The Prince — Restaurant in London

🚇 Wood Green 🍺 £6.50 Yes IPA

The Prince is located in Wood Green in North London. The nearest Tube is Wood Green.

This handsome Victorian pub was built in 1870 and was originally known as The Prince of Wales. The pub has been through a turbulent time in recent years with multiple closures due to greed and poor management. A local community group succeeded in having the pub listed as an ACV in November 2015 and today the pub is on a firm footing. This is pub is run by the same good people over at @smallbeern8 in Crouch End.

This is a two-roomed pub that has a rustic and contemporary feel. The main bar area is ‘L’ shaped with lots of low level tables, a boarded floor, informative chalkboards and an array of eclectic artwork adorning the walls. The servery is a good size and has detailed columns on the front and back bar. To the left of the main bar is a dining area which has plenty of seating, an exposed brick wall and stools around drinking ledges. Outside are a number of barrels with stools for imbibing alfresco.

The beer selection is excellent and offers six cask ales and fourteen keg options. Most of the beers on offer are from independent breweries both local and from around the Uk. I decided to keep it local and opted for a Yes IPA from @goodnessbrew , the brewery is literally a ten minute walk from here. I thoroughly enjoyed my pint, price point was above average. The food menu is elevated Gastro fayre and fittingly receives rave reviews, Roasts are available on a Sunday.

I arrived just before 5pm on a sunny but chilly Saturday afternoon in March. The pub was busy with a local crowd and an upbeat atmosphere. The service was first class, the team were welcome, friendly and knowledgeable about the Taplist.

The @n22prince is a much loved and well supported Wood Green local that offers a superb range of beers and food. It just goes to show what the power of community can do to help secure a pub’s future. This stunning and welcoming pub is a must visit if you’re in the area.

📅 1st March 2025

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We have been going each nighy to have food and drinks. A number of times a male member of staff has been very rude in the way he talk to us. We reserved our table from 5.30 for 5 people. Ordered bottle of wine beer spirts and food. No problem when being served by girls, a couple of hours later, we saw a delivery going to our place of work opposite, from a takeaway, which none of us had ordered as we had food from the pub.. As one of us went across the road to collect this obnoxious waiter, as he walked past said we couldn’t bring food in to eat, he wouldn’t let us explain it wasn’t ordered by us but was a takeaway to take home. It wasn’t on the table, He could only say this in passing, couldn’t approach the table like normally, we then ordered another bottle of wine which we didn’t receive and reordered. Still no wine, we were then told the table was only for 2 hours, but very strange when other tables were not moving. We were then told how one of our party was very rude, and he wanted to ban her, and if she was a man he would call the police. We were paying customers all of us are professional people, and he treats us like that, he couldn’t even tell us he wasn’t going to let us have the wine. The longer this waiter works there, this Pub will not flourish, next week we can go inside the pub, is this what we are going to encounter each time his rudeness, his ill mannered way. We have not complained before when he shows this attitude to us, but yesterday was the last straw. Not sure of his name, but he is the older waiter with the bald head. Please teach your staff, about customer service, and there are ways of talking to people. He could have approached the table and inquired about the takeaway food. Which was not being eaten, rather then presume. This was a nice evening before he got so rude, and foul mouthed to our...

I have rated The Prince Pub three stars, which might feel a bit harsh, but four stars would certainly be too generous. My review is solely based on the food, as the drinks and service were exceptional by any standard.

I visited with eight friends, including children, and most of us ordered roasts. I had the whole chicken roast for two. The chicken itself was well-cooked, the gravy had great depth, and the desserts were a hit across the table. However, I was disappointed with the trimmings—a common oversight in pubs where sides often take a backseat to the signature ingredient.

The vegetables for two were served in a round cast iron pot, likely designed to retain heat, but the contents were stone cold. This left the the pot clinging root vegetable mash/purée no chance. The green portion consisted of just one single leaf of cabbage—hardly enough to complement the meal. No broccoli, no kale, no peas, no car velo Nero. Nowt. We each received three quartered roast potatoes, amounting to less than a single medium potato per person. The Yorkshire pudding was burnt, which I could overlook, but the carrot portion consisted of just three small coins. All of this arrived tepid and felt like an afterthought. At £44, it was a disappointing exchange for something I could have executed better on an off day.

That said, the croquettes were delicious and, notably, retained their heat—likely fresh from the fryer before service.

Overall, a fair rating would be around 3.6 stars.

Would I return? Yes, but only for drinks and a social occasion. Would I eat there again? Probably, but just for bar snacks. As for the roasts, I’d wait until enough time has passed for potential staff turnover to...