The Jolly Butchers

6 Reviews on “The Jolly Butchers”

• Federica De Dominicis

  Today I ended up here with a friend, after a stroll in the park, luckily there were still few tables not booked, and was pleasantly surprised by the range of beers, wines and few ciders they serve. It is Sunday, so we had little choice but to go with the roast, which worryingly arrived after a couple of minutes of we ordering it. Chicken for him and beef for me, both served with roasted potatoes (a bit chewy), broccoli, carrots and green beans (barely cooked) and pickled red cabbage (?) with a good amount of gravy and a Yorkshire pudding. Only difference was a bit of stuffing in the chicken meal that left my friend quite unimpressed, he actually left part of the meat, potatoes and cabbage as well. My beef was well cooked but really thin sliced. All in all the portions were quite small and a bit too pricey and the quality not the best even if we were among the first to be there. The real hit have been the drinks and we enjoyed quite a few. I’ll try it again during the week to see if their regular menu is any better.

  July 26, 2015, 10:03 pm

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• Maria Kuehn

  Exploring different parts of our city with the crew from The Londonists is always a much anticipated and stimulating pleasure and, on one of their monthly nocturnal ramblings I came across this wonderful establishment in North East London.I used to live over in Hackney, back in the day, but would often pop over to Dalston and Stoke Newington for Ridley Road Market, The Rio Cinema, and The Vortex and see bands play at Stoke Newington Town Hall. I would always drink at the Three Crowns or The Magpie and Stump (now The Lion) in Stoke Newington Church Street. I decided to walk up from Dalston Kinsgsland to see how the area had changed. If anything, Dalston itself had become even more Turkish since I was last over that way; there seemed to be a Turkish restaurant every few meters, I wondered how they all survive.After a brisk walk in the chilling night air along what was once the Roman Road to Lincoln, I finally reached Stoke Newington; it was the first time Id been to the area in almost 15 years and my god, what changes! Church Street was unrecognisable and completely transformed and now full of cute restaurants, artisan bakers, delicatessens, fine wine shops, boutique hairdressers in fact all that comes with urban gentrification. In my mind however, I always link gentrification with social cleansing and wonder what former residents the anarchist Angry Brigade, previously known as the Stoke Newington 8, would make of the area now?The last hostelry on our grand tour of Stokey was the Jolly Butchers, a large warehouse style gastro pub with high ceilings and a bar lined with fabulous craft beers, ales, ciders and a massive selection of bottled beers from Belgium, Germany, USA and beyond. The place was heaving for a Tuesday night with not a spare seat to be had in the house. So many great beers to choose from but I opted for the Windsor & Eton Brewery Park Life, an excellent rich tasting ale and full of hoppy flavour and perched at the bar.The Butcher’s has an open plan kitchen in the far corner where you can see all the food being prepared, now being a tad tipsy I certainly needed a snack of some kind. I spotted the specials boards and saw a Jolly Butchers Hot-Dog, Bockwurst sausage with sauerkraut and crispy onion with fries (7.95). While pondering this, an elegant waitress glided out the kitchen with a German Sausage Platter, Bockwurst, Bratwurst, Paprika and Beef Sausages with sauerkraut bread and a selection of mustards. (11.95). Not only did it have a most enticing aroma, it seemed like a better deal too!In less than 15 minutes the platter was served at my bar side perch. Perfectly cooked and presented this was a great treat for a slightly tipsy food journalist in need of urgent sustenance. Each mouthful was sheer delight; the paprika sausage in particular was my personal favourite; I could have eaten a plateful of those alone. The spiciness perfectly complemented by the excellent ale. The sauerkraut was a weeny bit dry, but equally full of flavour.Making my way back to North West London on the Overground I couldnt help wondering what the Angry Brigade would make of the area now; would they see the changes as bourgeois decadence? Or would they welcome the new independent businesses and downgrade themselves to the Slightly Miffed off Brigade either way I look forward to coming back to explore more eateries in Stokey. mindingbellieswell.blogspot.com

  June 22, 2015, 11:10 pm

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• Richardkeeling

  If you like boil in the bag roast this is the place for you.. Went here for a Sunday roast after reading a great review on the huffington post website. After getting the food it seemed like they’d reviewed a different place. !!! I’ve had a better Sunday roast in wetherspoons !! The pork was like the cheap boil in the bag rubbish you get in supermarket ready meals. The potatoes were solid . The vegetables were boring and the stuffing was stone cold. My girlfriend had chicken which she returned as it tasted wAtery and metallic.. It was swapped for a veggie roast which was like chewing an old shoe sole and was left pretty much untouched . For drinking this place seems good. There is a great selection of craft beers , but for Sunday roast i’d recommend pretty much any other pub in the vicinity. 2/10. Just for the Yorkshire pudding.

  June 1, 2015, 5:21 pm

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• Gingle Lists Everything

  Outside it proclaimed itself an ale and cider house which sounded good to me as I like to see ciders making a big appearance. They only had three on draft which seems a little meagre for such a declaration. I had a Kingshead to start which I didnt really like a bit too musty with a weird aftertaste, but for my second I had the Ginger Cider, which wasnt merely a silly name but meant that it had ginger in it. This was lovely like having an alcoholic ginger beer but without all the sugar.The Jolly Butchers seems to be straddling pub grub and trying to cash in on the Dirty food craze, and judging by what we had, it isnt doing either one very successfully. I had fish and chips, and Stephen had the pulled pork bun.My fish had crispy Weiss beer batter, a batter that was in fact incredibly thick, and soft, not like other lighter, thinner and crispier beer batters Ive had before and much preferred. The chips, however, are worth the trip alone they were fantastic specimens of chunky chips.Stephens pulled pork burger was firstly, rather small but also, not very nice. It came with a beer mustard, a mustard that Stephen said just didnt go well with it at all.If I was marking this place as just a pub it would score higher but the food really isn’t very good. Id go back but Id stick to the chunky chips and stay clear of anything else. jaminaward.wixsite.com

  December 5, 2014, 6:06 pm

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• Fillis

  I wouldn’t bother with the roast dinner… It seemed like it had been shop bought especially the gravy with I’m pretty sure was Bisto. The veg is dull and not fresh no herbs are used and the same combination of Bisto and Aunt Besies comes with all of the meats. It really reminded me of a school dinner. Red cabbage comes with everything and so much Bisto it looked like soup! Disappointing given the reviews I read prior to going.. I’d give it a miss, so many great places to have a roast dinner!

  June 10, 2014, 10:31 am

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• Jamie Peter Hall

  This place has great ales first and foremost! Worth a visit by any ale fan. However the food was a let down for me. I went for a Sunday roast, which was tired and limp. It was a sloppy affair which didn’t impress much. As did the cheeseboard. Piled in a tubberwear of pre cut slices, again tired and lifeless. However they seem to be rammed every Sunday so maybe I was just unlucky.

  June 28, 2013, 9:17 pm

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