The George, Temple, WC2

A bit dark inside but it had 4 real ales on and the ones that I tried were in good form.Bar staff were very friendly.

This is the imposing pub that you see in the background whenever a TV programme or news bulletin takes a shot from the steps of the Royal Courts of Justice. I suppose the mock Tudor frontage must make it look ancient and in keeping with the surrounding area, but I don't think that it is anywhere near the oldest pub in the area. But it's a decent enough hostelry. Inside, the main bar area is pretty unremarkable, but there is a long relatively thin table towards the rear, which just looks as if it ought to be used for impromptu board meetings over an ale or bottle or two. The room at the back has some comfortable furnishings, with a portrait of a be-wigged gentleman – whom I did not recognise. There were a couple of real ales on. The best bet appeared to be the Harvey's Bitter, but although it tasted OK it was at a top of the range price of £3.40 a pint. All in all this is a fairly decent, if generally unremarkable, pub. OK for a pint if you can bear the high prices, but there are better pubs in the area.

It was pretty quiet in The George early on Saturday afternoon whilst I had a couple of decent San Miguels. I thought that the barmaid was very polite and the pub was clean and tidy, although it was quite dark. It doesn't stand out from the crowd and I would suggest fitting a respirator at the top of the 3 flights of stairs to save us unfit chaps from dying on the way to the toilet.

Nice enough pub opposite the Royal Courts of Justice, set in a mock tudor building that proclaims to have a much older heritage than the blantantly fake beams suggest. Tried the 'Old Hooky' which was in pretty good shape, plus an underwhelming Wheatbeer from Adnams. There were two or three other ales on offer, including Hog's Back RIP and at least one seasonal beer. Fairly crowded on a Friday night, especially along the narrow section from the end of the bar to the rear door, but we'd had the foresight to reserve a table, which made for a good night for our large group. The rear section of the pub can seemingly be reserved as well and an upstairs bar was advertised, but closed when I was there.