Myddleton Arms

🚇 Highbury & Islington 🍺 £6.40 Amstel The Myddleton Arms is located in leafy Canonbury, Islington, in North London. The nearest Tube station is Highbury & Islington, Essex Road mainline station is also close by. This Grade II-listed pub, built in 1830 and remodelled in the mid-19th century, is named after Sir Hugh Myddelton—the engineer behind the New River, which he constructed to bring fresh water from Hertfordshire to London. This cosy, intimate pub has two adjoining bars. The front features traditional tables, banquette seating, eclectic art, a piano by the door, and a model aeroplane overhead. The mahogany counter and classic back bar add to the charm. The smaller rear bar has a working fireplace and a striking ceiling-height gantry above the servery. Out back, a few steps down lead to a decked beer garden with snug area and an outdoor kitchen called The New River Grill. The beer line-up features a selection of familiar favourites and includes one cask ale. I kept it simple and ordered an Amstel—my pint hit the spot, price point was a smidge above average. The food menu is straightforward, offering a range of burgers (including veggie and vegan options) and fries. Feeling peckish, I went for the Mydd Burger. It was juicy and flavourful—cue Samuel L. Jackson—and cost £11. I arrived around 6 p.m. on a bright and sunny Saturday evening in April. The pub was buzzing but still had a laid-back, relaxed local pub atmosphere. There was a good mix of punters from all walks of life. I settled into the back bar next to a friendly couple who live nearby. The service was first-class—everyone on duty was friendly, courteous, and upbeat. The pub regularly hosts live jazz, bring-your-own-vinyl nights, and lively Irish trad sessions. Stunning architecture, interesting decor, a good beer selection, juicy burgers, and a welcoming local pub feel—I couldn’t fault @myddletonarms and highly recommend a visit to this charming independent N1 pub. 📅 5th April 2025 If you want to see all my pub reviews in one place, head to @londonpubmap on Instagram. 🍻

Wonderful pub - cool decor and vibes, great food and nice garden

Went for the Monday pub quiz with some friends and, while we had a lot of fun, I was a bit disappointed with the experience. I'm sharing more about it, hoping my feedback can be constructive. I called multiple times, on different days, to book a table but nobody ever answered the phone. I left a voicemail as advised, but I wasn't called back. I emailed and nobody responded. Two days from my voicemail, I finally called once more and managed to make a booking (and confirmed there was no trace of any bookings in my name). The food menu is extremely limited (there were only a few variations of burgers and chips) and we though that paying £5 was a bit much for a standard portion of fries. Also, on the website, prices were not reflecting those on the physical menu. When I ordered, I was told it was going to take a long time. I was fine with it and they were fried to perfection (!) but I do think that they should be able to accommodate such a simple order in less than 45' on a pub quiz night. For the quiz, we were asked to pay the £2 charge upon ordering, which we thought was a great way to avoid messing with cash!, but the staff somehow didn't track it properly and because it appeared that we hadn't paid, we all had to show on our phones the charges for what we ordered + the quiz, which was a bit awkward. All in all, we had a great time, the staff was very friendly and I wouldn't mind being back, I'd just make sure to lower my expectations a bit.

Always great service and good vibe - burger and Halloumi fries best in Islington. Excellent draught beers. We had a great night - will be back

Went here for a drink with my partner ! The atmosphere was very nice and George was great looking after us the whole time coming to the table !

Good local pub, but the kitchen is closed at 8pm on a Friday night so I hope you're not hungry...still light outside

Amazing food … chicken burger from the grill highly recommended.. patio the internal garden is awesome…. All the guys have great vibes but Theo rocks … great personality great service… definitely will be back !!!

This place is alive.🥳🥳and they give you free Wi-Fi and password. No need to ask. Clearly seen once you enter this place…ps beer garden too ;)

One of my friends was horrified by the changes they have made to this pub. She felt they had ruined the most traditional looking pub in the area. Shows how perceptions can be different. I much prefer the look of the pub as it is now and they actually have something worth drinking now (4 ales) although my pint was not in the greatest form. The food being advertised was very very cheap

I wanted to amend this review slightly. As someone who has significant experience of pubs in north London, I am delighted to say that the Myddleton has become my local. I stand by everything I said previously, only to reiterate that the conglomeration of the older lads and newer punters (such as myself) has made for a brilliant place to start your weekend. Or weeknight. Or weekday morning, alcholism dependent. They have a fire. Y'all heard. Oh, and they do the best Scotch Eggs in London.

This is a local pub for me but hadn't realised it was under new management (for quite a while it seems) so didn't try until recently. From one visit it's my new favourite local. There are loads of pubs within 5-10 mins walk for me but Myddleton Arms is tops. Perfect. A small, cosy pub and a boozer with the perfect vibe. Some interesting guest beers on tap. Friendly staff and good crowd. They have upgraded the interior in the best way, avoiding that awful bland gastro makeover that too many other places did in Islington a few years ago. They've retained the original character and added to it. There's now a beer garden at the back. Perfectly formed and comfortable. Notable was that it was kept tidy and staff cleared up glasses promptly. There's also an interesting outside kitchen and a small nook for a group to sit in. Look forward to trying the food next time.

We used this pub before it was refurbished and was afraid it would loose some of its atmosphere but as time has gone on it seems to be developing a newer nicer more charming atmosphere with polite professional staff and great vegetarian and normal scotch eggs, actually the best scotch eggs I have ever tasted ,even though their a bit steep. There is a lovely little beer garde that's going to be very handy over the summer with a ships cabin for an extra hidey bit. Very nice.

Really nice quite hidden pub on the long stretch of Essex Road. Went there recently to try the Gravy Train pop up (for fried chicken) and liked some of the ciders and beers on tap. There was a little party in the garden which would be nice on a good day. Sat inside and nice decor and seems to be a place to stop by or for locals.

I have no idea what the pub used to look like, but all I can say is : great atmosphere, outdoor terrace and "ship cabin !". They lack belgian beer on the menu, though...

Nice pub, very cosy. Ales are okay, food is not my taste. But friends love it! Sat and Fri very busy, better during the week.

I have been going to this place for recent 12 months and I can consider myself as a local good consistent customer. We have spend loads of money in this pub and I wanted to write this review today as there where punch of new people working there today and I've always had a glass of wine under £5 pounds. When I tried to pay for my wine today they rudely said" of so you wanna pay more then £5 for your glass of wine then? (that was about £4,5) or leave a tab? I have never had this service before... Their wine list is terrible to start with..and their "large glass" is about the size of small glass in any restaurant. When I've tried to order mulled wine before christmas or a specific rose they hardly ever had it available. They also had a cheese tasting event before christmas with wine taster service.. which I thought was a great idea. . but funny enough nobody could buy any of the wine(suggested) back home and not even after the event. (?) The toilets are freezing cold, as if your sitting outside peeing and there is usually no hand wash available either.. I have still gone to this place, but today it put me of how rude their bar staff were to me. They were asking me to pay £5 pounds for a small white wine after I never had problems befofore.. but when I stepped outdise after bying a glass of wine to go to their cabin area, the rude bar staff guy yelled after me "by the way theres a private party in the cabin, dont go there.." This bar tender knows me as a good loyal customer so I was shocked....