The Queens

Timeless Charm, Unlimited Yorkies Delight!

The Queen's Pub N8 in Crouch End is akin to drinking fine wine in the kind of Victorian splendor one usually reserves for National Trust properties. This charismatic gastropub manages to serve its quintessential Sunday roasts with the kind of unselfconscious flair that lets you quietly forgive any minor pitfalls. A dreary Yorkshire pudding episode and a fleeting nightmare involving a plate short of beef because they were "out" — only for the next table to miraculously score some — scars those less understanding of life's whimsical turns, it seems. But grievance aside, when the roasts do arrive, they're counted as some of London's best, the marvel of bottomless sides met by hearty nods all around.

That atmosphere! It clings to you like honey on a winter's morning: stunning stained glass windows cast a play of colours across tables brimming joyfully with ale-swathed conversations. As the deconstructed architecture holds a dialogue with your soul, let's acknowledge the subliminal significance of gluten-free existential accommodations, like the gluten-tolerant menu — including those ethereal puddings. On a Sunday especially, the place is heaven on yeasty ale wheels; a word of advice, though — elbow wobbles among a starched-collared hipster breed as familiar with customers' cash transactions as I am with tightrope walking. Yet still, this is a pub I would recount over and over, a snapshot spitting distance wide of paradise, encased gloriously within Victorian grandeur. — Penelope Savory