Crudough, Angel, EC1

Official site of The Pearl & Feather - crudough.com

Official site of The Pearl & Feather - crudough.com

Uninviting corner pub, with rather austere dark paintwork on the façade. Initially appears to be smaller inside than you would expect, with a chunk of the split-level interior taken up by the kitchen and stairs, with the bar supplemented by a small dining area located up a half-flight. However, an altogether larger dining room can be found downstairs. Even in the bar, the tables were all laid up for dining (although most of the regulars about the place didn't seem to be eating). However, there are a few stools along the counter and a compact decking terrace with some external seating along the frontage. Two handpumps, both with Truman's clips, although the Roll Out the Barrel annoyingly turned out to be off, so Runner it was (£4.65).

This closed as The Empress of Russia in 1999 to become a restaurant but in 2015 reopened to become something more akin to a pub. Situated on St. John Street, it's just a short hop south of either the Angel or Sadler's Wells Theatre so would probably suit those wanting a drink or meal before or after a show. There's a patio out front and on entering there's a small, relatively traditional room with a bar on the left which then opens out into a more modern raised affair with stairs down to more of the same and French windows opening out onto a small beer garden/patio. It would seem that the front area is geared more towards drinking with the other areas displaying more of a munching angle, but I didn't see any obvious sign of apartheid. The pub is bare boarded with fairly conventional furniture, some dark painted t 'n' g panelling with white walls and fake Victorian wall lights; the Victorian theme is continued with some scenic prints of London to the walls and some decent music played over the hi-fi. Ales: quite a few craft ales and premium lagers on fount, but thereafter an unused pump and another dispensing Truman's Runner at £4.60 a pint which is the going rate for this type of outfit in this area; it was on good form too. Whilst certainly no longer a boozer, this place was far better than expected. With a couple of other decent ales on pump this could be a fairly pleasant place to spend a bit of time, though I can't see myself rushing back.