Mary Wollstonecraft, Stoke Newington, N16

With the name Ryan’s bar I was expecting a small Irish bar with the odd limerick on the wall and maybe a wooden road sign pointing the way to Donegal, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. This is a bright and airy bar which is quite thin, but there is plenty of seating that was all taken up with people watching the Spurs match on the two flat screen TVs and others eating the Thai food that is available from an extensive menu. I also saw a few burgers being devoured and they were enormous with plenty of thick chips, so I gave in and forked out £7 for one and it was worth every penny. Staropramen and San Miguel are both available alongside some standard draught products and the barmaid was very friendly when she was behind the bar. She did keep wandering off to the toilet leaving a Thai woman in charge who struggled with the orders causing a queue and all hell broke loose when the Fosters barrel ran out, but normal service soon resumed. There is a function room downstairs that is available for free hire and a sign in the window invites local artists and musicians to use this space to show their talents. A band turned up at about 16:00 with all of their equipment and went downstairs so there must have been some Saturday night entertainment. I was very surprised at the size of the beer garden out the back as there is some café style seating by the rear entrance that is covered by a jumbrella and then there are twenty four picnic tables in three rows that stretch to the rear of the of this big fenced in area. I liked the atmosphere in here and the Guinness was very good so I would have no hesitation in making a return visit.