Highgate is a beautiful area of London, and the competition between pubs is pretty intense. Tucked out of the way on North Hill resides this charming gastropub with an attractive decor, friendly staff, decent selection of drinks and quality food. It’s worth seeking out.

The Venue
Located on North Hill, within easy reach of Highgate station and several bus routes, you will find this charming gastropub. From the outside, The Victoria looks like any other local. Inside it’s cosy but spacious with a clever combination of traditional and modern touches.

You’ll notice dark wood panelling on all the walls and across the bar with a lighter wooden floor to give the illusion of more space. Beneath the panelling, the walls are a deep, sumptuous red, and there’s an array of furniture, including expensive-looking leather chairs, bar stools and sofas, and simple wooden dining chairs. Mirrors and silver radiator covers give a contemporary edge to go with the drawing room ambiance. Pretty tea lights sit on every table beside cups of Trivial Pursuit cards to keep you entertained, and other games like Monopoly and Scrabble are also available for enjoying in front of the open fire with a nice glass of wine during the long cold winter months. Larger church candles burn on the fireplace, windowsills and in the fabulous bay window and fairy lights sparkle on large pot plants. There is also a small, heated outdoor garden, which is conveniently under cover.

The Atmosphere
The friendly and attentive staff help make for a relaxing, upbeat and ultimately welcoming atmosphere. The overwhelming feeling emitted from The Victoria is cosiness, and this is the perfect place to languish in on a Sunday afternoon and evening after you’ve indulged in too much roast dinner. Inoffensive soft music can be just about heard most evenings, giving the room a relaxed vibe, loud enough to enjoy but not enough to intrude on your conversation. On Monday nights they even treat you to old movies on a projector screen, and you can take part in a traditional pub quiz on Thursdays.

The Food
The Victoria focuses on its menu and offers good hearty fare at reasonable prices. The Sunday Roasts are particularly popular, with a choice of lamb, chicken, beef or a vegetarian option. All roasts are served with homemade Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, honey roasted root vegetables, cabbage, green beans and red wine gravy, and at a tenner you cant go wrong.

If you happen upon the pub mid-week, however, their a la carte menu is equally appealing. For starters, the grilled halloumi is recommended; it comes thinly sliced and perfectly golden with slightly crispy edges smothered in a rich pesto dressing and finished with toasted pine nuts.

For the main course, the red snapper a la Creole with pappardelle pasta in a tomato and red onion sauce is definitely worth a try. The snapper fillet is huge with the softest texture, practically melting in the mouth, and the tomato pasta with fresh dill accompanies it perfectly. The vegetables retain their firmness and the dish has just the right blend of textures to be interesting throughout. Also, the succulent corn-fed chicken with crushed, roasted lavender new potatoes is lightly perfumed, slightly crispy with a sweet but salty baked flavour, served with buttery carrots and a green peppercorn sauce. All the food is freshly prepared, using the highest quality produce - there’s not a frozen vegetable or packet sauce in sight, just good, honest English food with a twist, and the presentation is very impressive. The starters are £4-£7 and mains are an average £10, so they’re modest for London and great value for money.

It’s worth mentioning another interesting offering on the menu: the Victorian meat feast. This is a sharing platter of chilli beef skewers, chicken wings, spicy chorizo and BBQ spare ribs served with curly fries and pickles, and is great for sharing. If you do have room for pudding then there are only three to choose from, but with banoffee pie, apple and rhubarb crumble and Cornish ice cream on offer, what more do you need?

The Drink
As well as the usual pub offerings, The Victoria has guest ales that vary monthly and cost £2.70 on average. Other beers available on draught are Guinness, Youngs, Carling, Peroni, Staropramen and Aspells ranging from £2.55-£3.60 - good prices for a London pub. Bottles include Bulmers - both apple and pear - at £3.80, Grolsch, Budvar, Sol and Leffe Blonde. J20, coke (Pepsi on draught) and juices are available for non drinkers.

For wine connoisseurs, there’s a very amiable wine list residing at the bar. Their very palatable, Portugese house wine at £11.95 a bottle or £3.10 for a glass goes down well with most of the dishes. If it’s different country you’re after try the Italian Chianti at £16.95 - smooth, fruity and rich red in colour. The Spanish Sauvignon Blanc is also a winner, it’s slightly dry with a light but unmistakable green grape flavour.

The Last Word
This place is a must for a fantastic meal, relaxing atmosphere and general good night out and whether you’re resident in the area or not it will feel like your local.

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