The Jolly Butchers, Stoke Newington, N16

Definitely more Gastro than Pub, the entire room being laid out for dining and very nice the food looked too, however I wasn't here to eat and with nine cask beers and even more Craft keg options I was spoiled for choice,I stuck to cask and tried Signature Pale at a reasonable (for a London Gastropub) £3.90 a pint and Hardknott Brownian Motion,intriguingly described as smoked,salted Porter,it was very good.I was expecting a little more of this place as a pub but you can't knock the beer range.

I would echo (and that's an appropriate word to use) previous reviewers' comments about the lack of carpet, rugs, or soft furnishings of any kind. I was in here on a Saturday evening when it was very busy, and it really was very noisy. The furnishings seem to be unchanged - hard wooden recycled church chairs and pews, and solid wooden recycled dining room tables. The open to view kitchen is still there at the back, but the wall at the back now has wallpaper depicting people in theatre boxes. The heritage features are still present, including the capitaled cast iron columns, and semi-circular windows, a couple with stained glass glazing, surrounded by what looked like cast iron pierced spandrels. But it remains a stripped out single room with basic furnishings crammed into it. Food seems to be a major player here, with table service apparently being available judging by the length of time we had to wait to get served (we were the only people at the bar) while the bar staff produced drinks for the waiting staff to deliver to their tables. But the beer was worth waiting for - they had on Arbor Some Kind of Nice Guy; King's Red River; Common Grounds 5.4% Triple Coffee Porter; Burning Sky Porter; and Bedlam Golden Ale. I had pints of the latter two and they were both in excellent condition. They also had three ciders on handpump, as well as an extensive bottled beer range, detailed on menus on the tables. Some of the food on offer seemed less gastro than I expected with, for example, the Jolly Butcher's Burger at £9.95, and the Beef Pie at £10.95. While this is not the most comfortable pub I've ever been in, they are redeemed considerably by the excellent beer range. I would certainly visit again, but I would try to get there at a quiter time Unfortunately they don't open weekday lunchtimes.

Cant help but notice often pubs that have a reputation for good beer tend to forget about the interior.Large high ceilinged unimpressive pub Good selection of beer on 7 handpumps.My Firebrand -running stout was lukewarm rather than cool.Also had a keg beer which was fine.

Cannot really add to the previous reviews except to confirm that the Jolly Butchers is doing a very good job combining an excellent range of Cask and Craft ales with what looked like good food. I didn’t try it but nearly everyone else who was in on the late Sunday afternoon were and it was their primary reason to be there. And for this reason, suffice to say it did have more of the ambience of a restaurant than a pub for my late Sunday afternoon visit. But I did try the impressive beer offering from several small breweries, and had an excellent pint of Otley O6 Porter. And for this reason I will not hesitate to return for an evening session when the kitchen is closed

Interior as described by Pub SignMan below. An excellent choice of real ale and "craft keg". Food served.