The Salisbury Arms, Winchmore Hill, N21

A large Victorian building,with an open plan interior.To the right of the entrance is a seating area with some chesterfields infront of a double sided real fireplace ,logs are stacked by the front door.The bar occupies the centre ,while opposite there is a lot of metal frames low and high tables,a bit of a mess in my eyes.To the left side there is a raised Oak Room with long bench seating and the feel of a restaurant area,although all tables are numbered so food can be consumed anywhere.There is a small open kitchen ,and the short menu has a lot of seafood options,with mains starting at £11,with a median £13 up to steak at £16. The bar sports 4 handpumps but only TT Landlord available on my trip served southern style,always a mistake for this northern ale.Talking to the barmaid it appears Doom Bar is the other regular ale which was settling,yawn,while two guests make an appearance over the weekend.There is a short list of craft keg beers,nothing out of the ordinary on my trip.There is a vast exterior drinking area with lots of bench seating,and a covered courtyard. A bit more pubby that the Kings Head with a regular quiz and 6 nations,but I wasn't heartened by the single ale option .No real reason to return,but decent enough.

Official site of the Salisbury Arms, contains menus - www.thesalisburyarmswinchmorehill.co.uk

In common with the nearby Kings Head the Salisbury Arms is also an early 1900’s build commanding a corner plot, this time to the south of Winchmore Hill Green. It was for many years a traditional two bar (public and saloon) set up until, also in keeping with the nearby Kings Head and Queens Head , it underwent a modern style makeover by the owning PubCo. Mitchells and Butlers initially made it an Ember Inn and then into one of its unbranded modernist pub chain. E.g one large internal space but divided into several areas of different character with a clean wooden floor, large wooden tables and lots of lounge type seating, and a central long dark wood serving area supporting copious continental lagers and guest real ales. This interior will not be to everyone’s taste, but you can usually find a comfortable area for a social chat or a quiet pint. The clientele tends to be the more work / family oriented crowd during the day and then the younger demographic move in during the evening. One big positive of the Salisbury is the outside drinking areas. The decking area to the front of the pub is a real suntrap in high summer and an excellent place for a pint on a sunny afternoon. And they have now converted the garage area to the left of the pub to an outside drinking area as well. A strange point is that the two garages have had the doors removed and tables and settees added, and although outside the pub building, you are not allowed to smoke if sitting inside the garage space. As mentioned, lots of foreign lagers but of more interest to me is the four real ale handpumps, which have Pride and Bass as a house beer and the others rotate, being Doombar, and Batemans on my last visit. A lot of people come here to eat, but I don’t so I cannot comment on the food, but in my experience the ales are usually good and tend to be kept OK.

Official site of the Salisbury Arms, contains menus - www.thesalisburyarmswinchmorehill.co.uk

This gastro pub has a wide selection of premium lagers alongside Landlord, Pride, Bass and an unused hand pump. I had a pint of Pride and Landlord during my visit and thought that they were both good. I found the pub a little draining so I decided to sit outside which was pleasant enough. I would go back here again if I had time when passing.