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The Black Horse, Barnet
Barnet
EN5 4HY
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Moby Duck left this review about The Black Horse
Sat on a corner of mini roundabouts, The Black Horse is now an opened out gastro-pub and being quite large and spacious doesn't help it in the charm stakes,there is little if any ambiance to the place. There were a couple of young family's in the beer garden and two or three couples inside, but it still seemed cavernous on cold inside,and despite having been open an hour, there were still stacked chairs and tables around the edge of the room. That said on the beer front it was a little more interesting with a range to cover most tastes, Pride and Seafarers via Fullers, Portobello Autumn Red and Market Porter,Farr Brew Pale, Directors, presumably Courage but this was just handwritten on cardboard, and the beer I chose Barnet Hoppy Ending,brewed in the pub and was very good. Despite being happy with the beer, I couldn't warm to the pub at all.
On 31st October 2018
- rating: 5
[User has posted 1872 recommendations about 1845 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The Black Horse
This pub is well described by those who came before me. Inside it's completely opened up,with gastro-grey everywhere. About half the pub area had tables laid for diners, with the "drinkers" area being furnished mainly with recycled dining room tables and normal chairs. It's true that the garden is sizeable and well maintained, but being right by the very busy main road does detract from it somewhat. In fact even though my group visited on a nice day we opted to sit inside in order to avoid the traffic noise and fumes. The micro-brewery (Barnet Brewery predictably) is still operating in a small room, or garage perhaps, at the back. There were no menus on the tables; I guess you ask for one at the bar if you plan on eating.
There were seven real ales on when we visited on Wednesday afternoon (a couple of handpumps were unclipped), plus Weston's Rosie Pig cider. The ales were Doom Bar, London Pride, Gale's Seafarer, Thwaite's Wainwright, Mighty Oak Supernova, and the Barnet Brewery pair of Battle of Barnet and Glory. My companions and I (the blokes that is) all rated the Battle of Barnet as our beer of the day.
The beer selection was very good, and the place was comfortable enough even if a bit more restaurant than pub. This one is definitely worth dropping into for drink if you're on your way from the Olde Mitre to the Lord Nelson.
On 1st October 2018
- 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 Black Horse
A nice old building that abuts a junction. A modern, modish, rattly open-plan gastro interior in mushroom shades with an impressive beer garden out front (shame about the busy road!). Selection of papers and a small number of books, though whether you’d be able to concentrate on that over the drone of the background muzak is another matter. The selling point of this place for the drinker is that it has its own in-house microbrewery (Barnet) and that there’s a push on the ale in general, though sadly only one of their own brews was available on my visit. Nine pumps at the bar and an eclectic bunch (looks like they’re working off a pubco list) with Barnet IPA, Black Sheep, GK Golden Breeze, Sharps Doom Bar, Fuller's London Pride, Marston New World, Vale Moon, Backyard Navvy plus Westons Old Rosie cider. We obviously went for the Barnet which was a fairly average beer but in decent condition nonetheless. Overall it's a reasonable place if you're ale hunting and worth a try if you're nearby, but there’s no pub cosiness to make it a singular destination venue. 6.5
On 24th October 2016
- rating: 6
[User has posted 5099 recommendations about 5082 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Black Horse
After a short period of closure, this place reopened to great fanfare in November 2012, reinventing itself as a brewpub with a strong emphasis on food as well. The pub is a short walk from Barnet High Street, passing some attractive buildings along Wood Street on the way. Inside, you find a large, opened out room but with a number of clearly defined individual areas. You enter into the drinker's area with the L-shaped servery directly in front of you and some good mixed seating to the left including tub chairs, pews and high stools, with a stone fireplace on the end wall acting as a good focal point. The servery has a rather plain modern counter and bar back and the whole room has rather uninspiring Farrow and Bull paint scheme, bare floorboards and minimal décor, with a few black and white photos and the odd painting having to make do. To the front right is a carpeted square space with half panelled walls and three rows of standard tables and chairs, all but two of which were reserved for non-present groups on my Friday evening visit. From here you can access a large roadside garden which has a large lawn and a smaller patio section with loads of seating options but no real sense of peacefulness thanks to the relatively busy road. A final space to the rear, beyond the bar, had been set up as a formal dining room and had a faux brick wall at the back, lots of formally set tables, also mostly empty but reserved, and a large plain mirror on the end wall. A half decent funk/rock soundtrack played throughout my stay and I was able to bag one of the few unreserved tables, although this happened to be next to a couple with two very annoying yappy dogs.
The pub has it's own brewery (Barnet) out the back, so I was looking forward to trying some of their beer, but an initial glance along the hand pumps suggested that none were available, so I had to choose from Marstons New World Pedigree, Vale Gravitas, BCA Fireside, Hatfield Prior Reid Dark Mild, Merri Men Be Merri, Aylesbury Brewhouse Three Mile Island and Hambleton Stallion. I couldn't resist the Dark Mild (£3.70) and I have to say it was a fantastic pint that went down in no time. Having wandered around to the other side of the bar, I then spotted another pump dispensing Barnet IPA, but by this time I was totally sick of the yappy dogs and their useless owners, so I didn't try it after all.
This has got elements of a great pub, with the beer range and quality in particular being a major draw. I'd hoped this would be well worth travelling the length of the Northern Line for, but I was disappointed to find a half empty pub with virtually nowhere to sit and felt the place gave off quite a food-focussed vibe, when I'd expected the beer to be the main driver. Its a good addition to Barnet's fairly limited ale scene and I'd definitely give it another go if I was back in the area, but I left a little underwhelmed and would hope for a better experience on returning.
On 24th July 2016
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john gray left this review about The Black Horse
Nice warm friendly pub on a cold rainy night.Smart interior with the brewhouse presumably out the back.About 6 beers on and I tried 3 from a tasting paddle.Barnet -hadleys ipa and 1471 and West berks-granddad toms which were ok.Bus from the tube station stops outside.
On 20th December 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1023 recommendations about 1009 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about The Black Horse
It was a bit of a trek to get here from High Barnet tube, uphill most of the way, but it was certainly worth it. The pub is home to the Barnet Brewery with the brewing operation carried out in a rear outbuilding. I discovered later that you can have a look around, unfortunately after we had moved on but worth knowing if a future occasion finds me there. I arrived to find the barman lovingly polishing the handpumps, eight of them in total, directly opposite the entrance. From the in-house brewery was Three Muskabeers and Old Fold Mk 1, additionally Pride, Bombardier, West Berkshire Grandad Tom's Tipple, Vale Brewery Brill Gold, Black Wolf Lomond Gold and Scottish Borders Dark Horse.
The pub has a fairly modern feel, extended to the rear, one end is set as a formal dining area, the other there for the drinkers. Mostly boarded but with some carpet at the drinking end, seating was mixed with lots of bucket chairs, light brown leather benches and armchairs as well as more regular types. One end has wallpaper patterned with a suitcase design, there is a wood burning stove in the hearth, various horse related pictures as well as the usual B&W photos of the area. A large side garden facing the road has a number of picnic type benches.
It isn't traditional in a been here for ages way but it still somehow retains the feel of a proper pub despite the modern twist on design. I liked it, the beer and service were good, tasters offered, people were eating and the food looked decent too, not your microwaved pap, certainly worth seeking out, probably the best part of an otherwise disappointing day in the Barnet area.
On 21st September 2014
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1708 recommendations about 1681 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Aqualung . left this review about The Black Horse
This is an old boozer on a road junction a short walk from the main street through Barnet. I could see no signs of a dartboard or TV screens so I think it's safe to describe this as a Brewpub and restaurant as the far room was laid out for dining.
There is a pleasant looking garden with picnic tables as you approach it from Barnet Central and inside it has traditional pub furnishings with wooden floorboards.
On the bar there were 8 pumps one of which was unclipped and three had the Barnet Brewery beers Silly Mare, Giddy Up and Trotter's Bottom. The other four pumps I noticed included beers from Tring, Hanlon's and Warwickshire but I didn't note them all.
I went for the Giddy Up (£3.50) which isn't cheap for a house brewed beer of modest (4.2% or 4.3%, I didn't write it down) ABV.
It was the style of beer that has become known as a boring brown bitter, which many people would be happy with but for me it could have done with a lot more hops. Sadly I didn't have time to try the other two. The Trotter's Bottom was a similar ABV and the Silly Mare 3.7%
This is a pleasant enough place and I would return if only to try more Barnet beers.
On 9th March 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Alesonly . left this review about The Black Horse
Its reopened as a good Ales & Food Pub now there were five Ales on when we went in on our last pub crawl and we tried them all between us including two they brewed themselves at the Barnet Brewery and all were in good condition and the staff friendly and knowledgeable. As it was our first visit and last Pub on our Crawl detail's are a bit vague I will add more after next visit.
On 24th June 2013
- rating: 8
[User has posted 132 recommendations about 105 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about The Black Horse
Update:
It was reopened by Roger Protz no less on the 28th of November after a comprehensive refurbishment, and apparently will have its own in-house brewery.
And wow, what a transformation they have done here.
Now much bigger with a modern decor and plenty of comfortable seating areas.
But the real selling point is the additional of a sea of Real ale hand pumps on the bar, 11 of them on total.
8 of them were functioning for my inaugural visit with mainly smaller brewery beers and the others seemed to be lined up for future use for the Barnet Brewery which will start brewing from Feb next year.
A couple from the XT Brewery Co in Thame and a couple from the Raw Brewery in Derbyshire , but went for the Higsons Stout which was spot on.
The decor is now more aligned to a modern gastro pub, but the beer choice, if its kept going, means the good bergers of Barnet now have an alternative to the two Ye Oldes in the shape of the Mitre and Monken Holt for a decent beer evening.
21st August 2012:
Oh dear,
Drove past on my way into Barnet tonight and saw the place borded up with the metal security shutters firmly in place..
Was never the best pub in the world but sad to see another one bite the dust..
On 9th December 2012
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2111 recommendations about 1992 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about The Black Horse
Fairly standard plain one bar locals pub on the main Wood Street drag into High Barnet.
Looks like it used to be a two bar set up originally but now one bar with the serving area in the middle, dart board at one end, and what looked like a small stage area at the other.
Does have the benefit of a sizeable garden, although it sits between the pub and the main road, so may not be ideal for a quiet pint.
Friendly enough locals when I visited and an attentive barmaid. Beers on were Fullers London Pride and GK IPA. Unfortunately the Pride went off as my pint was being poured which left me with only GK IPA which was….. GK IPA !.
Pleasant enough place and I probably wouldn’t have an issue if this was my local, but also there wasn’t anything special to motivate me for return visits as it’s not..
On 19th May 2009
- rating: 5
[User has posted 2111 recommendations about 1992 pubs]