Browns Brasserie @ Ye Olde Cherry Tree, Southgate, N14

A former coaching inn dating from the 1700’s Ye Olde Cherry Tree is now under the Vintage Inn umbrella and functions more as a restaurant nowadays than a pub. I remember it in former times when it used to be mainly a pub with a restaurant section at the back. But most of the internal space is now taken up with the dining area and just the smaller area around the bar at the back of the pub near the rear entrance is kept for drinking. So in this respect it is best used just for a beer on a fine weather day when the pleasant outside patio area can be utilised. There are usually four ales available which tend to come from the usual suspects and Pride, Doombar and Adnams Broadside were on for my visit last Sunday. As a restaurant it’s a fairly pleasant place to eat as, although it is quite a large space, the interior is a collection of separate spaces with several atmospheric nooks and crannies. The menu is the usual formulaic chain offerings and the quality tends to go up and down with the ability of the chefs employed, which like all chain pubs tend to change on a regular basis. Fortunately for the last year the quality has been quite good as they have managed to retain a couple of good ones.

This place feels a bit like a soulless hotel bar, which is a shame as it is a lovely huge pub with a nice beer garden at the rear. The usual lagers were on offer alongside Pride and Greene King IPA, but I got the feeling that the pub is much more food orientated. The barman was extremely friendly, but the barmaid was a little dismissive. I found it quite boring in here and the depressing music didn't help matters.