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The Elephant Inn, North Finchley, N12
N12
N12 8NR
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The Elephant Inn
This pub is one of the more recent additions to CAMRA's Regional Inventory of pubs with historic interiors. You can easily see the current four room layout, but there may have originally have been more rooms of course. The room on the left is my favourite, with a nice wood-framed fireplace, mostly carpeted and with excellent fielded panelling on the walls. There is a small room (a snug possibly) in the centre with just a couple of armchairs and with vestiges of screening with some glazing separating it from the other rooms. The room on the right is a bit plainer, being bare-boarded, with some fixed bench seating by the window and along the side, plus some normal tables and chairs. Behind this is a further room separated by more glazed screening, which is carpeted and contains the pool table.
It's a Fuller's pub so no real surprises on the beer front. They had on London Pride, ESB, something called Due South, and Day Dreamer (£2.15 a half). Food is Thai - a stir fry is £8.60 for meat, and £8.90 for prawn. I saw something called "Sparkling Saturday" advertised, which gives a 20% on sparkling drinks on Saturday. It probably excludes fizzy beer.
This is a rather nice pub that hasn't been overly mucked about over the years. It's definitely worth a visit as long as you're OK with Fuller's beers.
On 7th April 2019
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Alesonly . left this review about The Elephant Inn
Always a good Pub when I'm in the North Finchley area. Ales Always seem to be good on every visit Pride & ESB. The thing is the staff always polite and ready to serve & help. Its got to be one the best old school Pubs in the North Finchley Area now. At least it dont get full of the loud mouth drunks a lot of pubs in this area seem to suffer from.
On 20th August 2018
- rating: 8
[User has posted 132 recommendations about 105 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Elephant Inn
Fuller's pub with a heritage factor, retaining a fair bit of old decor over its U shaped interior. This consists of pre-war wood panelling, stained and leaded dividers, doors and insets (PSM below captures it better than I). The right side of the pub is more public in nature with TV sports (Spurs were on, so given the area there was inevitably a crowd to watch) and a separate function room. To the left is a quieter area with wood burner, comfy chairs, more wood panelling and nice upper decoration, akin to a gentleman’s club. There’s also a decent patio front garden. Thai restaurant upstairs. Four ales on; Pride, ESB, Chiswick (decent) Summer Ale (naff, tasted musty). A nice place to pop in and sample the history but like the reviewer below, I’d question its GBG 2016 credentials. 6.5
On 24th October 2016
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5081 recommendations about 5064 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Elephant Inn
Located on one of the main roads through Finchley, this is a traditional two bar Fuller’s pub that has been knocked through to create a continuous U-shaped interior. The right hand side of the pub is bare boarded and has nice padded banquettes running around the perimeter supplemented by standard chairs. The walls are decorated with photo montages and TV screens were variously showing golf and cricket, although no-one seemed to be paying much attention to either. The servery looks like a survivor and has a nice foot stand, detailed pillars supporting the dark wood gantry and a tongue and groove bar back. The front part of the pub, which would presumably have either been a porch or a bottle and jug in days gone by, now offers up a drinking ledge and a single high table set under nice stained glass partitioning screens and a few old photographs. Moving round to the left hand bar, you’ll find similar banquette seating under some high wood panels with a nice decorative band above. There is a fireplace with a grand ornamental surround on the far wall, alongside which you’ll find a huge Fullers mirror. The bar has some nice decorative touches on the canopy and to the rear there is some more stained glasswork and access to a Thai restaurant. Meanwhile, to the rear right there is effectively a separate room, screened from the bar by more of that nice partitioning. This space is a carpeted lounge-style area with standard seating, dark wood panelled walls and large mirrors, but it was being used for a private party, so I didn’t get a good look round. Loud pop music played throughout my Friday evening stay and there was a wide mix of customers in – I found myself sat next to a sloshed group of pensioners who seemed to have decided to turn the clock back 50 years for the evening.
This pub made the 2016 edition of the Good Beer Guide, so I was looking forward to a good pint of Fullers. Only three ales were available – London Pride, ESB and Gales Seafarers – with a few more Fullers beers on tap and in the fridges. I tried a pint of the Seafarers, which I have to say was pretty poor quality, seemingly suffering from the heat but also perhaps approaching the bottom of the barrel as well.
I thought this would be a good way to round off a short crawl around North Finchley, but it turned out to be the poorest pub of the night. The building still retains a bit of character and I was quite comfy sat in the bar watching the old folk get smashed, but the beer was bad, the service best described as functional and I found myself leaving with the sense that I’d perhaps missed something here. This place might be worth another try, but with better options just up the road, it’s some way down on the list for a revisit.
On 25th July 2016
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john gray left this review about Elephant Inn
Two separate bars one quiet the other with 4 tv,s showing football but as there was no sound it was also quiet.Good Fullers range and I tried the ever reliable London Porter on keg.Nice panelled interior.Thai food on the menu.
On 20th December 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1023 recommendations about 1009 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Alesonly . left this review about Elephant Inn
I was in this Pub again yesterday evening having a few pints of ESB & Pride its still a very good Ale house with some of the best Fullers Ales on tap Including London Pride & ESB Navigator. The Ales are always in top condition & the Staff are always very helpful and friendly. As the restaurant is in a separate part upstairs out the way it don't spoil the Pub atmosphere like it tends to in most gastro Pubs and this also means the place don't continually smell of stale food. There are two bars on the ground floor from the front On the left hand side there is a smaller nice quiet Bar where you can read and relax with a pint in peace. Where as the right hand side there's a larger bar it has plenty of TVs for sport and a larger area at the rear with more TVs & a Dart board I would say overall its the best Pub in North Finchley by far and I would have no problem in recommending this place to anyone.
On 18th May 2011
- rating: 9
[User has posted 132 recommendations about 105 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about Elephant Inn
This is a large u-shaped Fullers house that is one of the best pubs in the area due to friendly staff and well kept beer. Three Fullers ales are usually available and Old Hooky was also on last time I popped in. San Miguel is also available along with a standard draught selection and I’ve never had a bad pint of Guinness on my many visits. There is a Thai restaurant upstairs and the quieter left hand side of the pub often has people eating, but never to the detriment of the pub’s ambience. The busier right hand side of the pub has plasma screens and there is a large extended room at the rear which houses more plasma screens and a projector for showing Sky Sports. There is also a dartboard in here, but sometimes it is off limits as this area doubles up as a function room.
Adorning the bar at the front of the pub there are numerous awards from ‘Barnet in Bloom’ for the attractive potted plants and hanging baskets that are present in the paved area full of picnic tables at the front of the pub.
I regularly pass inferior pubs on the bus as I make my way here and long will this continue.
On 11th March 2010
- rating: 9
[User has posted 5247 recommendations about 5215 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Alesonly . left this review about Elephant Inn
I Went into this Pub again recently Ive been using this Pub since it was The Moss Hall Tavern years ago its still a very good Ale house with some of the best Fullers Ales on tap Including London Pride & ESB Plus the Ales are always in top condition. Staff are always very helpful and friendly and As the restaurant is in a separate part upstairs out the way it don't spoil the Pub like some other Pubs have done. I would say overall its the best Pub in North Finchley by far and I would have no problem in recommending this place to anyone.
On 13th February 2010
- rating: 9
[User has posted 132 recommendations about 105 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john mcgraw left this review about Elephant Inn
Large Fuller's pub away from the main centre of North Finchley. A horseshoe bar selling the usual range of excellent Fuller's beer. Nice outside covered seating area at the front.
On 6th April 2009
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2044 recommendations about 2025 pubs]