The Good Mixer, Camden Town, NW1

This is a post-war pub, built to replace an earlier pub on the site that fell prey to the Luftwaffe. It still has its original two rooms, connected by a short corridor that leads past the gents toilet, with a private bar sign to a small area behind the public bar which is now effectively subsumed by the public bar. There's no bar back to speak of; if there ever was one (and I would have expected there to have been one) it's now gone, so it's easy to see between the two rooms. There is a table football game in the public bar, which has a rough tiled floor. A bit of bench seating provides a small amount of outside inside some railings. I didn't see any handpumps; both the pub's website and WhatPub say it does cask so ale, so maybe there was one that for some reason I didn't spot. This is a very simple down to earth pub. It certainly doesn't go in for luxury. It's not really the sort of place that I would rush back to.

Official site of The Good Mixer - www.thegoodmixer.co.uk

Official site of The Good Mixer - www.thegoodmixer.co.uk

This pub dates back to at least the 19th century when it was called the Cricketers. Rebuilt as such in the 1950s and renamed when, I know not. I always thought that this place was some sort of noted live music venue but if it was, then it clearly isn't now. This is a two-bar format pub with both bars dominated by full-sized pool tables, the one by the Inverness Street entrance so much so that on entering, you have to wait for the players to take their shot before you can get to the bar. This is a scruffy pub with flagstone floor, all complementing the rather scruffy crowd, not helped by the proximity to homeless hostel Arlington House across the road. Muted reggae played on the stereo but this didn't prevent the landlord from serving me with a pint rather than the requested half of Sharp's Original at £3.80 a pint; there were two unused pumps. It was majorly off, sour as Sarson's. I endured about a third of it and then we left. Nope, I'm not returning.

Basic corner pub at the western end of the Inverness Street market area. Two rough-and-ready bars; both with dominant pool tables, stone flooring and very limited furniture (although the left-hand room has a small, partially screened, seating area at the back). Loud music throughout. A few patio tables out front. Two handpumps - offering the regular Pride (£3.80) and Sharp's Special - in the right-hand room. Really only worth considering for a quick pre-gig pint.

This pub was made relatively famous back in the mid to late 90's thanks to its status as the drinking venue of choice for numerous Britpop bands, so I'd always thought that the pub would do well to promote itself as a Britpop themed pub. However, the only link back to those days seems to be the decor, which looks like it hasn't changed since the days of Noel, Jarvis, Damon and co. There is a two room layout, but there are no real differences between either of them. The right hand room has a flagstone floor and some limited bench and low stool seating around a covered pool table. There are pictures of the likes of Elvis and the Rat Pack, a signed guitar in a display case (although I couldn't figure out whose signatures they might be) and apropos of nothing, some Irish road signs hang above the bar counter. A Jagermeister flag hangs from the ceiling and this seemed to be heavily promoted throughout as well as popular with the young, pre-gig time crowd. The left hand room also has a pool table and this one was uncovered and in use the whole time I was there. A couple of TV screens were showing motor racing and golf for no discernable reason. There is a semi partitioned section at the back of this room, which houses a few tables, but otherwise seating is very limited and very impractical if the pool table is being used. Rock music was playing very loudly, which I suppose you would expect in such a venue. Fullers London Pride and Sharp's Special (£3.20) were available and the Special was actually surprisingly good, even if I did get a few weird looks from the other customers when I ordered it. I didn't find this a very comfortable place to stop for a drink, although I can see why it might appeal to those looking for a cheaper pint than in the nearby live music venues. I still think they've missed a trick and a decent makeover and reference to its past might go some way to making this a destination pub for all those 30 something Britpop fans out there. As it stands though, it's not really worth the effort.