Friday night at Rowans. We have seen the queues outside at 12 on our way home. We decided to go for an earlier evening slot.

The service – we didn’t book, but they keep 8 lanes free for on the day. We were directed straight upstairs to our lane – yes this is a double deck bowling alley!! All the staff we dealt with were friendly.

The atmosphere – the most diverse and mixed place we have been – kids parties – dates – lads night – hipsters – is! We were all terrible at bowling to start with. Though this improved with a few beers!! Well some of us did!

The food – we ordered the bowling platter – which was as beige as you would expect it to be. Wouldn’t bother ordering food if we went again. They had a good selection of drinks. Lots of bottles and the standard larger. The food you have to order, get a number and collect at the bar when your number was ready. This would have been easier if we realised there was a counter upstairs as well as down.

Value for money – £12 for the beige bowling platter wasn’t bad. Bowling it’s self was £15 each for two games. A round of 4 drinks less then £20. Overall reasonable cost for a night out.

This was our return to Brave Sir Robin following a new pairing with Fat Sabbath.

The service – Good, provided recommendations on drinks and the barman crucially wasn’t an ale bore!

The atmosphere – chilled out vibe. We have been meaning to come back to try Fat Sabbath following a shout out on instagram. Though on a Friday/Saturday night it has been too buzzing and loud for our mood.

The food – amazing! There were vegan options still available but didn’t go for those… Jo had seen the pork belly special on Instagram and it was immense. Beautifully cooked pork belly. Complimentary purée, salsa verde and greens. Jon had a little bit of food envy… The fish was good quality and chips very nice, maybe a bit salty.

“Best thing I have eaten on Stroud Green Road – and maybe – possibly ever!” – Jo

Value for money – £10 for the special of the day was excellent value. And £35 for the two meals and 3 drinks felt excellent value.

Any excuse for a glass of wine and charcuterie board – however a wet Saturday and a day caring for my Nan who has dementia this felt well earned

The atmosphere – lovely. Super relaxed. Music at the right level to create a buzz but not so loud that couldn’t chat. Also the heater made it feel snug and cozy from outside world.

Now the outside world – the view is not exactly salubrious. We had fun watching the antics outside – from dodgy parking – to someone having a wee behind the phone box. You also have a view of Value for Money the closed down “butchers” and 5 Star Pizza and Chicken!

The service – excellent. There is a comprehensive list of wines. Jo went for an easy to drink cab sav. For her second asked for something similar flavour but slightly more full bodied. The waiter recommended the Primitivo from Puglia which matched requirements perfectly.

We also love that the waiter/owner stepped outside for a cigarette a number of times – not needing to worry about anyone taking the mic.

The food/drink – all the glasses of wine were excellent and the wide ranging selection means there will be something to suit everyone’s tastes. The food was okay. Was nice to have a twist on classic charcuterie board with more of a German take. The meats and cheeses were a mixture of quality – the smoked cheese cubes were good – a few more greens or tomatoes would have been appreciated. The bread was lovely.

Value for money – £37 for 4 glasses of wine and the board. Considering would spend at least £25 on 4 bad to reasonable glasses of wine elsewhere this didn’t feel too bad. Not sure we would bother with food next time.

Jon’s parents joined us for their first ever Vietnamese…. Fortunately we nabbed the last table of four on a wet and windy Friday night!

The service – Good when accounting for how busy the restaurant was. When clearing our table the waitress carried and balanced an impressive number of bowls!

The atmosphere – very busy with groups of friends, family and couples. The tables are all very close together, but understandable given the small restaurant.

The food – for starters the summer rolls were fantastic, although there were some chopstick issues for one of the Vietnamese newbies! Our second starter was vegetable spring rolls, which were nothing to write home about. For mains the tofu curry was brilliant, very filling with great flavour! Definitely didn’t feel like missing out by not having meat. The chicken curry was identical, but the meat didn’t absorb as many of the complex flavours!

Jo’s Pho was delicious. Lovely deep flavours in the broth helped warm up a chilli wet evening

Value for money – Before the last chopper out of Saigon we paid our bill to the excellent hosts. £70ish for starters, mains and 2 rounds of drinks felt okay.

The service – abrupt. Took us a while to figure out the menu, and the guy behind the counter was looking at us like we were duds.

The atmosphere – none. Even though we have seen this place busy there was no one else in there at the time. Though is an excellent spot for bus and people watching.

The food – actually okay. Jo is not a massive fan of Piri Piri sauce so went for the Lebanese chicken in pita instead. Plenty of chicken – although the sauce is definitely poured on and not marinated as flavour didn’t go through to centre of chicken. The sweetcorn was tasty. Jon had some sort of miscellaneous Tex-Mex source. It was not bad. Despite being lots of signage about their milkshakes, they weren’t serving them!

Value for money – £24 for food and a drink didn’t feel cheap. However the amount of food and the quality of the chicken was good.

A glorified shed nestled between the railway, network rail car park and SGR! Roti Joupa is a Caribbean takeaway that we had been looking forward to trying.

The service – Friendly, but I think she thought we were a bit odd as we tried to order ‘too much food’

The atmosphere – It is mainly a takeaway. One person arrived while we were waiting and was greeted as a long lost friend – waited till we were leaving to settle down for a chat. Great picture of St Lucia on the wall, which made me wonder if St Lucian international as well as Barnet, Stockport County and Ware legend – Ken Charlery had ever been in!

The food – We ordered a chicken Roti and a pumpkin roti. Both were excellent and a different league to the other Caribbean takeaway on SGR. We ordered so much that we had leftovers the next day which were even better.

Value for money – £12 all in felt good value for the amount of food that we got!

Of all the pizza places on Stroud green road this would not be the one we would natural choose. However it wasn’t actually too bad.

The service – efficient – did there job. No small talk.

The atmosphere – A couple of people eating or ordering food. Not somewhere people hang around. But not unfriendly. Grabbed pizzas; Waited for Jon at Finsbury Park station and headed home (might be why a couple of slices missing from next picture!)

The food – not bad. Ordered Hawian Pizza and a garlic bread. The garlic bread was tasty and crispy (better when hot!). The Hawian wasn’t too cheesy or greasy. Basic ingredients but worked well.

Value for money – excellent. £12 and had some left for lunch. Though I notice now I could have got a meal deal – must have been the wine which made me not notice!

The atmosphere – too good if anything as we couldn’t hear each other. This may be because we went for a relatively early (for a Sunday) brunch or the acoustics were rubbish due to the lack of soft furnishings. Every table was full with hungry and chattering diners. This was definitely a good sign as often Hodge Podge has looked less than full.

The service – really good, the waiter who is also possibly the owner welcomed everyone in by giving them a menu and a giant jug of water. He gave helpful tips on what to order. The best bit being his genuine enthusiasm for putting the customer first!

The food – ultimate hipster food of spaghetti hoops on toast which as you would expect had a very bourgeois description. There is a high bar to beat Heinz spaghetti hoops, but this meal certainly did. Very tasty!

We also ordered eggs & bottarga, which was intriguing from the outset (namely having to google what bottarga is). It was deliciously delicate but very intense flavours. All in all this made this a super interesting and tasty brunch

Value for money – £8 for spaghetti hoops on toast! This really is becoming lower Crouch End! However comparing the price of this breakfast with coffee with other cafe/brunch spots on Stroud Green Road Hodge Podge is definitely comparable.

This was our third attempt to go to The World’s End pub. The first time there had been a wake on and we arrived for the “I love you no matter what” phase. The second time was a private event. So this was third time lucky. We had planned to come here for the “Cameron Derby” (Aston Villa vs West Ham).

The service – the bar staff were alright. Not very impressed when we brought back a rather cloudy ale. Bar man had a sip of the pint and said “borderline” but then did give a different pint. The pint probably was but that doesn’t mean you should be still serving it!

The atmosphere – good for a Monday night football game. Half the tables full with a mix of fans. Good screen and nice venue to watch the game.

The food – mixed. Excellent flavours in the ‘burgers (with extra bacon in dishonour of Dodgy Dave) and on the tostadas. However, need to focus on upgrading the basic ingredients of chips – nachos – buns. All of these elements took away from the effort the has been put in by the chef.

Value for money – worst so far. £15 for a Burger and beer at normal London £5 a pint price meant that this felt like a pricey Monday night.

The atmosphere – fantastic! Really busy happy place with everyone enjoying great food and good company. Max’s not only one of the best vibes on Stroud Green Road, but also the whole of London! The walls are decorated with top trumps and cool posters. It is a pleasure and a privilege to live round the corner from the institution of Max’s sandwich shop.

The service – Max himself was welcoming all customers in like he had known them for years. Max and the other waiter were certainly rushed off their feet taking orders and handing out sandwiches. Despite being super busy service was all with a smile and great humour.

The food – We ordered Ham, eggs and chips in a sarnie no 1. And a lasagne sandwich for our 2nd. Such great flavours in both and really captured what they were trying to be. Simply the best sandwiches ever!

“It was amazing. More fell out of my sarnie than I get in a Pret.” – Lucy from up the road!

Value for money – Last than 30 quid for two giant sandwiches and drinks! Also the bill was delivered inside of a duck!