The Queens Pub - Primrose Hill

The thing is you see, I don’t normally feel compelled to write about places I’ve eaten in. I put this down to the fact that working away in London most weeks, I do eat out quite a lot and there has to be a particularly outstanding reason to blog about something I do most nights of the week.

Now then, given the above statement you could be forgiven for thinking I’m living the life akin to Mr Reilly. Unfortunately this isn’t the case, for two very good reasons:

One, I have no idea who Reilly is, let alone how he spends his spare time. Rumour has it that he’s generally having a whale of a time. This though, is rumour and we are dealing with facts here people. There is no mention of him having the details of his super-injunction leaked on twitter, he isn’t, as far as I know, desperately trying to secure his next Panto role by appearing on the “Celebrity” Big Brother and there are no pictures of Mr Reilly adorning the pages of Hello and other such publications (no I don’t read them). Which, if may digress a moment, leads me onto another thought. If men are such babies when they’re feeling ill, always claim to suffer terribly from one minor ailment or another and basically they are massive hypochondriacs, then why, why, are doctors waiting rooms furnished only with Women’s magazines?

Two, we’re on an expenses budget. So more often than not were limited to either chain restaurants or the lower end of the market. Unless that is you discover a gem such as The Queen’s in Primrose Hill

If you’re ever in the area and looking for a quality and very reasonably priced meal I thoroughly recommend coming here.

The new Chef Robert’s touch is evident in the food, the quality, especially for the price is of a very high standard. The Queens is a traditional pub with an upstairs (these are quite steep and get trickier as the evening progresses. Good wine and rickety stairs don’t mix) dining room. The staff are very friendly, helpful and knowledgeable.

I had the Risotto which tasted wonderful, not too rich and not too watery. The mushrooms were as varied as they were tasty and the stock used for the risotto was divine. Robert came out to talk to us at the end of the evening and we spent a good few minutes discussing the love of cooking. Robert even explained how make the demi-glace which he’d used in the risotto. Impressive stuff, when you consider that all Wagamamas can tell you about their new dish is the sauce is made in a factory.

Andy  had the fish cakes, which he said were brilliant, as you can see from the picture below,  as well as being delicious he also found the shape of them enticing (what’s the female equivalent of phallic?), he claims to have been testing the temperature before tucking in

Phil Nicholson was blown away with his seared duck and he said that it was the best he’d ever eaten

So in summary, it’s well worth a visit if you’re in the area or not. Excellent food, friendly staff and very expense budget friendly.


Have a look at their website to see what's on offer The Queens Pub at Primrose Hill

If any of my colleagues are reading this then get down there lads. The new chef is very good and the more of us that go they’ll likely do some kind of deal for us