Big Red

The toilets have improved a lot. They’ve been refurbed and are clean. Oh and we managed to get a table.
That’s the positives out of the way unfortunately.
Beer selection is still poor. Apart from the Aspalls, but that tasted awful and couldn’t manage much of the pint, so left it for another of our party to drink.
I ordered what turned out to be the worst chicken wings I’ve ever had. Over-​cooked and dry, with the hot sauce squirted randomly over the wings and plate. Presentation is not really a priority here at Big Red.
My hubbys pulled pork burritos was not great. It had a good kick to it, but it also too much of this over-​powering sweet sauce. Not sure what it was trying to hide, the sauce. Maybe that there wasn’t much pork in it?
The floor staff were just about interested. I had to ask to have the table wiped down before our food arrived, as it had a bits of the last diners food all over it.
I’m not sure why I gave it four stars in my first review. Maybe because the food definitely better last time. I’m sure of it was.
Oh well.

This is my favourite place!!! It’s an American themed dive bar. It’s very dark inside, tables are lit with coloured lights, most of the ladies behind the bar are tattooed and there are lots of vintage cheeky posters on the walls. I just think it’s so unusual and fun. I can’t get enough of the Margarita slushies: very sweet and tasty, but pricey. I’ve eaten there too and had honey and mustard chicken wings. They came in a pool of honey and were just awesome. Probably my favourite place to be in Holloway Road =]

It might be in an out there location, but coming from North London it isn’t to me. Up the road from Holloway Road station this is a famous pub that does the ‘dive bar’ mentality well. It’s nice and dark inside, has bouncers outside, loud, pool tables, fussball, beer, goths, sticky floors rockers you name it. Not the friendliest of staff though, always seem to be growling you as you serve. It’s actually quite big for a dive bar too. Good for a late night drink up. I like this place a lot.

An odd location for this type of bar, but pleasant enough on a week day night, with a nice relaxed atmosphere and good music. I usually head here first if I’m on my way to Nambucca for a gig. They have a great 2−4−1 offer on alcoholic slushies from 6pm-​9pm on week nights, and I take full advantage.
Friday and Saturday nights are a completely different story — if you’re planning to spend the evening here then drink first. It’s pretty pricey otherwise, but also it’s the only way to make the atmosphere of huge egos and self importance of the regulars bearable. You can have a pretty fun night if you arrive already drunk.

It does what it does well.
So I am not a big fan of thrash metal/​hard rock but if you love a good dive bar that attempts an American feel (with weird porn on the TV screens — yeah don’t take your kids there) then this is the place for you. I have been a few times in the past, it’s loud dark, has pool tables and table football, last time I was there I made the mistake of asking for a Sauvignon Blanc (the barlady went ‘we have one white wine’) haha not really a wine place. It’s a good place for beer, I’ve never had the food but the menu looked fairly average.
Ladies toilets are obviously quite new and really clean which is very different compared to most dive bars.

Hard rock, heavy metal, thrash metal… Whatever you want to call it. There was also some 80s too was being played all night.
The décor in the bar suited the type of music… And so did its patrons. The barmaid was kind of a jerk… I ordered four shots to begin with and then four beers after she brought the shots and she yelled at me saying she needs the orders up front first. But the place wasn’t that busy to be rushing through to serve people so I don’t know what her deal was.
If you come, don’t forget to wear your black jeans and tee along with your black boots and black hair and black errrrthang.

I night out in Holloway tends to end here for a few games of pool.
Good atmosphere that is actually a breath of fresh air compared to all the many pretentious bars in London.
Drink prices are variable but generally reasonable.
Not the cleanest toilets, or the friendliest staff, but I’d say thats all part of the experience!

The worst bar I have ever seen. The staff was very rude. They confused my order with another one and refused to change it. A spot of vomit was on the floor all the evening and nobody tried to make it up. Don’t spare your time there!

The best bar in North London.
Absolutely awesome!
So many great nights spent in this bar. Beer is reasonably priced staff are always fun. The food is good, wings, burgers, nachos and ribs.
The fact they got 4 pool tables is great hours of playing pool drinking beers ant go wrong.
They often have live bands playing now too and they do not disappoint in particular the KISS cover band are freaking awesome.

The Juke box is well stacked with Hard Rock classics and the gigs on weekends are generally of good quality.
Staff is good and so is the service. There are few pool tables, table football and other pub game machines. You’ll always find someone to play pool with on case you end up going to the pub alone.
Grubs are of good quantity and are available until 2300 (I guess) in case you missed diviner and were running hungry.
Tattoos and leather seem to be the common thing among people frequenting this place. You’ll fit right in if you are in to either of them. Even if you are not, it still is a good place to hangout and enjoy the music.

Waited 1 hour for food. Got our order wrong. Then were served really poor quality quesadillas and chips really late.
Really bad food :-(

An American-​ish themed rock/​biker/​leather/​fauxdive bar. Service is a bit hit and miss. Food is very yummy. The ladies’ toilets were disgusting, however. They were «fixed» part way through the night, but the plumbing work left rather gross things all over the floor. Not cool. That means they only get 3 stars instead of what might have been 4.

Simply put, Big Red is almost my favourite pub in London. I say almost as Holloway is a bit far out of the centre. Aside from the geographical situation, this is the best rock and metal pub I’ve been to. It attracts everyone from well heeled rockabilly fans to bearded doom metallers and everyone in between. Good food, drinks, pool tables and attractive bar staff. Big Red, I salute

I lived nearby for almost three years before stepping into this place on someone’s recommendation. The outside of it made me think it would be a skeezy gross place with disgusting clientele that I wanted nothing to do with. Instead, it was a divey, gross-​on-​purpose place with amazing clientele and bar staff who I want to be friends with. It’s going for an American dive bar thing, but that isn’t what gives this place its character. It’s huge and at the same time cozy. There are pool tables in the back. We had nachos that were surprisingly really good, and I was drooling over a nearby somebody’s burger. The music was fun. The whole experience was fun. I can’t wait to camp out here with local friends on any miscellaneous Saturday.
And an anecdote: upon telling a neighborhood friend that we had been to Big Red that weekend, I was met with the reaction «ah! Awesome. Were they playing porn on the big screen over the bar?» Hm.

Great rock bar with regular live music and its always packed at the weekends.
What more can a metal head ask for.
The food is surprisingly good as well!
All in all brilliant, I come from Dublin to goto this bar then skip up the road to the Electric Ballroom via the worlds end another great rock pub.

Stopped in here for a few drinks and loved the atmosphere! It’s a fun, unpretentious pub with a load of scary looking, but nice rockers inside. Although we only had drinks, the smell of BBQ was overwhelming and made me want to come back for food one day.

I absolutely love big red, its my staple night out if I can’t be bothered to travel far from my home. However that said I’ve spoken to a lot of people who have traveled far to come for a night out here. The crowd are mainly rocker/​metal types but all seem very friendly and chatting to some randoms is easy. It looks a bit unappealing to the average person and have to admit the first time I went it was for a bit of a joke.
I’m glad I did now I’m a regular. The drinks are good, average prices and the bar staff friendly. Pool tables and football tables for fun and a interesting rock soundtrack.
Negatives are: The toilets are rank. And if you go later than around 11pm the bouncers can give you a hard time even if you’re stone cold sober
Worth a visit if your in north London or into the rock type scene.

I love this place!
It’s actually what I feel a rock bar should be like!
With an American dinner/​roadhouse bar feel this place has a good relaxed vibe, table football, snooker and lots of places to sit.
I felt the drink menu was a little limited and some of the music was plain cheesy, bit I really like the themed and quirky décor and both my friends and I had an amazing night there.
It’s open late on Friday and Saturday what more do you need!

Big red is, as its name suggests, a very roomy pub that’s been kitted out American-​stylee with a central bar, pool tables and booths. Hot snacks and small meals are served along with the beers and other tipples, including a pretty decent nachos plate.
Catering primarily to a rock/​goth crowd, it’s a good choice if you fancy rocking out without having to make the effort of going to an actual club. The jukebox is well-​stocked if you like your music with a hard edge. There’s a friendly atmosphere, with many established regulars.

Could be a lot better. Could be a LOT worse.
Big Red is decorated like the inside of an American chain restaurant — with a ridiculous milieu of random articles and artifacts on the wall, from a Mudhoney poster to license plates (though one of the plates is for my home state back in the US, which I liked).
Its dark and loud in Big Red. I had to yell to talk to my friend who was sitting across from me at a very small table. Of course, that is part of the atmosphere for a place like big red.
Its not a bad place by any means. I intend on going back at some point, but it is more of a «night out» type of bar as opposed to my preferred «lets chill low key and enjoy some pints» pub.
The atmosphere is pretty unique, which I find a quite endearing. It tends to attract a more youthful, underground type of patron, which can be a refreshing change of pace from some of the other places in North Central London.