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Fixer Upper, Winchmore Hill, N21

Pub added by elizabeth mcgraw
18 Highfield Road
N21
N21 3HA
Phone: 02083604853

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Reviews (Current Rating Average: of 10) Add Review see review guidelines


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Pub SignMan left this review about The Orange Tree

This is a large traditional side street pub, with a broad U-shaped interior layout, opened up from what would once have been a multiple room set-up. Corner doors at either end of the now, main bar area, lead into a spacious carpeted room with a nice tongue and groove panelled counter with pleasing curved ends and a high mirrored bar back. Each end of the bar retains a section of the original gantry, now liberally decorated with pump clips, whilst the bar back is topped with a great Toby jug collection, horse brasses, an old Littlewoods FA Cup champagne bottle and various bits of Arsenal memorabilia. Long banquettes span the length of the front wall, under net curtained windows with dusty old ornaments and lamp's on their sills. Tables and low stools stand over to the right, under a huge pull-down screen showing live football with the sound on, whilst a smaller screen next to it showed coverage of the Ryder Cup. The room runs back a fair way on this side, into a compact seating area with comfy options in a partly wood panelled space decorated with brewery and distillery mirrors, traditional paintings and various porcelain items. Meanwhile, over to the left, high tables and stools encircle a brick fireplace with nice wood surround packed with a mix of vases and clocks. There is a dartboard to one side and also another TV screen showing the same football match. Through to the rear on this side is a separate games room, dominated by a centrally positioned pool table, with chairs stacked up in one corner. There is a lot more porcelain in this room, plus cigarette card collections and various mirrors. The door to the Gents doubles up as access to a pleasant, tree-lined beer garden.
There was a choice of three ales here - St Austell Proper Job, Greene King IPA and an Orange Tree house beer of unknown provenance - with the fourth pump unused. The Proper Job set me back £4.20 and was very tasty, served to me by a friendly barmaid. Despite the attraction of one of the biggest fixtures of the season, the pub was almost empty, which was a real shame, as I can imagine a good, lively evening in here with a decent crowd.
This is another excellent, relatively unspoiled local's boozer in this neighbourhood. I though the interior, with its somewhat unfashionable decor and traditional furnishings created an evocative, nostalgic environment which was easy to settle down into and enjoy some of the well kept beer. The ale range may put some off enjoying an extended visit, but the quality was high enough to warrant more than the quick pint I was able to afford it. A good bet in this part of town if you're after a proper old fashioned boozer.

On 13th January 2019 - rating: 7
[User has posted 3102 recommendations about 3102 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Real Ale Ray left this review about The Orange Tree

I am a big fan of the traditional pub and especially when it's a back street boozer, like this one. It's the sort of pub where you can sit back and relax over a decent pint of beer and stay here for a couple of hours. It also looked very inviting on approach on a dark winters evening, with the two original Taylor Walker lamps lit. Four beers on handpump on our visit, which were St Austell Proper Job, Orange Tree Landlord's Choice, GK Flounders Fields and GK IPA. We went for the Proper Job, which was a well kept pint. This is a well supported locals pub and one of the regulars had made jars of homemade pickled onions for sale on a shelf near the entrance. If I had known, I would have bought a jar and brought in a lump of cheddar and some crusty bread.

On 4th November 2018 - rating: 8
[User has posted 3378 recommendations about 3378 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Bucking Fastard left this review about The Orange Tree

A proper old school boozer,tucked away close to The New River.Entering via the corner door,the L shaped interior has a long bench running along underneath the front window,and two wings either side of the bar .The one to the right has a vast collection of plates on the wall,and a coal affect gas fire in the pleasant surround.The wood panelling is attractive and the carpet homely,while the frosted glass is much in keeping with the furniture dating back to the 70's and gives the pub an air of serenity.There was a warm ,chatty welcome from behind the bar and both the muzak and the flatscreen showing BT Sport were on very sensible volumes.
At the bar there are 4 handpumps offering GK IPA,their seasonal Grubber Pale,a Landlord's Choice of unknown provenance and New River Riverbed Red (£4) on top form,fully justifying the GBG listing despite the boring nature of the other ales offered on my trip.
Worth a visit to sample the traditional atmosphere,this is a good reminder of pubs in which I began my drinking career many moons ago.The interior is almost worthy of a CAMRA national inventory listing.

On 9th March 2017 - rating: 8
[User has posted 2709 recommendations about 2709 pubs]


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Rex Rattus left this review about The Orange Tree

They had four ales on in here - Old Spooky Hen (really Old Speckled Hen with a jokey pump clip), GK IPA; Jenning's Red Breast; and Orange Tree Landlord's Choice (£3.70 a pint), a 3.9% beer brewed by Hook Norton. When we visited last Wednesday lunchtime the only food available was sandwiches.

My three companions and I all agreed that this was something of a hidden gem. It's an old school pub. Both the landlord and the landlady seemed enthusiastic about the pub, and they took the trouble to show us around, including the large garden at the back, and showed us the old photographs of the pub, as well as the bric a brac thay had accumulated over the 24 years they have had the pub, and which adorned all the walls. The pub dates from 1912, and the bar counter and wall panelling on the walls both appear to date from that time. There are doors at either end of the pub - the one the right used to lead to the Saloon Bar, while the one on the left obviously to the Public Bar. There's both a dartboard and pool table in the old Public Bar area. An unused door in the centre would have led into the jug and bottle bar. It's all completely opened up now of course.

There are attractive fireplaces in both ends of the pub, both with fires on the go when we visited on a very cold day. It's carpeted throughout, with just one tall table with tall stools, and with the rest of the furnishings being normal tables and chairs. There was a pull down screen on the right, but there was thankfully not in use when we visited.

This is a cracking little pub, and one to which I would dearly love to pay a return visit.

On 8th January 2017 - rating: 8
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Quinno _ left this review about The Orange Tree

Fairly traditional locals pub just off the main road. Interior has been opened up a bit and now wraps a good way round the long bar. Décor-wise it’s pretty much as I imagine it has been for 30+ years - traditional furniture, pub carpet, three quarter length dark varnish tongue and groove wood panelling. There is plenty of bric-a-brac to see, from a collection of Toby Jugs above the bar to vases, brasses and general granny ornaments on the fireplace and windowsills. Lighting came predominantly from standalone lamps. To the rear left is a discrete games area with a covered pool table and darts board. Bit of a let-down was the commercial radio being played, always a pet hate of mine. Four ales on, all GK brews: IPA, Abbot, Old Nutty Hen and a rebadge house brew. Went for the Nutty Hen which was pump tired. It's a bit of a throwback but none the worse for it. A double header of here and the Dog and Duck makes Winchmore Hill a worthwhile stop off on a Z1-6 Travelcard.

On 25th October 2016 - rating: 7
[User has posted 5050 recommendations about 5033 pubs]


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Steve of N21 left this review about The Orange Tree

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.

On 21st February 2010 - rating: 8
[User has posted 2094 recommendations about 1985 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Steve C left this review about The Orange Tree

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.

On 27th May 2009 - rating: 8
[User has posted 5179 recommendations about 5148 pubs]