The Lord Raglan, E17

The Lord Raglan is a decent looking back street pub. Once inside there is a single L shaped room with the bar facing,the room is bare boarded,the seating comfy bench type and normal tables and chairs,there is a small raised area to the front left,there is a pool table to the right. There were two pumps on the bar but only one real ale on which was Doom Bar this was ok but nothing special. This is a pretty standard locals pub. Pub visited 21/3/2015

Tucked away in the back streets ,there has been a modern makeover to this L shaped interior which has some seating booths by the french windows to the garden and a wooden floor throughout,pool table close to the bar.It felt like a locals pub but a karaoke was advertised using the raised stage and the muzak was a shade too loud.Two handpumps with Doom Bar and London Pride (reversed) so nothing to write home about.A bit sterile for me,but maybe the regulars like it.

There are two handpumps here – Doom Bar on one (£1.60 a half), with the other one unclipped and apparently unused. There was no sign of any food on Wednesday afternoon. This is a large corner-site inter-war pub. It’s largely opened up inside, but the original doorways (some unused now of course) are still there, and is carpeted with a nondescript grey carpet. Furnishings are normal metal-framed tables and chairs sparsely populating the large floor space; it boasts a pool table and at least one large TV screen showing Sky Sports (muted); and some radio station apparently called “Gold” was being played over the sound system. There’s a raised stage on the left with a couple of dartboards on the wall, and this is undoubtedly used for the advertised live music. Unfortunately we’ve missed the opportunity to enjoy the Cupid Stunts who were on in October. Some miscellaneous black and white prints of old Walthamstow adorn the cream, or possibly off white, painted walls. This is a locals’ pub, with ten or so old boys seated on stools at the bar enjoying their beer (mainly lager) when I was in. Doom Bar isn’t the most exciting of ales, but it’s a lot better than nothing. This is an example of an ordinary locals’ pub of the type that’s becoming rarer all the time. I’m glad it’s here for the locals to enjoy, although I have to say that I probably won’t be making a return visit.