White House

Under new ownership as of last week. So no more rabbits in the outdoor garden. Though the new owners are thinking about getting some, hehe.
Shisha is excellent, though slow to prepare. However, service afterward was very attentive. New coal was brought quickly, and the bowl was cleaned frequently. There is no windscreen on the bowl of the hookah, which is weird because it tends to be quite windy through the courtyard.
The house red wine is absolutely fantastic with the shisha and definitely recommended.
The shisha experience was quite lovely for me (as someone who doesn’t smoke at all) and I found the smoke to be light and puffy — akin to a cloud — as opposed to scratchy, coarse, or burning.
The courtyard is about 75% covered with tarp and has numerous heat lamps. There is a large television screen (which was handy for watching the Champion’s League finale on Saturday) flanked by several low, wooden picnic tables. Scattered about are a few club chairs and ottomans. There’s also a corner with faux leather upholstered sofas. Excellent lounge area for a small group.
Downside with the courtyard is that it is cluttered and gets very dirty with the influx of large crowds, smoke, and ash.
Inside has all the features of your typical pub, but tends to be a lot less busy than outside (ie – abandoned). As such, it is much cleaner. However, most people go to White House for the outdoor area, which I understand is a lot more special and quaint. Just this weekend, I was quite surprised walking in to find the place empty and enquired as to whether they were closing soon. But I took just a few steps down to the courtyard to find 50+ people cheering on Chelsea’s victory (the sound is contained very well).
As clarification, there are four areas.
– The outdoor patio /​garden, but I don’t see this in use at night for obvious reasons.
– The indoor pub when you walk in, which itself is quite large already.
– The outdoor garden in the back down the stairs, which is where shisha can be served.
– Another indoor area, accessed through the outdoor garden via a «hidden» door in the wall. I saw several women look quite confused when they came down the stairs to the garden only to find that there was seemingly no way through, haha. Anyway, that room is less pubby and more like a club. White House hosts DJs on certain nights if you like to dance. I’d say «call for info,» but they still don’t have a direct line.
So in summary, White House has everything you’re looking for in a night life. A lounge, a bar, a pub, a club, whatever.

This place is so odd. I first noticed it while out for a run. The building is beautiful and you immediately will want to spend time in their front garden. I made a mental note to check it out sometime.
We finally got there and… it’s strange. The seats inside are very comfortable and you could spend hours here. It’s a good local neighborhood spot, but not good for making your friends truck in from other areas just to go there. There are often DJs and they’re not bad. If I had more friends in the immediate area, I would probably come here more often.
It’s a solid place to check out in the area.

They now do pizza served up by proper chefs so going to give them another try as the food before just wasnt working. The staff are very friendly and welcoming. The pub seems a little bizarre with the turkish influence. Perfectly poitioned next to Clissold Park for those lazy days.

Bar Review For The White House
The White House in Highbury New Park opposite Clissold Park is a breath of fresh air. The pub has been taken over by a lovely friendly Turkish family who have turned the outside space into a beautiful traditional Turkish garden. It was really sunny the first afternoon I went there and I really felt like I was on my summer holidays!
The garden is a colourful riot of stunning flowers, vast bean bags and low tables with seating for about 50 people. I was a bit worried about the bean bags at first as I have a bad back, but they are really firm and unbelievably comfortable and there are also little wicker seats for those who prefer something firmer!
The charming owner, Ayhan, offered us a choice of traditional Turkish shisha pipe or a herbal variety with no tobacco or nicotine in it. My friend is a smoker so she tried the tobacco version and I went for the healthier herbal version. They were delicious with gorgeous flavours such as coconut, apple and strawberry.
The food was great and the owners told us that at the end of August they are bringing in a more complete traditional Tukish menu with Turkish Mezze and Shish Kebab on bamboo sticks. We are definitely going back to try it!
The drinks are reasonably priced and after our meal we had some Turkish tea which was really nice. They have a huge array of boardgames available so we played backgammon for a couple of hours after lunch!
In addition to the garden the White House has dozens of other brilliant attractions. There is a regular DJ in the evenings, Karaōke (both English and Turkish!) Turkish Belly Dancing, a pool table and at the weekends you can watch football on the widescreen tv.
This really is a little piece of Turkey hidden away in North London!
I told Ayhan I was going to write a review and he has promised that anyone who prints out this review and brings it in to the pub will get one free drink with the first drink they buy up until 30^th November. Brilliant!
PS I have become such good friends with the owner he has asked me to compere a QUIZ NIGHT every Wednesday so come down and join the QUIZ!

not too bad they’ve done up the garden very nice but not for mature people as most of the customers are young adults who seems just turned 18.
They have shisha too.

Looking out on the green expanse of Clissold Park, the White House is a gorgeous old building that stands out on the corner in its stark whiteness. Its great to sit out looking over the park in the summer, while enjoying a drink on the sunny wooden benches outside.
The lack of proximity to a tube stop makes this place a charming local pub to visit. Its not the best place to meet people for the same reason, but great to head out to on a sunny weekend. After which you can go for a walk to the duck ponds or animal enclosures in the park.