The Orange Tree, Totteridge, N20

Doom Bar and London Pride (£4.30 a pint) were the unexciting ales on in here. But I don't think that people come here for the beer, as it's clearly a food-led destination pub for people wanting to visit a "country" pub for a meal. Main courses are mainly in the £12 - £14 range; the standard homemade burger, etc, is £13.50, but if you want something called a Wagyu Burger it's £16.95. I was the poor relation sitting in the bar area and opting for the soup of the day plus bread and butter - which came with bread but no butter, and I had to go searching in the restaurant area for a spoon. The interior of the pub is ultra modern, but they've made an effort to give it a country pub look with the addition of fake light coloured beams on the ceiling. But it doesn't really work. the bar counter's also very modern, with copper and pine panels. There's a dedicated dining area on the right, where you have a greeter to show you to your table. There's another room on the left which also had tables laid for diners, but as nobody was in there I guess it would be used as an overflow at busier times when the main dining area was full. This leaves the "drinking" area in the middle as you enter, where the bar counter's sited. Here you have a couple of chunky tall tables/tall stools, some round copper topped tables, and bucket armchairs. All redolant of a hotel lounge. The main attraction of this pub (in my opinion) is the outside seating area, near the attractive pond. It's a little too near the main road, but is nice enough on a warm day nonetheless. This is clearly a destination pub for those wanting to dine in, or outside, a country pub. The ale selection's boring to say the least - but of course they may sell more Prosecco or Pinot Grigio here.

To say that this pub is out of the way is something of an understatement - it's a good 25-minute walk each way from the station. Dating from the mid-18th century in "The Manor of Totteridge", this pub was rebuilt in 1923 and due to its location, very closely resembles a picture postcard village pub situated in what must be one of the most affluent locations outside central London. Quite spacious inside with what would probably once have been several rooms, the place has little if anything in the way of traditional décor today. It's also presided over by the same posse who run the dreary Freemasons Arms and even more dreary Old Bull & Bush (both NW3) so it should come as no surprise that this pub's décor looks like it has come from a job lot used to supply the above: hanging spot lamps [check], polished metal-topped circular tables (copper here) [check] and leatherette drum chairs [check]. The side flanking areas appear to be reserved for dining with a central bar area of modest proportions primarily for the drinker. The client base seems to be quite homogenous north London-wealthy as well as some blinged-up cockney types who perhaps draw an income from Hatton Garden safe deposit boxes. There are premium lagers aplenty but only two ales: Sharp's Doom Bar and Fuller's London Pride which, priced at £2.00 for a half, is quite reasonable for the area. It was however a bit lifeless and flat. I can imagine that the beer garden is something of a pull, though the duck pond appeared a little stagnant. There are painfully few remaining pubs in N20 and this, being so isolated, is the immediate area's only choice but The Griffin by the station looked altogether more appealing so I doubt very much that I'll be returning.

Official site of the Orange Tree, contains menus - www.theorangetreetotteridge.co.uk

Official site of the Orange Tree, contains menus - www.theorangetreetotteridge.co.uk

I knew that this pub was very food orientated, but I was very surprised at how busy it was with diners on the recent Tuesday that I visited. I was also a little disappointed as this isn’t really a pub anymore as the bar area in the centre of the pub is tiny and more of a holding area where people stand whilst waiting for dining tables to free up. Doom Bar and Pride were available on the two hand pumps and there were also a few premium lagers available, but most of the lunchtime crowd were drinking white wine and soft drinks. It’s a big pub next to a busy lane, but there is a nice pond and one could easily forget that this pub is located at the edge of London. There are a few picnic tables to the right of the pub, but most of the outside space is taken up with parking spaces as this place is a little out of the way meaning that most people drive. There was a bit of a pong from the stagnant water in the pond and I think there maybe some farm animals grazing nearby! I went with the wife and kids, yes we drove, and I had a pizza and the misses had a pasta dish which she shared with the kids as there was nothing really on the menu geared towards the little ones. There are high chairs, but the tables are so close together it would be hard to position one and the waiter didn’t seem awfully keen in going to the trouble. I thought that the food was a little pretentious and although nice I still thought that it was on the expensive side, but this is a well heeled area and the packed tables obviously indicate that they have priced the food at a level people are prepared to pay. I wouldn’t go here just for a drink and it wouldn’t be top of my list for a bite to eat either.