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Pub-loving north Londoners, we come bearing sad news. The Orange Tree, one of Enfield’s top pubs, is reportedly set to close.
The Winchmore Hill boozer, which featured in Time Out’s latest ranking of the top pubs in London, is an independent establishment run by landlords John and Marie Maher. The Enfield Society reports that John and Marie will retire this month, as revealed at last week’s pub quiz on Thursday February 5.
In our best pubs guide, writer Jimmy McIntosh described the Orange Tree as ‘a suburban jewel with a splendid garden’ and noted that the pub has been in CAMRA’s Good Pub Guide for over 30 years.
He said: ‘Real ale aside, the pub really is your archetypal backstreet boozer, the kind of which you could once find in every London suburb. Warm, welcoming, and serving up incredibly well-kept hooch, the Orange Tree is the perfect pitstop on a winter’s yomp or, thanks to its generous beer garden, a summer one as well.’
As a Winchmore Hill local, I very much agree with all the above. Always friendly, always serving up perfectly crisp pints, the Orange Tree has long been very fine place for a snifter. Its closure will leave locals with scant opportunities for boozing that isn’t in a gastro or gastro-adjacent joint, with only the Little Green Dragon and Dog & Duck still standing.
Whether the pub will be taken over by new landlords is yet to be seen.
The 50 best pubs in London, according to Time Out.
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