The Harringay Arms — Restaurant in London

Went into small beer with my friend Murray who's a respectable shop owner in the village . Had some beers and a pizza which where really nice . Spoke to a friend on text said I'd pop in the harringay arms to say hi . We'd just eaten pizza so wasn't hungry , ask if we had to buy pizza with an alcoholic drink and they said yes which is fair enough ,good for them for sticking by the current rules. I asked because some places are less strict about them. didn't have an attitude about it and ordered soft drinks, two diet cokes. we sat in the back part of the pub it wasn't over busy there was some spare seats around. The landlady came with the diet cokes and said that's £11 please which I replied that's a bit expensive for two diet cokes. She replied you have to have a something to eat with the drink it's the law with a bit of an attitude ,I've been there before and put a fair bit of money behind her bar drank there quite a lot over the years being a local lad and she's been pretty much the same ,not very welcoming with a bit of a moody attitude , quite abrupt and rude like you're a pain basically but didn't rise to it. Not being rude I replied I don't think that is a law there just two soft drinks ,you've got to have some food which I said OK Ill leave it then and went to say goodbye to my friend . said I'm going to leave because I just eaten down the road and I wasn't hungry and I wanted two soft drinks and she said I had to buy food which I didn't think it was right . Stopped to say goodbye to another person and told him i was off , how are you ,how you doing bla bla. all of a sudden im being screamed at by the same lady from behind the bar across the pub in front of all the customers shouting you're taking the piss you coming in on a Friday night wanting to soft drinks and walking around slagging me off to all my customers which I found a bit paranoid and nervously started to laugh a little bit embarrassed in front of all the people in the pub . Like a totally over the top scenes out of EastEnders .

after leaving my friend said what the hell was that about, I said I'm not really too sure and he said she was really rude to him as well for no reason.

It's not the best pub in Crouch end and to be honest it won't be too much for a loss for me.

The ladies bad attitude and rudeness being front of house and a landlady of establishment which is based on entertainment was quite shocking .

Not all of the pubs are open in crouch end at the moment so I'd imagine a lot of people just put up with it because they want a drink . I definitely wouldn't recommend it and the other establishments are hell of a lot better

Totally over the top , unnecessary rude behaviour from a grown woman .

I can't see her...

🚇Hornsey 🍺 £5.90 Cross Lager

The Wooden Cross is located in the heart of Crouch End, North London. The nearest station is Hornsey.

The pub first opened in 1871 as the Harringay Arms. It had a strong reputation as the last old-school pub in Crouch End. However, after a change of ownership in 2012, it lost its way and ultimately closed in January 2024.

In April this year, the pub reopened as The Wooden Cross. Its new name nods to Crouch End’s historic wooden cross, which once stood near the clocktower.

This cosy, one-bar pub has a warm, traditional feel. The servery sits on the right-hand side and retains the pub’s original name and Watney’s lettering. Decor includes a mix of parquet flooring, dark wall panelling, a brick fireplace and sturdy tables surrounded by varied seating. A standout for me is the Watney’s sign—a once common sight across London. At the rear, there’s a small walled beer garden.

The beer lineup is solid, with a good mix of keg, independent brews and cask options. I opted for the in-house Cross Lager—great pint, and pleasingly cost under six quid. Food comes courtesy of @north_and_ten, which is based in the pub’s former taproom. They serve a range of bagels, including salt beef, Reuben, chicken schnitzel, pulled pork, and salmon with cream cheese. I was kindly given a sample of the salt beef—it melted in my mouth, so good 😋

We arrived on a warm, overcast Saturday lunchtime in August. The pub initially had a few punters in but soon began to fill up, with most heading to the beer garden. The atmosphere was relaxed and atmospheric, thanks in part to the cosy, low-lit bar area. Service was excellent—the team member who served us was courteous and friendly.

Great to see this independent pub back and trading. The pints are reasonably priced, and the food offering is refreshingly different—I can definitely recommend the salt beef. A big plus is the cosy, intimate ‘less is more’ decor, which creates a classic old-school pub feel. My brother and I really enjoyed our time here—beer, bagels, boozer, brilliant.

Follow @the.wooden.cross for updates.

📅 2nd August 2025

If you want to see all my pub reviews in one place, head to @londonpubmap on...

An excellent proper pub with exceptional taste in music & the bar staff Rhiannon, Steve, Jolene & AJ are fantastic. Really good vibe & different from pretty much every other pub in the area. Closest comparison would maybe be The Robin at the bottom of Crouch Hill in terms of vibe, customers & bar staff. I do like it in there as well but the music is more geared towards jazz which is fine if that's yer thing. The Wooden Cross has a lot of classic 80s/90s indie playing during the week, a bit more rock & alternative at the weekend Fri/Sat, and more towards blues, funk & soul on a Sun to wind down the week. And! This is very important (well, to me anyway!) the music is played at a loud enough level where you can clearly hear everything that's being played, but not over-bearingly loud that you have to shout to have a conversation. Pubs that have music playing at such a low level most times, ye just wonder why bother if no-one can actually hear what's being played? Trying to work it out by what the bassline is. But the Cross has it exactly right to suit younger folk like me & the older regulars who don't want their eardrums burst. And the soundsystem/ speakers are crystal clear sound which again is massively important. Most pubs that play low volume background music (and it's always random generic crap) tend to have really muffled speakers with no equalization or being properly tuned which makes the music even harder to work out. The Wooden Cross have got everything bang on with the sound, the staff, the clientele & the look. Can't fault them on anything really. Haven't tried the bagels yet, but sure they're of an equally high...