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The Griffin, N20
N20
N20 9HH
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Tris C left this review about The Griffin
Dating from around the mid-17th century as a coaching inn, it was rebuilt in 1928 in a restrained brewers’ Tudor style and formerly a Meux’s house; it’s also on CAMRA’s list of pubs with historic interiors, this garnering *; the place is more attractive than the photos suggest.
I came here the previous Friday and the place was absolutely heaving with the area’s youth, the door guarded by two bouncers, deafening music leaking out from within; I made no attempt to enter and doubt there would have been any room for me if I had. A return the following Tuesday at just gone 9.30pm, to find a far more restrained affair. The floor is bare boarded and to the rear, is a fantastic multifaceted lantern, probably once above a billiard table; there’s also a beautiful festoon cornice, Tudor-style doors to the lavs and garden. The front is also of note, with two substantial Tudor-style fireplaces, surmounted with herringbone nogging; there’s a field panelled ceiling (pale grey) with matchboard infill and natural wood field panelling to the dado. Otherwise, there’s a shades of grey colour scheme with charming window reveals that double as banquettes. Furniture is modern mixed to the rear, more traditional up front; décor takes the form of some mirrors, books and ferns. Customers were a bit of a mix, with only about four older blokes indoors, but more far younger – some unappealing – types out in the – apparently – impressive garden.
A credible cask selection amounted to Landlord, Tribute and Hophead at a very reasonable £5.10 a pint, in decent nick, but a short measure served by a couldn’t-care-less barmaid, though she was friendly enough to the regulars.
On balance, I thought this was a very decent pub, easily the best of just the four in N20.
On 31st July 2024
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2208 recommendations about 2165 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The Griffin
This is now a Laine's pub, so we can now expect a decent choice of real ales here, but those on offer during my midweek late morning visit weren't very exciting - no Laine's beers yet; London Pride; a house ale called Griffin Ale (Caledonian Edinburgh Castle 80/- according to WhatPub), and Adnam's Ghost Ship (£2.20 a half). The landlady wasn't sure of the provenance of the Griffin Ale, but kindly gave me a taster which tasted fine. I was in too early to see whether food was available.
This is an interesting pub. According to the landlady a pub on this site was a coaching inn for those heading north from London. Inside there are several (inter-war probably) heritage features. The fielded wood panelling on the walls is old, as is the bar counter front, and the oddly Tudor arch topped doors at the back are an interesting feature. There are brick built fireplaces on both sides of the main bar area which are clearly original, as is the rare diagonal (grey-painted) matchboard panelling on the ceiling. This room would once have been divided into three - what was probably the public bar on the right; a jug and bottle bar leading from the now unused door in the centre; and a saloon bar on the left. There is a fairly large room at the back which has a large skylight which suggests that it may have been a billiards room.
But the pub doesn't end there. On the right, behind the large double doors leading from the street is a "function room", which is effectively a small outside conservatory. Past that is an outside area with an outside toilet and storage buildings that may have been stables; then a large covered seating area with its own bar counter; then a large garden at the back. It's much larger than it looks from the outside.
I was the only customer in there so can't judge the atmosphere of the place from my short visit. But it struck me as a comfortable and friendly pub - the landlady was certainly friendly enough as seemingly having nothing better to do she gave me a grand tour of the estate. The furnishings were all of the traditional sort that I appreciate. I was expecting better in the way of ale choice, but nonetheless I really liked this pub.
On 9th September 2017
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Griffin
A place that has been the victim of multiple botched refurbs (previously a Scruffy Murphys, at least). A blandly decorated, odd-shaped interior knocked-through at the front, with a separate rear room and an apparently huge rear garden which I overlooked to explore. The one (only) striking features are the quasi-baronial stylings (how old these are is unknown to me) - either side of the main bar are massive inset stone clad fireplaces and similar remaining quasi-Tudor bits include toilet doors at the rear, plus an attractive skylight in the rear room. The bar has lost its upper gantry and looks oddly naked. An ambitious six ales were on and unsurprisingly it was a mixed bag of Tribute, Pride, Bombardier, a Caledonian brewed house beer, Batemans QED and Adnams Samba. The Batemans was undrinkable and taken back and off. The replacement, Samba, was a pretty odd beer in pedestrian (warm) condition but fair play to the bar lady who proffered a taster first. It all felt rather listless here and it needs more attention to detail, I’m struggling to reconcile the lavish praise bestowed on it from elsewhere in the context of my visit.
On 24th October 2016
- rating: 5
[User has posted 5552 recommendations about 5533 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Strongers . left this review about The Griffin
I’ve found the staff in here to always be friendly and the quality of beer is always good. Deuchars and Bombardier are the normal ale offerings, but one of them is usually off. Fosters, Strongbow, Kronenburg, Guinness, John Smiths and Bulmers are also available.
The pub doesn't look that big from the front, but there is a huge beer garden located out the back, which if the pubs self advertising is to be believed, is the biggest in North London. Before entering the beer garden there is a covered smoking area that has some seating, table football, a projector screen and an outside toilet. There are loads of TV's in the pub and the staff seemed quite happy to change the channels when requested, so great for watching sport. There is also a dartboard in another part of the pub that has some comfy chairs and another TV screen. Apparently this area is also available to hire out for private functions.
There seems to be a lot of effort being put into the pub with something happening almost every night from ‘cheesy disco' nights to quiz and poker nights so all in all a good pub that I will be visiting often.
On 9th July 2008
- rating: 9
[User has posted 5965 recommendations about 5931 pubs]