The Star of Bethnal Green, Bethnal Green, E2

I got more trendy hipster than goth vibe on my visit, but will concur that whatever you want to call the decor, this is not a traditional East End pub set up and appeals to a much younger demographic than your average CAMRA card carrying member. The square downstairs section hosts several DJ nights ( Idris Elba has been behind the decks on occasions apparently) when the space becomes a dance floor and the upstairs section with its own separate bar can be hired for parties, as can the separate upstairs karaoke room. For the record a couple of hand pumps that look like they haven’t been badged in many a year are overshadowed by banks of keg offerings with the usual suspects from Goose Island, Beavertown and Camden Hells very much in evidence.

Renamed thus in 2008, the place has undergone a number of names since it lost the original White Hart in 1989, including the Cock & Comfort. It's also the sister pub to the Star of Kings at King's Cross - I can well believe it. It's a gloomy slightly Goth pub with a mainly all-over black paint scheme, some dark floral wallpaper and a little distressed bare brick. Lighting is minimal, some of it coming from what look like oversized fairy lights. There are semi-booths and a slightly raised area to the front left area. Furniture is conventional modern, with tables punctuated by large squeezy bottles of ketchup and mayonnaise, which looked lovely. Music at a modest level played over the gramophone to a young customer base, few in number. The barman was a bit aloof and I noticed that the two pumps - round the side of the bar - are now unused, leaving a couple of chrome founts. I opted for a half of the Goose IPA at a painful £2.70, which tasted a bit yeasty - dirty lines? This isn't my sort of thing and the Old George is virtually next door.

One room with bar to rear. No real ales, just keg rubbish.

A large corner pub, single roomed with sensible height table and chairs with a couple of leather sofas tucked away in the corners. There seemed to be a party on the go in a room up the stairs Pub SignMan mentions, I presume a private function. Three pumps on the bar, Reunion Frost Fair,Rosies Pig Cider and one vacant, I didn't think the ale would be to my taste so opted for a keg Goose IPA. The pub is nothing special and as such I would be unlikely to return.

Located on the busy Bethnal Green Road, this is a spacious street corner pub with a simple, single room interior. The room is bare boarded and has standard tables and chairs through the centre and a raised platform top to the left with a couple of sofas and a few more tables and chairs, all under a Jolly Roger flag and flatscreen TV, which remained off throughout my stay. The Jolly Roger theme was continued with bunting strung across the room and a few other bits behind the bar, but I was unclear what the reason for this theme was. The servery is located at the back of the room and has a cream bar counter and a rather nice spot lit bar back with some decent wood panelling above. The room is broken up by a staircase in the front right corner with some diagrams of various stars and constellations on the underside of the steps, although I’m not clear where exactly these stairs lead. To the left of the bar there is a little nook with bare brick walls and a few sofas and armchairs, which looked like it could be quite cosy. Lots of blackboards around the pub were detailing different deals for each day of the week and there was a pretty mixed crowd in on my late mid-week evening visit. One of the barman was perched at the end of the bar, eating a burger and watching video clips on his phone with the sound turned up ridiculously loud, which was highly irritating and one punter had to go over and tell him to turn it off, which he did. Three handpulls on the bar, but none were operational, so I wound up with a pint of Redchurch Shoreditch Blonde on keg – a 4.5% beer brewed in Bethnal Green – which cost a jaw dropping £5.90. Profiteering of the most blatant kind and having been charged this ridiculous amount, any kindness I felt towards this pub quickly vanished. I thought this was a pretty decent pub – a bit rough around the edges but functional and comfy enough to settle down in. However, the poor attitude of the staff, failure to provide a real ale option and outrageous pricing structure are reason enough for me to never bother with this place again.

Nice big busy pub.Good music from the speakers.Two cask beers Ubu and the ever enjoyable 5 points-pale.

This is another large and imposing Victorian pub which must once have had a magnificent interior. Not so now, of course. There’s some exposed brickwork, and a large abstract mural on the wall on the left. I guess music must play a big part here judging by the massive speakers all over the place, and the DJ deck on the right as you enter. A slightly raised area on the left in front of the mural could be used as a stage for live music, made more likely by the bank of spotlights and glitterball hanging from the ceiling. But at lunchtime it’s more sedate. Furnishings are traditional, with normal (but well worn and grimy) chairs combined with standard wooden tables. I didn’t see a TV, so if there was one somewhere it wasn’t exactly prominent. There was some 1950s pop music being played, and not too loudly. A large Union Flag is hanging above the bar counter, along with a chalkboard advertising the brunch menu, featuring the English breakfast including the usual stuff plus bread & butter and a cup of tea for £8.50. That’s all very East End, the rosy lee being a nice touch. But the main food offering is pizze, at around £9 - £10. I had a steak sandwich with chips which was of a high standard, and which weighed in at £8.50. I was, however, a bit surprised to see three ales on offer – Truman’s Runner; Caledonian Swallow and Swift; and Caledonian 80/- (£3.80 a pint). The 80/- was in good condition. Ididn’t think that I was going to like this pub, but I did. It might be a different story in the evening though. I made this my lunch stop, and quite enjoyed the hour or so that I spent in here. But I don’t think that I would go far out of my way to visit again.