Clissold Arms

Yes, it hit the spot! Good Pub Food with an Awesome Outdoor Seating, perfect for summer.
Highlights: Food was delicious, cooked great with ample quantity, Location was easy to find with some private parking, Staff was friendly with good décor and ample space for private events.
Can improve: Food is above average but they can definitely improve to make it better.
I have dined here couple of times since May 2015 and it is now one of my go to local pubs.

Got here at 9:45, kitchen was meant to close at 10pm but it closed early on a Friday!!! No food and very hungry — very unhelpful staff.

The terrace outside is the right mix of laidback pub atmosphere with pure class. Jazz plays in the background and the staff, while a bit slow to serve sometimes, are attentive and offer you bread and crudités to keep you going before your meal arrives.
I ordered a shoulder of lamb and my boyfriend ordered two sides to create a main. Truth is, we only had to wait about 5 minutes for the meals! My lamb was tender, the runner beans were of the perfect texture (not too crunchy or soft) although it’s not often you only get two roasties for pub grub!
For afters, we shared the chocolate brownie with ice cream. All in all, a lovely place for al fresco dining and is go back again in the evening to see the canopy fairy lights lit up :)

How this place could be any less than 5 stars is just beyond me!!! I was lucky enough to come here for one of my best friends wedding receptions. The three course meal we had was incredible!!! I had squid for starters! Then BBQ chicken and fries. And the. Chocolate brownie for dessert was just to die for. The design of the place worked so so well for a wedding and I had the best night ever! The staff were amazing and took such good care of us. I’d like to especially mention and thank Stuart! He was legendary.

Firstly, please note that this is a review of the pub and not the restaurant. I’ve no idea what the food and service is like there.
I refer to Clissold Arms as The Prettiest Pub In The World. I first discovered Clissold Arms while on my evening jog. I couldn’t help but stop and admire the beer garden, quite literally covered in fairy lights. It’s a bit kitsch but really cute.
The first time I went there for a drink, Clissold had little bonfires and Halloween themed decorations, which was utterly adorable. My latest visit was last night and I’m happy to report that it’s still just as cute, so if it’s not too much of a mission for you to get to, it might be a nice spot for a date.
The heating lamps don’t really work but they have blankets to keep you (sort of) warm. But the atmosphere in the beer garden is worth being a bit chilly for. I can’t wait for the summer because Clissold’s beer garden is where I’m going to be spending my evenings.

Great place, good atmosphere. Really nice outside space with lots of twinkly lights. Has a kind of beach holiday feel outside. Almost three distinctive areas: Posh restaurant, great bar and relaxed seating and then outside space. Cocktails were really good and reasonably priced for Muswell Hill. Nice mixed crowd. Gets quite busy at weekends but you can always find a corner to squeeze into.

They are physically incapable of not burning their food. When I complained (that my £13 much-​to-​be-​desired burger was burnt…) the hostess was extremely rude, telling me that «it was not possible to make a burger medium rare»!!
Stay away…

Yes a lovely dining room. Service ok. Kinks on high rotate. However the pumpkin soup I had looked vaguely orange but clearly was mostly vegetable soup and was over thinned. The beetroot salad was tasty but miniscule. Bread with soup was stale and no butter or oil. Clearly caught on a bad day.

I’ve visited The Clissold Arms on several occasions. It’s regularly cited as one of the best Sunday roasts in north London, and it’s not hard to see why.
The beef is tender and juicy, with plenty of delicious gravy. Fantastically, they come and offer to re-​layer your dish with a fresh helping of gravy halfway through your meal. That’s definitely a winning move in my book. The Yorkshire pudding was enormously fluffy (my friend described it as bonnet-​sized). The roast potatoes were light and crispy.
In the past I’ve also had the coq au vin and the sea bass. The coq au vin is perfectly cooked in a rich, heady sauce, accompanied by those excellent roast potatoes and some potent garnishing of thick, juicy bacon.
The sea bass looked a little sparse on it’s plate, resting atop a small stack of asparagus spears and a smattering of kale. Again, it was cooked to perfection with a tantalising suggestion of lemon, but the slightly anaemic portion left me feeling jealous of my friend’s full roast.
On to the desserts! And what desserts! I’d been disappointed by the bread pudding on my first visit some months back, but they’ve improved dramatically. The bread pudding was fluffy, delicately flavoured with cardamon and perfectly timed hidden pieces of raspberry, and other delights. As such, it was the polar opposite of the stodgy staple I normally expect.
The real winner, however, was the pineapple carpaccio. Wow. This was as refreshing as they get. The thinly sliced layers of pineapple were covered is a heavily reduced sugar syrup, with a delicate hit of saffron, and a generous sprinkle of chilli. It was topped it off with a drizzling of fragrant pomegranate pieces and a healthy dollop of lemon sorbet. These flavours were absurdly well balanced in the sort of gastronomic experience I wouldn’t have expected from a «mere» gastropub.
So, all in all, a fine Sunday meal. Quite a treat for the locals, who fill the pleasant garden eating area on a sunny day. My only complaint is that the main courses are «merely» excellent, with the stunning desserts providing a hint of the illustrious heights The Clissold Arms could reach with a little daring. One of the best Sunday roasts you’ll find in London. Excellent.

I’m giving the Clissold Arms three stars rather than four because I’m sitting on the fence. The reason is that as Jill A points out, this place is just as much a restaurant as a pub and as I only had drinks there, I’d like to try the food before judging further.
That said, the drinks options were plentiful and extra credit from the northerner in me for the Yorkshire Relish-​flavoured crisps. A very tasty accompaniment.
The atmosphere was buzzing on the Saturday I went and it’s clearly a popular joint. With a nice outside sitting area it would be a great place to spend a Sunday afternoon.

This pub likes to feature its food. It has a large dining area. It has a decent range of drinks but abit light on the availability of ales.
A good choice of starters to chose from. The bread and olives at £3.50 were uninteresting but well presented (the olive oil quality was poor). The atmosphere is good with tasteful natural tone decorations.
They also offer a good wine list so this is an ideal pub to get a good meal and wine. Dinner for two with Bread/​Olives, Starters, Mains & coffee, bottle Rioja (really good) inc service @ 12.5% was 90.00. I plan to be returning sometime to give a try on their Sunday roast.
During busy nights it is advised to book your table ahead of time (Fri, Sat).