The Morgan Arms, E3

This is essentially a gastropub, with food at gastropub prices. They did have three ales on though – Darkstar Saison, Sharp’s Doom Bar and Adnam’s Bitter. I just had the time for a swift half (of the Adnam’s) and at £1.75 for a half (£3.50 a pint?) the drinks are also at a premium price. This pub is in many respects much like hundreds of others of the genre that I have been in – painted pastel grey/green exterior, bare-boarded, sofas, armchairs, tall butcher’s block style tables and tall stools, and some normal tables and chairs. In fact furnishings are pretty much a mish-mash of odds and ends, with hardly any two pieces matching. It has the trademark high ceiling of a Victorian pub, and has some interesting features remaining such as the very nice stained glass panels at the top of the large plain glass window panes and the wooden surrounds above the bar counter. But these are the best features, with some very modern and arty decor elsewhere such as the stylised mural of a classical Greek (or perhaps Roman) head covering one wall and enormous depictions of chillies and a garlic head on another. A very mixed bag then. But the welcome I received was friendly enough, the ale tasted OK. This is a reasonably comfortable enough place if you like sitting on sofas in these sort of madeover pubs.