Tollington Arms — Restaurant in London

Let's get one thing crystal clear. I have visited this pub many times on match days when an arsenal member and it is always amazing and have many happy memories here. Having moved from the area haven't visited for a while but was in town and having made my way back from the arsenal shop I thought I'd pay a visit.

Approached the bar ordered my drinks tried to have a bit of banter with the barmen on shift nothing ok I get it quiet day maybe your bored or tired absolutely no big deal.

I looked up on the screens and see fer v tot at first I thought maybe a glitch there were 4-5 customers sat inside at best. So I asked a patron who was sat at the bar by himself and was looking dejectedly at the monitors excuse me sir are you a spurs fan he says no I am a gooner. I looked around at other guests there was a family with children they were having a chat amongst themselves and not paying any attention to the monitors.

So I approach the bar and ask one of the barmen can you please switch the channel. I do not wish to watch a Tottenham game in a gooner pub. The barmen says oh my colleague has the remote so I repeat the same request to the said colleague. I says there are other early Europa league kick offs would you mind just changing it for us please. I got a rather abrupt response 'ah can't change it' spent at least 7-8 mins trying to get the channel changed but alas would have had more luck talking to a Brick wall.

I have been an Arsenal fan since 1989 and never have I seen such nonsense anyone who has been in this pub will tell you the scarves and Arsenal memorabilia on display so to be showing a spurs game for me is 'utter woke' nonsense.

Before you try to reply yes I do know there were Tottenham fans present in your establishment having finished their five a side football. THIS however was prior to their visit that I made multiple requests for the channel to be changed.

Anyway will not be visiting you on a non matchday going forward. Thank you for reading if you...

The Tollington Arms, Finsbury Park: Where Vape Clouds Meet Sports Bar Dreams

Walking into The Tollington Arms is like stepping into an alternate universe where the London idea of a sports bar is combined with a faint smell of vape juice and questionable culinary choices. The staff and regulars all seem to be on the same wavelength—puffing away indoors as if it were a vape shop rather than a pub. Nothing says "premium drinking experience" like watching the match through a cloud of mango-flavored haze.

As for the "Thai food," it's more of a suggestion than a reality. Tom Yum soup, a dish renowned for its balance of spicy, sour, and salty flavors, arrives looking like it got lost on its way from Bangkok and ended up in a London pub kitchen. The soup itself had no heat, barely any lime, and—perhaps most concerning—prawns that lacked all personality, which probably means they’ve been frozen since the last World Cup. It was an exercise in nostalgia for the idea of Thai food, not the execution.

But wait, it gets better! Enter drunken rice, which manages to outshine the soup with a touch of heat, though it's unclear whether this came from a well-placed chili or simply the ambient temperature of the pub. Still, if you squint hard enough, you might convince yourself it was actually spicy. The side salad is where the magic really happens—shredded carrot and cabbage, no dressing, because why complicate things when you’ve had a few pints and are just looking for something to absorb the booze? It's not gourmet, but in your slightly tipsy state, it somehow hits the spot.

In short: If you’re looking for a pub that serves questionable Thai food, has a vape-enthusiast fanbase, and offers the kind of lager-fueled, post-drink, "I just need something" grub, then the Tollington Arms is your place. If you're sober or looking for authentic Thai cuisine? Run...

Such as shame that I am writing this review as I have been to the Tollington on a few occasions, last time was to watch the Lionesses win Euros and the atmosphere was great and the people friendly. However, that wasn’t my experience on Saturday , when I returned with some friends to watch the netball World Cup semifinals, after reserving a space.

Initially the atmosphere was fine, until the landlady appeared. She had a face like thunder was very rude. She had the audacity to approach my friend’s 6 year old son, who has additional needs and told him to be quiet and stop screaming! (He was cheering!)

Firstly, what adult approaches a small child and not the adults the child is with?? He was actually sat in between two).

Secondly, how can a pub that hosts Arsenal games, almost week in and week out, where the noise level is much louder than that of a 6 year old, complain about the noise and tell him to stop!

To add insult to injury, the landlady turned the volume down, so we couldn’t hear the commentary in the last quarter! She said she had a migraine. Well what you doing in the bloody pub then?? Why not stay upstairs in your personal quarters. She even tried to blame a group of older gentlemen saying that they were complaining about the noise but one of gentlemen came over to ask how the game went and we apologised for the noise, he actually said that they didn’t have a problem with the noise, it was the landlady. 🤷🏾‍♀️

Now the only difference I could see between ourselves and the others pub users, was that we were a mixed group, the majority being black and the child was black! Now I can’t comment on what her problem was, I can only comment on how we were made to feel! All I know is, we won’t...