The Bull

Five star ambiance. It doesn’t get any better than a cozy table upstairs with a full bar downstairs and tons of great people watching all night.
The food’s good, and I appreciate that it’s not just another Nicholson’s or Wetherspoon’s franchise with a faux handwritten menu and the city’s «best» fish n’ chips.
It may not win any major culinary awards, but they’ve got a weekly special before 6pm where you can get a two-​course starter and main for £12. Top it off with a couple of cask ales and you’ve basically got everything I need from a pub.

Went here for an early dinner with my partner. The atmosphere is lovely inside, dark and intimate despite the large space for seating. It was fairly quiet so the bartenders were really friendly and relaxed. I ate the fish and chips after having craved some all day — I was not disappointed. Would love to come back for a drink on a busier night.
It’s easy to miss this as you walk down the road given the dark exterior but it’s definitely worth stopping for.

A little hipster for my taste, and they had no bitter lemon (no gin sours fix for me ! Boo!) but it was reasonably enough priced, clean, and with a friendly crowd who asked us to take a picture, rather than using a £:(?&(,£;(&4;&);!7;36££9(;)£ selfie stick, which shouldn’t be a refreshing occurrence !
Loved the cheesy nostalgia music, and the fact we got to sit down, nice range of booze behind the bar, we got to sit down, and a nice enough atmosphere. Perfectly good for a couple with friends

This pub is okay. Pretty big, so groups of 6 can stand up and hang around tables. By 9:45, several items on the menu where done. My fries were good, my friend’s burger was said to be good as were sausages and mash (generous portion), but they were all out of cooked vegetables. But food came out nice and hot. Music loud, lights dimmed at 10:30. Staff were okay.

Nice pub with a decent lunch and good selection of beers. There were not many people there but we only went for lunch. For a sandwich and a beer I paid about £20.

Fish and chips was good, showed up late for trivia, but it looked like it was a blast. I went with the bartenders recommended beer and while a bit lighter, it was delicious.

Stopped by for fish n chips and they were great! The cider and beer was good to. Overall a good spot but the service was a little slow.

Stopped in here on a Saturday night, and after living in the area for about a year, so sad it took me so long! Thoroughly enjoyed my experience here. As far as I can tell, this is an independent pub. They offer a wide range of beers on draught and also feature guest beers which I always appreciate. I didn’t try any of the food, but it appears to be standard pub fare. I’d also note that the bartender was very friendly and helpful, describing a range of the beers and letting me a sample a number of them. I also really enjoy the layout of this pub which feels very open.
Will most certainly return!

I think The Bull suffers from an identity crisis.
So it’s a pub right? Like with a bar and serving food. My friend booked the upstairs bit for a his birthday party. And we’re all there chatting and whatnot, and the music is just getting louder and louder. And louder. And louder. Like you could barely hear anyone. And I’m trying to say (which is difficult due to he noise) «Why is the music so loud, there’s not even a dance floor.» Because, well there isn’t a dance floor and it’s not a night club. But it really, really wants to be.
When I went downstairs to use the bathroom, there was even a DJ spinning. I can see why the music is so loud, but why does a pub need a DJ? It’s a bit pretentious…
And speaking of pretentious, they seemed to have quite a selection of craft ales. That were terrible. Seriously, we moved on to Doombar due to the terribleness of the craft ales. Clearly a hipster must have picked the beers knowing that the beer was terrible but trying to be so cool and different s/​he picked them anyway.
Unless you like crappy beer and loud dance music in a venue with no dancing just avoid The Bull and go someplace else.

I always mean to drink here more. I’ve never eaten here, but they have a good wine menu and the staff are always super friendly. It’s got plenty of seating too. It does feel a bit chain bar — but not as bad as the usual suspects (all of whom are within a few blocks). Haven’t been to Wine Wednesday, but that sounds like something to check out soon.

So how do you garner 1 star? Motivate me through lousy food to recommend people away from this pub. The sweet potato wedges were lukewarm and cooked inconsistently through. The scotched quail eggs were unappetizingly cold and tasted of breakfast sausage. The gammon was nice but came without steak knives and you needed those for this tough, but tasty meat. The skewers and fried skate were ok.
Overall, nearly all of our food came out lukewarm and room temp. They were cooked all the way through, but cold food? Sorry, but I’m avoiding this Bull.

Great pub on Upper street, close to Mem & Laz, so after a feed there, head to the Bull for some drinks and chillaxing.
It’s more of a commerical pub, but a good one at that.
Good music, décor, crowd. Gets pretty crowded at the weekend, as expected. worth checking out if you are in the area & fancy a bevvie.

Make your own bloody mary station.
Nuff Said.
(oh and the food is overpriced but the station makes up for that)

I attended a recent Wine Wednesday at The Bull to say goodbye to Linzi before she left us for Vancouver. It’s a 10 minute walk from Angel Tube but my attention was distracted by many restaurant menus on the walk up.
The pub itself is pre-​modern chic with seating on the ground and first floors. The Unilocal crew managed to snag a large table but the limitied room meant lots of people squeezing past our table all night. So, a little cramped for a large party.
Being teetotal, I wasn’t too impressed by their lack of options for non-​drinkers. However, the wine seemed to be enjoyed by my fellow Unilocalers.
The Bull was an average venue but the Unilocal event was nevertheless a blast as usual.

You know what you can’t beat?
A bottle of totally drinkable wine for £7 on a Wednesday on Upper Street.
Is it a Tuesday and you want beer? Then the Bull isn’t your place.
Is it a Friday and you want wine and dinner? Then the Bull might not be your place, either.
But if it’s a Wednesday and you want wine, then it’s the Bull. It’s only the Bull. It’s only ever been the Bull.
Wine Wednesday.
The Bull.
Wine Wednesday.
Remember.
Wine Wednesday at the Bull.

Wine Wednesday was the promise that dragged me through the door of The Bull in the heady days of early summer.
The Bull is located almost equidistant from Angel and Highbury & Islington tube stations on Upper Street which makes it a good place for people watching.
Most bottles of wine are only £7 which made for a good evening (and a sore head on Thursday).

Great pub with comfy sofas and armchairs (I totally dig sofas and armchairs in public places…), nice big tables for groups as well as more cosy, intimate places (in case it’s just you and your date, your best friend, your significant other, …), a *very* decent selection of good and reasonably priced wine as well as a good international selection of beers, excellent chips (I concur with Valentina here: although I am not American, I just HAVE to order chips when in a pub — it’s almost like a reflex), friendly, patient and very attentive (in sum: awesome) staff, and an interesting mix of people. I love people-​watching, and so far this is one of my favourite spots to do so. To put it simply: I like!
Now, if only they could offer some more vegan food options (I thought that falafel might be an option but was told that it contains egg — and that’s just wrong, what’s up with that?!), I would happily give this place 5 stars…

If the words ‘wine Wednesday’ spark the same sense of desire in your liver, er, heart as they do in mine, then you are certainly going to enjoy the Bull. Maybe a little too much…
Although it’s part of a larger chain, the atmosphere is lively, the food comes piping hot and tasty (the spinach, potato and lentil burger was a particular fave), the large windows swing open and of course the kicker: no one can fault a place with £7 bottles of wine. No one.
Try it, you’ll like it!

Was here on a Saturday night and I think I’m getting a bit old for places like this. I’m really built for comfort and not loud music, pushing/​shoving etc etc.
Got the table for 2 under the stairs, drinks at the bar from a girl who when I asked for a Corona she said that they didn’t stock it but recommended their Mexican beer which was Modelo (stumpy bottle with a foil covered cap, see pictures) and she correctly served with a slice of lime inserted in the neck.
Ordered food and this is were it started to go a bit south. Music was actually very good, urban remixes of mainstream songs but it was getting louder and louder, lights got dimmer and dimmer, crowd busier/​pushier, food arrived and was closer to cold than warm… When re-​ordering drinks the bar staff were soooo slow. No lime in my beer etc etc so only for my company and the odd tune that made me think «interesting version» this place had little redeeming features.

As popular pubs on a high street go, I suppose this one isn’t too bad. It does serve a few ales. I could probably enjoy a quiet pint in here at a less busy time.
When I visited though I just couldn’t bear the busyness; the shininess and the trendiness of it all. It felt like one of my nights out during my late teens, before I had taste.