The Spoke

Having recently moved to Archway from east London I was nostalgic for the hipster style I have left behind. The Spoke provides this perfectly. The burgers are amazing, and I have still to find the words to describe what the spoke is… is it a café, a bar, a restaurant, or all three? I love that when I come here alone I am sat in the middle of the biggest table if there isn’t a space open at the bar, and groups are sat around me.
In fact the last time I came here alone a rather attractive single man was sat opposite me, and if we had been in a film I am sure that there would have been a significant plot point as I informed him that the burger was still caught in his beard. However this is real life and so the meeting will fade into memory, we will go our separate ways and never meet again, noted only on this review.
The staff can be a little stand offish though it depends on who is serving you, as some can be extremely flirty. All in all I like this place. It’s reasonably priced, close to home and makes me think of east London.

delicious food great service
Lovely surprise to find this place in holloway.
was here for the first time on monday evening, meeting a friend on a monday eve i wanted something local
This’s a lovely place to have a relaxed meal a coffee or even cocktails in the evening’
Perfect to go with friends or even a date.
family friendly, on weekends always busy’ specially brunch time
the food was great, the service even better!
the atmosphere is cool, nice vibe, there were couples, guys having burgers after playing football, they seemed very happy with their food, thats when you know foods great when people enjoy it, not only eat it because they are hungry!
i had a salad that the waiter recommended an strawberry frozen yogurt which was really smooth, my friend had a sandwich which was delicious and mojitos which at the end were perfect as the waiter very kindly listened to all my suggestions ;)) I’m an expert in mojitos ha!
my friend reckons maybe for the area its a bit pricey? a salad a sandwich a frozen yogurt and 5 mojitos, £60? i don’t think so though’
all and all a lovely place ill be coming back!

Archway is full of good eateries, so if one one them is as full as The Stoke is on a Saturday, that should say something about its quality in the first place.
It’s not the cheapest place to eat, but the food is nice and hearty and they have Pilsner Urquell on tap plus a decent selection of ales to wash your meal down with. If you are not keen on a boozy lunch, the selection of fresh juices or nice coffees is there to save the day.
Food: our table ordered the pulled pork burger with coleslaw (£8), cheeseburger (£7.50, I think), and pork shoulder sandwich. The burgers were yummy, but I was surprised to find that despite being a bit cheaper, our friend’s sour dough bread sandwich with more than generous serving of meat and cheese looked perhaps even better and bigger. So I might give that a shot next time!
The burgers don’t come with any sides, so if you want to stuff your face properly with chips on salad on the side, count on £3-£4 extra added onto the bill. I had the sweet potato chips, and those were perfect — not too greasy, hot and fresh out of the over, nicely thick and cut alongside the entire potato length, plus came with some kind of cajun mayo. Waistline might have its regrets, I don’t.
I also appreciate that there is complimentary water for the table.
The ambiance of this place is really chill: it always seems buzzing and there is a good mixture of people — from neighborhood elderly and mummies to the weekend party goers. Service was nice and attentive, no complaints there.
I will be back.

Loved the spoke! Great breakfast with big portions. Definitely one for your Saturday hangover spots,

Popped in here for what I thought would be a beer as it looks like a rather tantalising pub on the outside.
Sadly, it’s a yummy mummy café. Well, at 2pm on a week day it is and they definitely have no beer pumps. They even played the instrumental version of wheels on the bus. So we had some overpriced, over seasoned £3 tiny bowl of chips. Paid my card (plus a surcharge) and hot footed it out of there.
If you’re not looking for a yummy mummy over priced café then go somewhere else. Like I should have. Huff.

Five stars to the The Spoke, because besides the great set up they got going on there (i.e. you can see how your food is cooked, modern lighting with old cool looking like lamps, trained baristas brewing your coffee, etc) i can’t be objective when pubs have a free range and sustainable sourcing policy. If i can know my food comes from good places, besides tasting and looking great, i’m going to keep coming over here. Staff is cool and very friendly. You might have to wait for a table on weekends breakfast/​lunch time. It’s Worth it. Yummy Burgers from Pounds 8ish, english breakfast same, espresso 1.80 (Nov 2014)

The idea is very nice to make a vintage style pub with front cooking and wine and and and. So far so good. The service is not this which I understand as good customer care toooo much put on smile and not real from heart service for their wanna be upper class pub style and the organization to manage all-​in-​one experience could be much better. the coffee is good. The food I didn’t try yet. i was missing that somebody come over and inspirer me to let my money here. properbly they don’t need my money, and I did not see any reason to stay longer here. thanks for the coffee. good bye for now

Tried this place after Alex R recommended it. The venue itself is an old pub transformed into a gastro café/​restaurant. The seating area is very small and you will more than likely find this place is completely full at peak times (no one likes a que)
The menu is breakfast which includes full English (posh style), salmon and poached egg on toast, continental and other posh fancy looking variations of breakfast.
They do other options more so for lunch… I. e sandwiches, burgers and home made fries. The sandwiches looked MASSIVE. The prices are slightly higher than you would expect in this part of London (archway)…£8.50 for a full English.
I must add that the ingredients used in the meals at this place are not your normal type but more premium, which makes the price more understandable.
Would I come back… yes…is it amazing… no.

Formerly a fairly poor pub called Angie’s of Holloway Road. This old pub has been transformed into a café/​restaurant now called ‘The Spoke’ a name to reflect it’s apparently bike friendly nature.
Being just around the corner from my house I was excited to see what the pub was going to be turned into and was pleasantly surprised when it was not just refurbished as a pub.
I visited the place about a week after it opened and was pleased with what I found.
A nicely decorated space with many tables and a open to view kitchen with seating around it so you can watch your food being prepared.
The menu is not overwhelmingly large and hopefully this means that everything they do, they do well.
I opted for the full English breakfast at £8 is rather on the pricey side, however what you get is a large breakfast with quality ingredients and you really can taste what your eating is great food.
The place offers only free range organic type food and for that reason is slightly higher price than most places in Archway. They have a range of food on the menu burgers etc and offer wine and some nice craft beer too.
I’m not really sure why it’s bike friendly, a friend told me it’s supposedly is. There is the addition of two bike posts on the pavement outside on the junction and maybe these were installed at the request of the owner? Certainly didn’t see anyone with their bike in the place.
Overall I’m please to see an establishment of this sort come to the Archway area, and hopefully it is a success. It certainly deserves to be.