selection. Love it!

Warm and welcoming atmosphere, great team, great drinks, great Thai food - we simply love it! Thank you!

Cozy pub with lovely staff and very good Thai food (Mon-Sat). Excellent beer, crowded on Arsenal Game days (but in a good way), Tues pub quiz is decent.

I visit on football days with Billy and Alex Love this pub Great atmosphere Friendly staff, and importantly on busy days there are enough people behind the bar👍 Oh my! The Thai food is DIVINE ! And at a very fair price Just a shame it’s an hour from my home “in the sticks”, or maybe that’s a good thing as I would visit far too often 😁

Management / Staff seem to desire less customers weirdly. A real shame as this place used to be awesome. Voting with feet, will not be going here again

Lovely local. Like being out of London. Friendly staff who are very helpful, welcoming and chatty. Lovely Thai food and very reasonably priced. All sports shown. Even on match days, although it’s packed to the rafters it is a friendly fun atmosphere.

My god. The food was so good i had to hug the waitress. Super authentic and fresh. Somewhere in the middle there was a chili that made me see god. Absolutely fantastic! The only small downside is that they don’t accept credit cards even though the restaurant part of the place does. But there’s an ATM right around the corner! Amazing rare find!

An excellent pub with great drinks and a fantastic Thai menu well worth a visit, very clean very comfortable great atmosphere you won’t be disappointed.

I would normally never leave a review but I regularly go to The Woodbine and it’s a top place. Great management, great staff and great customers. I’ve noticed a few one star reviews from disgruntled people but they all seem to date around 2016 and early 2017. I’ve been going there for around a year and the owners have only just celebrated their first year in charge so don’t pay any attention to them. I’m not saying they were incorrect at the time as didn’t go there but they do not seem to reflect my own opinion now. It’s not the type of place that relies on Trip Advisor anyway as is always relatively busy and only has 39 reviews in total but thought I’d say the old ones are irrelevant to how it is now

New manager, new vibe and the best thing that could happen to the pub. Awesome caring staff with quick service and great food. 100% a place to go visiting London.

Under new management a real gem , good tunes and a Thai menu too for the Asian food lovers - went pre match and was very impressed with the service in a busy bar - good selection of beers and a very genial ‘governor’

Great welcoming atmosphere generated by Fiona & Paul and their staff. One of the best pubs in the area.

El Woodbine Pub, situado en un pequeño enclave en el norte de Londres llamado Highbury, es donde comencé mi carrera no tan ilustre bebiendo, a falta de una mejor frase que es!

Friendly staff, good selection of well kept beers and a Thai menu that is so cheap it's not worth turning your own oven on. They even have large screen football on.... heaven

Fuimos a ver los juegos de rugby irlanda, usualmente hay una gente muy simpática en el pub para disfrutar del partido.

Visited the woodbine a few times, the staff were very friendly and welcoming, would definitely recommend this pub to anyone.

Just moved here and went for thai food last night- it was so good. Really good quality great price and portions super friendly staff loved it!! and it's a a pub where the music doesn't deafen you which is rare these days :-)

Won't say much as I'm still a bit numb. Friends were visiting from Australia and as we had had a great meal just a matter of metres down the road, I suggested that all ten of us went to what used to be a fantastic pub. Little did I know the egg that was to be on my face moments later. I went into the pub hoping to see the fantastic staff who used to run the place when I lived here only to find no one behind the bar and a man sat at his laptop clearly too involved in whatever he was doing, despite the presence of several customers, to do anything more than barely raise his head and say: "We're closed." I was so taken aback, as it was only 10:40 that I did say: "Really? Not much of a pub, then." I do acknowledge the snarkiness of that comment but I honestly think that his response: "If you've got something to say, come and say it to my face." despite being ridiculously puerile and unimaginative, betrays a definite downhill slope in the trajectory of what used to be a brilliant pub. I absolutely didn't want to stick around after this brief but disappointing interaction and rather than engage in petty argument with said laptop-bound barman, I turned on my heels to lead my friends to another pub.

Totally and utterly in shock. Asked to leave upon entering this nice pub at 10pm on a Friday night because they were "closed" despite still serving the rest of the drinkers. Baffled as to why I would have been told this as I was sober as a judge and just popped in to join friends, I was later told that i could only come in if I wasn't so "flamboyant". I have never experienced any kind of discrimination for the way I look in my life and I am truly appalled that any pub owner could have such a narrow mind and disgraceful attitude.

Woodbine ofrece un ambiente relajado y acogedor, con servicios de atento y amable y una gran relación calidad-precio.

I always find the Woodbine very welcoming, both by the staff and the locals. It’s got a well stocked and varied bar; the food is also very good. The décor is quite funky (read the numerous signs on the walls if you get a chance). It certainly is one of the best, if not the best place to drink around the Finsbury Park area.

El Woodbine por casualidad y tengo que decir que estoy contento. El personal es super amable y experto (RE la cerveza). Tienen una muy buena selección de cervezas y el lager.

Walked in at around 7 o'clock having not had a beer for a few days only to be greeted by a very rude barmaid that promptly told me she thinks i have had too many! After replying, im sorry but i havent had a drop all week she continued on being very impolite and refused me a drink, after asking why she told me it was just her choice i would advise not to step foot over its threshold (especially when sober), me and my friend only wanted a beer and something to eat after a hard day working, no wonder it was empty

I was with a female friend. We had come to the pub for one drink. We were sitting outside and approached by 3 men 2 of whom started to abuse myself and my friend.A member of the bar staff came outside and asked myself and my friend to" drink up and leave". We finished our drinks and asked what was the problem. To my astonishment the barmaid said "you have had too much to drink" this was our first drink of the night. So as 2 women alone in a pub it would seem that it is ok with the management of the pub that I am verbally abused and then blamed by the bar staff for being abused ? Women and men of integrity please do not not drink at the Woodbine on Blackstock rd I am a local and have lived here for 9 years, I try to support local businesses but I can no longer do do when local businesses do not support myself or local women I felt hurt and vulnerable by this experience.

Visited here a few times. Management can be unfriendly - we were waiting outside on wet day at about 12.30 and he rudely gestured that they would not open until 1 pm. He was in the bar, so why he couldn't just open the doors and let us at least sit out of the rain is beyond me. We ended up going to a nearby pub and received a much warmer welcome!On the up side, if you ignore the grumpy landlord, the wine Wednesday offer is a good deal. Buy 2 glasses and get the rest of the bottle free. So about £13 for 2 large glasses. Not great wine, but drinkable at that price. Bit steep for about £18.The star of the show at this pub is the Thai kitchen. We had a takeaway one night. Gorgeous pad thai, fragrant red curry and the most amazing short beef ribs I've ever had, meaty, fell away from the bone in a generous sauce. Would return for this dish alone.The pub is a fairly "locals" affair, with fairly rustic feel.If the management cheered up there might be a better ambiance!

Best guinnes ever made to perfection.They took the award for two years in a row they must be really good.Be back for sure with more friends.

Avoid at all costs if you are not white British. Manager was abusive, rude and blooded one of my friends simply for not being Europeans celebrating her birthday. Horrible Horrible Place!

We went there to celebrate the birthday of a friend and after we had dinner and paid our bill the manager suddenly shouted at us that we are too loud and that if we don't calm down we can go f... off. Followed by a rant of abusive terms saying that we are not customers because we are not British.Avoid this pub if you are not white British!!

Love this pub the friendly staff are always helpful and we especially like the quiz we have even won a few times.... my mother is so proud

I've been drinking & eating in this local pub for several years and love it. Great selection of beers & ales. Great thai food and friendly staff. And they even play vinyl and open until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays.

had a great time in this pub the locals was very friendly and the food very nice when in London next will go back

A friendly, local pub- great beer selection. The food is Thai and is among the best I've had in London or NYC- fresh, well spiced and good portions. The atmosphere is "bohemian chic" with good lighting.

All I'm going to say is microwave! The food was so hot it was nuclear. I'm a keen cook and restaurant goer. Although, when asked, the waitress said 'we only use the microwave for the plates'. When we asked for the bill, the food was still hot! Did not eat it as prawns were in the dish. No discount even though I didn't eat my main.

It's a nice setting. The food is always fresh and delicious. It's one of our locals. They have a good selection of drinks and I like that they play vinyls.

Went for a pint after a house viewing with 3 of my friends. The bar tender was extremely rude and hesitant in serving us. One of us went up with the IDs to order a round and despite being literally 2m away from the bar, the guy shouted over 'erm you're SUPPOSED to come up WITH your IDs?' despite it being obvious who was who, and the pub being nearly empty.I asked for a bourbon, honey and lemon (as I was suffering with a cold) to which he replied 'we don't have honey', I said fair enough just the lemon and bourbon please, to which he retorted 'we dont have lemon either. We dont DO cocktails love.' As though I'd just asked for a Singapore Sling. His whole tone and demeanour was cold and extremely condescending, behaving like i'd just insulted his first born.I ended up with a pint, which was normal enough.After serving us, he sat on the customer side of the bar to continue doing a crossword with his friends, and it made sense that he was annoyed that we'd distracted him from his task.Won't be coming near this place again, and was keen to leave a bad review to warn others.

This place has class character and style. It is busy on most nights and with good reason. The staffing is good and efficient and the range of beer is great. The owner recently acquired "The Ban of Friendship" around February 2014 which has since seen a vast improvement.

Woodbine is a very nice pub with a very friendly welcoming atmosphere. Plus, you can get really good Thai food there. Our group had several curry and noodle dishes that were very tasty, including Penang curry, mussaman curry, and pad Thai. Service was also very friendly and efficient.

A great pub. Particularly impressed by the charming young man behind the bar (James?) who provided exemplary service. Basically, as others have described it, a great boozer!

apparently this pub used to be a total dive! not anymore, lovely candles burning good choice of drinks and decent jukebox. happy to have a swift one after work here and glad it is close to my home

Am sitting in the Woodbine as I write. Called in here to watch the football. Staff very friendly. Found a seat in front of the bar by the pillar, right in front of the high level screen to watch the match. Had not long eaten elsewhere so no plans to eat but that soon changed. As I had my charger on me I could charge my phone while we supped our drinks. Aromas of Thai food soon filled the nose so come second half we decided to have a snack. We ordered a mixed starter and a Green Curry. Food was prompt, fresh and hot. No sign of cooking oil; spring rolls et al drained well and delicious. Although I like my green curry hot it was sharp but fresh, not too hot but full of flavour. I've just missed a goal writing this :-)I've been here before for drinks and liked it but will definitely eat here again.If you're in a group that wants the football on but you don't want to feel like you're standing in the Emirates Stadium this is a great spot. The high screen and small TV at the back makes it inclusive but not overbearing. Just down the road from Garufa which is the excellent steak place we ate earlier, there are plenty of places here to tickle your fancy but if you want a good boozer with great Thai food and footie on the side, here it is!!Well done to the Woodbine team.

We go here regularly and never been let down. It’s a great little pub with a range and variety of people and characters making a good atmosphere. Its cozy and the candles make an atmospheric feel. Its good for couples drinks, dates, catching up with friends, and getting some good dinner for reasonable price.I believe the food is run by someone else, because you pay separately for the drinks and the food. Sometimes it is Thai menu (weekdays I believe) and sometimes it is American diner mean (Sundays), both are good, and especially the Thai curries – really does feel like good home Thai cooking. The American menu is also very good and great alternative to traditional roast dinners. At a very reasonable price - it is good quality food for excellent value. It’s not 5 star dining, its not a fancy up market bar, it’s a quality local pub that makes a great evening.

Nice cosy pub that is always worth a visit, lovely for a couples drink. Lots of candles on tables and nice booths to sit in.

We drink here regularly as its only 40 meters from our flat :-) Great atmosphere, relaxed easy going place for a few sharpeners after work or night out. Friendly chatty bar staff, good selection of real ale and other beers and wine. Great Thai food and Sunday lunch. My only criticisms would be that they took out a great Juke box a few months back and now play really pretentious 12 inch 1960s and 70s vinyl! Oh dear me!

As an Arsenal season ticket holder, I know the pubs on the Blackstock road fairly well and drink regularly at the Bank of Friendship and The Gunners before and after matches. Away from match days, however, The Woodbine is a lovely pub which is free from framed photos of Arsenal players and has a nice wooden decor. The pub is warm, friendly and has a great atmosphere. There's a large mirror on the ceiling which is pretty quirky and two glasses of wine only came to £7.60.I'd definitely recommend it if you're in the area and want a friendly pub which isn't football orientated. I didn't try the food but it smelt like they serve Thai although I am not sure on that point.Also looked like they serve good ales in old-school tumblers.

Pleasant place to pop into for a quick drink after work or stay longer and have a Thai meal. Interesting decor and nice wooden tables - shame that the big comfy leather sofas have just been moved out - a little less cosy now. Timothy Taylor a popular drink with my partner although not always available. Small but reasonable selection of wine by the glass and they also do a few cocktails. Thai food is good value - I tend to go for Phad Thai which is very tasty. In my opinion there is too much reliance on red or green peppers in many of the other dishes. Fab Jukebox. Have not attended but there is a popular quiz night every Tuesday.

But there aren't that many pubs that aren't dedicated to the Gunners! Great old fashioned pub.... lots of wood, dark and dingy, not much real ale (normally Tim Taylors and another) and seems to spend a lot of time off. lots of different bottled beers including stuff like Kirin. Good value Thai food which is normally pretty tasty although portions not huge. Best bit is the juke box... awesome rock, indie oriented. Big sofas to sit in. Recommened.... but should have more real ale.