The Engineer

We were so excited to try lunch here in the hopes that we would find another pub in the area with good food — unfortunately that wasn’t the case.
We started off with padron peppers and calamari. The padron peppers were both soggy and burnt (not a great combo), totally unseasoned and did not seem at all fresh which was super disappointing as they are one of my favourite dishes. The calamari just plainly left a lot to be desired.
The worst were the mains — my husband had a burger and I had sausages and mash. The burger had clearly been frozen — or was just really poor quality meat. The sausages were the same — although they were supposedly ‘free range’ they definitely tasted frozen/​not fresh and were burnt on the outside and not as cooked as I would have liked on the inside — I couldn’t even eat the majority of them.
We had intended to order dessert initially, but after having a very unsatisfactory meal we decided against it.
Such a shame, as I heard that the pub used to have great food when it was under previous ownership. We may come back here for a drink on the outdoor patio in the summer, but have been left with a bitter taste in our mouths and certainly won’t be returning for a meal.

Great little neighbourhood pub, with a nice garden. Good wine and beer selection. Their burgers represent an upgrade on the art form.

Great for their cocktails and a bit of celeb spotting. If you are here in the Summer they have a cute little beer garden in the back and if you are there in the Winter please try their Hot Buttered Rum, I didn’t like the sound of this but it’s amazing. Like melted apple pie. All of the food I’ve tried has been delicious but the prices are as you would expect in Primrose Hill pricey for pub food.

Remember that high school guidance counsellor who wielded what little power she had to make students lives absolutely miserable? GUESS WHAT? She works here now! As the hostess at the Engineer – beehive and lipstick on the teeth intact. Want to feel like a powerless youth again surrounded by incompetent and unrestrained authority? Want to be belittled and embarrassed in front of your friends and strangers? Come to the Engineer and ask for a table from this throwback! Picture it: Saturday at 6:15pm. We walk in to a nearly empty place and ask for a table. The bearded hipsters behind the bar advise us to speak to the hostess… that’s when we see her — it’s hipster Dolores Umbridge…‘s daughter?!! She repeats my question «a table…» *vacant stare* «yes, could we be seated? I ask politely, wondering if I’m about to get told off for not raising my hand before speaking. She exhales deeply as if smelling a week old Scotch egg… exuding hatred… of us, her job… maybe herself? My repeated question is met with solid awkward silence… followed by the creepiest giggle you’ve ever heard… «Well, I dunno,» she adds neither checking the bookings nor looking at available tables. We stare at each other for a solid 20 – 30 seconds, I turn to walk away. As if waking up that other ears are listening to this exchange she tauntingly yells «we don’t serve food for a whole 15 minutes,» followed by another creepy as shit giggle. I look at the barkeeps who are polishing their glasses a little too well and keeping their heads down. I’m annoyed, surprised and most of all hungry. «We’ll wait,» I say, utterly confused as to why this crazy has decided to take out her life frustrations on two people asking for a table. V spots an empty table and asks if it’s available… Dolores rushes over to stand in front of nearly hysterically yelling «someone may have reserved this! I don’t know! I’d have to check but you probably can’t sit her so it just won’t work, will it?» Followed by another Dolores giggle. «Could you check?» we request…

Came to this spot for bunch and found extremely disorganized service and almost inedible food! One of us got the steak sandwich, which came cold and me, the cod cheek sandwich which was rubbery and disgusting. If you are not from the UK and have high expectations that a pub with such a high review might possibly have good food, please don’t waste your time and grab some cheap and tastier eats at the Stables.

Epic place, let down only very slightly by the staff who are more than happy to walk on by when you’re obviously waiting to order a pint… That is excusable though when everything else about The Engineer is so great.
The food is the best pub food I’ve possibly ever had, the drinks selection is great, and the place itself is beautiful.
I wish it was my local :(

Love this pub. And the best bit is the garden. Not many better places for dinner on a hot summer’s night.

Deceptively big, this gastropub boasts two levels with plenty of TVs to get your Olympic viewing on. As it was conveniently just north of Regent’s Park, I headed up here to meet a couple of friends and watch the opening ceremonies. We happily discovered it was part of the London Drink Deck (£7 if you spend £20 on food and drink) and even more happily ordered a round and some nibbles.
The cocktails got good reviews from the girls and the double fried chips (my assumption) were excellent. Despite not wanting to eat much, I polished off the bowl. The scotch eggs looked alright but as my preference is for scotch sans egg I didn’t try them myself.
Extra points to the Engineer staff for regularly coming around and checking if we needed more drinks and food. It’s rare to get table service on the slowest of nights when you are tucked away in an upstairs room, but during a busy time such as the opening ceremonies it’s damn near unheard of.
Other thoughts: They have a table tennis table somewhere on the upstairs floor as I heard it but didn’t see it. Limited bathroom capacity means you’re likely to have to wait, particularly for the ladies. Overall, a nice pub after a day (or night) in the Park if you happen to be in the area but not enough of a draw for the trek alone.

This definitely lives in the posh pub category – more restaurant like than pub like with so many different rooms. The place is huge by the way. Crowd wasn’t too pub-​like and certainly no blaring tvs with footie.
I must say that the fish and chips were really tasty. The batter was light and delicious and crispy. So I’d say I’m a fan.

Dropped in late one sunday afternoon, nice contemporary interior good atmosphere and very friendly staff. It made a nice change to be able to take a late lunch on a busy Sunday afternoon and still be able to have the choice of the menu rather than picking over the scraps of what’s left.
The only slight drawback was the mains (wonderful beef) arrived a little too soon after the starters (the bread board) but the only issue this caused was where to position everything on the table. Sadly didn’t spend enough time their or drink enough of the their ales or wines. Next time we’re bringing reinforcements, arriving early and making a day of it.

Guter Pub mit schöner Hinterhof Terrasse. Das Essen ist gut mit adäquaten Preisen. Das Bier aber etwas teurer als der Durchschnitt.
Ausserdem gute Auswahl an offenen weinen

Oooo, now isn’t this fancy. Posh ales, beers and ciders with a beautiful patio out back for drinking in summer. This cute little pub couldn’t get any cuter, even the bar staff are dreamy.
I came here on a rainy afternoon and enjoyed a few with friends, it’s a good pub for that, not far from the park so it’s a great place to dry off and warm up after an afternoon out. It’s quintessentially English with tastefully floral décor… and yes there is such a thing.
I need to go back and try the food. It’s a bit out the way but from the look of their menu, it might be as dreamy as the staff.

You will pay premium prices for this pub as the food and décor are class. The garden is lovely and the staff professional.
They have an interesting cocktail list and decent selection of wines.
I come here when I feel like splasing out a little or for a couple of cocktails in the garden.

The Engineer has everything you would want from a pub. Great atmosphere, friendly staff, excellent food & drink choices. The best part about this place — the large outdoor terrace! I want to pick this place up and move it closer to me.
My two friends and I all got on their wifi («letmeontheweb») with our phones during dinner. What more can you ask for :)

This is too much a gastro pub (virtually a restaurant), not ideally a place to come and drink (especially at 3.80 a pint!). My pint of St Peters bitter was decent though.
The toilets are upstairs, which is worth remembering. I saw a lot of people, including myself, struggling to find them.
A lot of people below seem to really like this part of London but I just don’t like it.

Was really impressed with The Engineer, great pub and the food was fantastic. We went here on a Saturday night and we were thankful we made a reservation since I can imagine it’s difficult to get a table if you just show up. The place is surprisingly big since from the outside it looks rather quaint. While waiting for the table we were able to have a pint at the bar (they have a decent selection of beers on draft) and they gave me the WiFi password (currently it’s «letmeontheweb»).
For food I had the beef and it was great. The pepper sauce it came with was very good and I thoroughly enjoyed the meal. The desserts were ridiculously good, so good in fact that we ordered another fudge after we had completed the first one. Would definitely be back here.

I pop in here when visiting my friend who lives just up the street. The breakfasts are excellent. I am a fan of the baked eggs and spinach, the eggs with chorizo, and the pancakes are yummy and cute. Oh, the toast here is to die for. Amazing. The smoothies are great.
I have also been in for a beer in the evening. There is a funny buzz in the room sometimes (I hear more people from the USA chatting over drinks here than at some of the other area pubs, but I am from Chicago). Just a nice place. The backyard patio is nice.

This place was exactly what five people with empty stomachs needed before venturing to Screen on the Green in Islington for a late night viewing of Evil Dead.
We were in the neighbourhood after showing a couple London visitors the view from Primrose Hill and, after a few drinks at a non-​descript pub, decided to take our chances on dinner at Engineer. As we walked, I was convinced we wouldn’t find a table and would be stuck in the cold with no other plans, but when we walked in the door we saw an empty round table big enough for all of us. It was a Halloween miracle.
I’m looking at the receipt as I type and, I have to say, we tasted a lot — in terms of food & booze — and the tab was £200 for 5 people including a £2.50 donation to The Hope Foundation and 12.5% service.
I usually stay away from cocktails because I turn into a crazy person, but the menu (pasted into a copy of 101 Dalmations) was too tasty to ignore. I imbibed the English Autumn Cobbler (good, but tasted more like spring), and two Jack Brambles. Yum. My husband had a Black Velvet so he could drink out of a pewter mug (not really worth the £9) and our friend Danielle went for a few shots of Talisker. If you’re looking for beer or cider, they have that too, because the bill also includes quite a few Alddlestons, St Peters, and Bombardier pints.
The real star of the show, however, was the food. Not one to order steak in the UK (always too thin and chewy), I went for it on the recommendation of the waitress. I’m so glad I did. It one of the top two steaks I’ve had since moving here over a year ago (the other being at the top floor of Smiths of Smithfield). Thickly cut, on the bone, perfectly cooked… I’m drooling just thinking about it. The chips were great too, but I was more interested in picking up the meat like a lollipop and gnawing at it as if I were a wild dog. It didn’t come cheap — £24 to be exactly — but in my mind it was worth every penny.
My husband had the spinach soup, which he loved and I agree was very tasty. It wasn’t overpowered with cream and had a nice bright green colour and taste to it. Floating in the middle was a poached egg. The only disappointment was the boring slice of bread served with it. A few seconds on the grill would have made it worth dunking, but instead it was taken back to the kitchen with the empty plates.
One of my friends had the pie of the day, which was venison. The top of the pie was puffed over the plate so perfectly that I think someone took a photo. After piercing the pastry, the chunks of meat inside were meltingly soft.
Other things that were ordered, but I didn’t try, were smoked haddock and the pasta of the day. The only scrap of food left on any of the plates was that one piece of bread that came with the soup.
Do I see myself returning? I can’t wait.

What did I fall in love with first? The Primrose Hill location? The fact that on the way there, we witnessed a truly entertaining stand-​off between the smallest puppy I’ve ever seen and Uli’s dalmation-​whippet cross (Laura and Elodie, let’s see those videos!)? The rustic, industrial interior? The gorgeous gazebo-​esque exterior with its generous parasols, extras of which were dished out to us when the inevitable torrential downpour hit? The adorable vintage floral teapots from which the Paris contingent supped their tasty leaves?
Or perhaps it was the most tantalising Pimms cocktail, packed to the rafters with fresh mint, cucumber (in handy sticks for stirring too!), orange, lime, strawberry and a dash of lemonade I’d ever had the good fortune to sample? Could it have been those double-​fried chips with garlic mayo?
Add to that already stellar list the supreme company, a handful of gossip magazines and crossword puzzles and some great laughs and you’ve Engineered yourself one heck of a pleasant afternoon. Be sure to check it out if you’re in this glorious area of London, it’s a great spot to lazily unwind.

Nice gastro pub

I don’t know why it took nearly two years of living in London to explore Primrose Hill, but now that I’ve found it I’m hooked! (To my wallet’s dismay…)
The Engineer was quaint, friendly, down-​to-​Earth and practically perfect in every way. I did not have a full meal so I’ll need to go back to comment on anything more than pub nibbles, but I can honesty say this was the absolute best bloody Mary I’ve had here in London, perhaps in… dun dun dun… the World!
This magical cocktail involved house infused rosemary and pepper Finlandia vodka, a homemade mix with tomatoes, mustard, and other spicy spices, and a veritable garden of fresh summer veg. I can’t imagine a better hangover cure than one sip of this hellish tipple. It was absolutely divine, as was the staff that served it.
Stunning staff, cocktails and atmosphere — I can’t wait to pop back by for a lazy Sunday lunch in the garden or upstairs venue!

I’m a little torn. This probably is one of the most stunning buildings I’ve ever seen a pub reside in; the function rooms upstairs have been kept in authentic style with original moldings, the décor downstairs is modern and chic against an imposing backdrop. The garden in the summer is a wonderful place to languish on a summer afternoon.
However, I do find the staff a little unfriendly, and the food and waiter service is hit and miss depending I suppose on the kitchen staff and how busy they are. I’ve also heard they have problems dealing with groups over 6 people.
Considering it’s a rather pricey menu (main courses in the evening hover around the £15 mark) I would probably stick to keeping this as a drinking den.