The Orange Tree, Winchmore Hill, N21

Randomness Guide to London - Orange Tree entry

Randomness Guide to London - Orange Tree entry

The Orange Tree is a traditional untouched locals pub. In essence a one bar horseshoe layout , but with the separate pool and darts section to the left of the bar and a seating section with its own fireplace to the right of the bar. Cosy in winter as there are two fireplaces, one on each side, and then a fairly sizeable garden area out the back equipped with kids play things for the summer months. Plenty of pub artefacts adorn the walls, a collection of Toby Jugs above the bar, porcelain pots in one section, and various framed certificates for the times The Orange Tree has won the Enfield and Barnet CAMRA awards and the ‘Enfield in Bloom’ awards. Four real ales are usually on offer and it is a GK house with IPA and Old Speckled Hen as the house ales. But there are usually two regularly changing guest ales as well. There are two flat screen teles, one at either end, which are supplemented by a large pull down screen for the projection unit, which makes it a good place to watch sport and is usually very lively when one of the North London Clubs is being shown on the satellite feed, The Landlord is an Arse*** fan, but those of us of the other persuasion forgive him, as he runs his pub for the benefit of all fans and will invariable show both Spurs and Arse*** at either end when both games are available on live feeds. But when the footy finishes , the screen goes up and the pub returns to being an excellent place for a social drink. And with regards to the final comment of the previous reviewer, yes I do feel very lucky to have the Orange Tree and the Dog and Duck amongst my locals.

I really liked it in here and I am of the opinion that this pub is almost perfect. I say almost as the affiliation with Greene King (Old Speckled Hen, IPA, Greene King xx Mild) is a let down, but I am going to gloss over that. I tried the Ffiagra which I wasn't really that bothered with and I wished that I had opted for a Guinness. The pub has Sky and Setanta which are shown on the two plasma screens and the projector screen which was rolled up during my visit. There is a room towards the rear which has a dartboard, but there is a pool table on the oche. There is another dartboard in the front bar and I overheard the barmaid telling a local that the pub was quiet due to no football or darts being on so I'd imagine the board in the back room is only used when the darts team is playing. I found the barmaid to be very friendly as were the locals that happened to be within ear shot. I'm not very keen on pubs that play commercial radio as I think adverts being played bring an air of depression to a pub so hopefully Capital was only playing as the pub was very quiet. I would make a detour to visit here again and people living locally are very lucky to have this place and the Dog and Duck on their doorstep.