The Perseverance, Bloomsbury, WC1

Like Clive (see below) I too remember this as The Sun – as I recall it had an excellent real ale selection on offer. Thankfully I do not recall its incarnation as Finnegans Wake, and by all accounts I’m not missing anything. They had a couple of real ales on during my visit – unusually Flowers IPA and Bass. There was a third pump with the clip turned round; it looked to be the shape of an Adnam’s clip. Just for nostalgia’s sake I went for the Bass, which was actually pretty good, but at the top of the range price of £3.40 a pint. The ceiling, walls, and bar counter were painted what I considered to be a depressing mud colour. The colour in question probably has some poncy name, but I don’t know (or really care) what it is. The seating comprises banquette seating round the sides of this one room ground floor pub (though I did see mention of an upstairs room) with normal tables and chairs. The chairs were upholstered in a black and white zebra pattern. There was a food menu on a blackboard on one of the wall, but I‘m afraid I didn’t make a note of what was on it, but the burger that the chap sitting next to me was tucking into looked pretty good. As others have said, it’s not a bad pub (although I have to say it doesn’t look much like a traditional pub to me), and is probably a lot better than when it was Finnegans Wake, but for me there’s really nothing about it that would want to make me go out of my way to pay another visit.

This isn't a bad pub, but it is forgettable and I thought that the seating arrangement was uncomfortable and there was a smell of food wafting through the pub which maybe emanated from the ‘Bloomsbury Lounge' upstairs. The barman was nice enough, but the disco genre music was a little cheesy and too loud for a quiet week night. Bass and Flowers IPA were available along with a premium lager selection and my Guinness was well served. I noticed a sign on the back wall that was advertising Stella at £2.75 a pint which is great for a London boozer; it's just a shame that I don't drink it anymore. There are better pubs in this area so I doubt that I'll return.

Years ago this used to be a good real ale pub called The Sun. Around 1995 it was ruined and turned into the abomination that is Finnegans Wake. It was probably 5 or 6 years later that it took on it's present name. It's not a bad place for a pint I find, especially when it's not busy and you're looking for a bit of peace and quiet.