The Village Green, Muswell Hill, N10

Official site of The Village Green - www.thevillagegreen.pub

Official site of The Village Green - www.thevillagegreen.pub

This large pub and restaurant in the centre of Muswell Hill has been a bit of a regular Good Beer Guide entry in recent years, so I was keen to pop in when I recently found myself in the area. The pub has a vaguely U-shaped layout, with the front door depositing you directly into the main bar area, with the servery opposite and seating areas to either side. The main bar space has a quarry stone floor with some uncomfortable looking high banquettes along the front wall. The bar has a dark wood counter with angular ends and a traditional mirrored bar back. To the left, there is a pleasant seating area with a few tables and chairs, a nice bookcase and some simple contemporary decor. This leads into a rear restaurant which serves up Thai food in a dedicated room, so that the bar area doesn’t suffer from the smell of tempting food. I didn’t get a proper look at the restaurant, preferring instead to head to the right hand side of the pub, which seems to be the space best suited to the drinker. This is a wide, split-level space divided into front and rear sections by a shelving unit full of old spirit bottles. The front part has parquet flooring, feature wallpaper on the end wall and a mix of chair and button backed sofa seating. A large TV screen to one side remained switched off throughout my visit and some old photos of the local area helped add a bit more of a pub-like feel to the space. The rear part is slightly raised and offers smart banquette and chair seating in a carpeted space with unusual leather wall decorations and more fancy wallpaper. Mirrors line the walls and there was a collection of board games in one corner. The ale range was a bit depleted on this mid-week visit, with just Sharps Atlantic and Courage Best available. Of the three remaining pumps, only one more was in action, offering a real cider option. The Atlantic was on pretty good form but I found the barman a bit standoffish and unwelcoming. I was a bit underwhelmed by this place and thought, despite quite a nice seating area for drinkers, that it had more of a dining pub feel to it. Things weren’t helped by a lacklustre ale range and surly service, but I should keep in mind that my beer was at least in good shape and I was able to relax easily enough in the comfortable seating provided. Ultimately though, I prefer the ‘Spoons down the road to this place.

A solid looking building with an decent interior.Through the front door is a seating area with some sofas and traditional tables behind which is a kind of mid building snug in dark decorations on the way to an outside beer garden with a table football machine.The L shaped bar is to the left of the entrance with a high bench running opposite and at the end of the L,a seperate dining room operating as a thai restaurant. There are 4 handpumps,offering on my trip Courage Best,Sharp's Atlantic and a very decent St Austell Liquid Sunshine.There is a Sunday quiz ,occasional live music and the tv on my visit was showing World Cup soccer.There is a community vibe here and the welcome was friendly.A decent option in Muswell Hill despite a pedestrian ale line up.

The John Baird is situated in the middle of Muswell's Hills shopping area. Once inside there isan L shaped room with the bar facing,the floor is part tiled and bare boarded,the seating is bench type and normal tables and chairs,the left side runs to the rear where there is what looks like a Indian or Chinese restaurant,this area was empty on my Thursday dinner visit. I noted three real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Woodfords Wherry which went down well,the other beers were Woodfords Summer Breeze and Old Golden Hen. I thought this was a decent enough pub to have a drink in. Pub visited 4/8/2016