Gastro: The Junction Tavern

101 Fortess Road
NW5 1AG
Tel: 020 7485 9400

Date of Last Visit: Saturday, September 15, 2007

The Damage: £40 per person

The Victims: Al & Louise and friends

The Background: Al & Louise are THE BEST. They've got a sitter for the evening for Baby Oscar and they've organized dinner at one of their new locals. I've never been to Tufnell Park, so I am excited! Field trip! And you know what...my local bus goes STRAIGHT there. Which is nice.

The Entrance: I like it. It's pub-y. And large. And friendly. We have about three different people waiting on us and they are just all so nice. Particulalry the French guy. He's a keeper.

The Starters: We start with some bread and olives which are nice. The bread is good. And then I go for the squid and it is really just average. It needs salt. The menu says it's spiced. It's not.  Note, however, that I said the same exact thing about my Katsudon at Sasa Sushi earlier in the day, so maybe it's me that needs salt! But I mentioned the blandness out loud at the table and there were many nods of agreement--not enough salt.

The Mains: Because I am so addicted to Risotto now, I go for the pea and mint and mushroom risotto. And it is nice. Better than nice, but less excellent than the risotto the other night at Osteria dell'Arancia. I am not disappointed. But I am not enthralled either.

The Company: EXCELLENT. We make plans. We form a dinner club. An interesting and different dinner club. So I can get my fix on Ethiopian. And Korean. Yey! I can't wait.

The Verdict: Oh, my friend Sarah will get mad at me for this one. See, even though my food was only OK, I actually quite liked The Junction, so I'd probably go back. It's just a nice and friendly unpretentious place. But I wouldn't use the Loo there...because it's filthy.