Situated on what has been dubbed ‘Archway Island’ (slap bang in the middle of a fairly major road network), there are a number of small shops, cafes and pubs. The former Archway Tavern has held numerous names over the years, but none really open during the day. Next to these are a couple of cafes – one of which is The Gate. In the past few years it has an Italian, cafe and more. Currently, it is a cafe lunch/spot.

A sunny spot of Archway Island

Coffee – 3/5

Not a bad coffee – large with fruity background notes. But it didn’t have much depth of flavour and the it was slightly over-milked. The waitress did a decent job with it but they clearly weren’t trained baristas.

Large but too much milk

Atmosphere – 4/5

It has a very European feel inside with large windows, white walls, tiles and hints of green throughout. The inside is airy and the tables nicely spaced so it never feels cluttered. It also has a nice little spot out the back away from the nearby A1. However, it’s never really buzzing and can feel a little empty.

Classy but needs more of a buzz

Food – 3/4

A really nice looking selection of salads were laid out on the counter in huge bowls. The Mediterranean feel was evident in the food selection. They also do great looking English breakfasts and homemade cakes.

There’s nothing like a big salad

Service – 2/3

There were clearly some teething problems and the waitress serving had trouble working out my change from three pounds – and still managed to get it wrong. However, they were friendly and pretty quick.

Extras – 1/3

Not much going on here. They do some outside catering and that’s about it.

Summary – 13/20

A really smart, classy place serving some interesting food. It’s just in the wrong location and needs some more people to give it more atmosphere.

Details

6 Archway Close,

Archway,

N19 3TD

Twitter: @TheGateArchway

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