The Social (N1)

I absolutely adored this place when it first open - even had my birthday upstairs 2-3 years ago - it was brilliant.. But I went back there a couple weeks backs and its totally gone up its own arse. Staff seemed complacent, totally not on the ball especially on the Sunday when it's rammed. Crowd has definitely shifted to more Hoxton-esque wannabes who don't give a crap about who's first to order at the bar.

I thought it was just a one off bad day, but having just phoned them now to look into booking the upstairs again - the manager seemed even more unbothered. Really disappointing for what a pub that has great space and non-fussy decor.
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Kat - View all reviews by this user
Tuesday, November 23, 2004

On a busy Sunday visit the music was chilled and the food smelt good. There is a strange mix of 20-somethings and their parents in the small cramped restaurant, while there was wide open spaces with a few weekenders doing their thing on the decks.

Not hip, reasonable food which was gastro pub fare, but we had a strange desire to leave as quickly as we could. If you fancy an out of the way place to call your own then go for the food. The management could make the experience more relaxed for diners by giving us more space.
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Dr Marlowe
Monday, February 09, 2004

Visited this bar restaurant and will go back. It's set in a very pleasant square, rare for this area. The staff were friendly, the atmosphere was relaxed and the food was pretty good. This is a nice place to go with a group of people or as a couple and is relatively cheap. When we went they had Red Stripe on tap which is good enough for me.
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James Latham
Wednesday, October 29, 2003

We have lived round the corner from this pub for about a year now were definitely keen to find a place to call our own. We visited in the first week we moved in and have only been back once (just to be fair to the place and see if it really was as bad as all that). The food (Sunday roast) was really not very appetising - all watery and tasteless, the waiteress was vacant, and the bar staff rude and 'exclusive' - made you feel like you realy weren't quite worthy to be spending money in their establishment. If a visit to N1 is what you're after there are plenty of bars/restaurants worth spending your time in - this just isn't one of them!
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Wednesday, May 28, 2003

We live just across the road and keep on coming back to this terrific gastro pub. The food is great & the wine terrific value for the price. The atmosphere is terrfific, especially on Sundays when the whole place is absolutely packed. I would recommend this terrific local unreservedly. Worth the trip even if you're not an N1er....
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Friday, March 14, 2003