Windsor Castle

Such a big open pub with nice ales and and garden at the back. Huge tables for when you need a place for big groups which is quite rare now a days. It also looks like you can reserve tables for parties etc. Food is also pretty good and priced very reasonably. £10 for a burger and chips is crazily cheap. The burger seemed completely homemade and the chips were crispy but fluffy at the same. Only downside is my partners burger came way undercooked. Rest of the menu looks tasty and I think I would come back for a roast on a Sunday. (Visit — 11/​03/​2015 Lunch)

I remember the Windsor Castle when it was a bit rough round the edges but it has now been refurbished and transformed. Nice place for a drink, they also have a small beer garden. We went on Halloween and thoroughly enjoyed the mariachi band as entertainment too. Good atmosphere.

Ok, I’m going to do this place a favor and try and help boost their rating because the last review was written in 2011! And before that, 2009!
A LOT has changed since then! Ownership has changed and the menu and interior have been completely redone, so it isn’t fair that this place’s ratings are being dragged down by what it used to be.
I came here with a friend on a Saturday night and we sat at the bar and enjoyed drinks and a few of the menu items. Many of the dishes are unique and earthy with things like pig’s ears and pigeon. I had the grilled sardine on toast with lemon & lovage dressing which was, well, very sardiney. Maybe not the best choice when the bar is loud and you have to lean in really close to talk to people.
The atmosphere was really lively and young. If I remember correctly, they have a garden/​patio area as well. If you’re in the area it is definitely worth checking this place out!
Oh! And this is from the website:
The Windsor Castle is a sprawling Victorian pub located at 135 Lower Clapton Road in Hackney. It has a garden, a kitchen, tonnes of seating and serves local beer, craft ales and a host of other brews, perrys and ciders.
Having been saved from the threat of re-​development following it’s closure in November 2012, The Windsor Castle underwent extensive renovation works and re-​opened in May 2013, with a new ethos and a new team at the helm determined to establish it as a truly excellent neighbourhood boozer.

A modern inside Victorian outside loud oh so loud pub on Murder Mile full of people who think they are hip. The service was quite poor too. A girl asked one guy if he needed serving and when he declined she obviously determined he represented the interests of everyone else waiting around the bar so wandered off and did some glasses.
Four pounds a pint too! Crazy. The quality of the beer couldn’t be questioned though. This was the first place that I encountered Five Points Red Rye, a beer I have completely fallen for in the weeks since!
The previous reviews are from a prior incarnation of the pub.

It’s a fairly standard working class boozer, with a definite Hackney flavour. Potentially intimidating if you’re not used to these kinds of pubs and people, but actually pretty friendly when I’ve been there.
Nice bar staff and friendly clientele, although I can imagine it getting rough fairly often, but that’s in the nature of this kind of place.
Good value — some pints just £2.50, cheap double vodkas
Very big inside, with a central bar and seating going all the way around it, plus a small smoking area (which has a distinctly herbal smell to it).
Shows the footy. Defo worth a visit, to support traditional local pubs as so many others nearby have closed

This is a dump, lots of dodgy stuff going on,

The Windsor Castle attracts a colourful crowd of locals from the Lower Clapton area. It is by no means a trendy pub, nor is it pretentious. It is however an interesting place to go, even if you go just once, like I did.
I went in Summer as it has a beer garden on offer, unlike my usual watering hole on the same road. I was a little taken back when I first walked in, as it was basically empty, apart from a few bar flies who I assumed were the locals. The beer garden was the only thing I may go back for, and only because it is close to my house.
My advice is this: Don’t be surprised if people approach you to have a chat, and go expecting an honest working class pub rather than a classy establishment.

Looking for local flavour? The Windsor Castle has it in spades, as they say. Probably too much for me to be honest, but it’s an interesting anthropological study if nothing else. I’ve been here a couple of times to watch football. Lager and cider are the order of the day, no CAMRA nominations around here.
The days I visited here are a few of the things I saw: two kids chasing each other around the front of the pub, bouncing on the backs of all the seats and generally being raucous; drinkers wheeling their bikes in and out of the front door and leaning them against the bar; a table of older Caribbean guys playing a rumbunctious game of dice; dogs wandering around and sniffing pints on tables.
You get the picture, I hope. The Windsor Castle is fairly grimy, but no less friendly than any of the other trendier bars in the area.

nice big pub, sadly not used a such. two pools tables, and fruit machines take up most of the room, no special beers, but cheap doubles on spirits. and ok if you like the banging of dominoes, and 2 dogs walking around the bar, covered smoking area