La Fenice, Euston, NW1

Official site of La Fenice - www.48lafenice.com

Official site of La Fenice - www.48lafenice.com

Aged narrow building with a lovely arched frontage, a rarity as the immediate area is mainly grim post war development. The inside has been subject to a recent hideous refit and is now a featureless long narrow room with sky blue walls, ice blue neon strip lights and a rear conservatory. No soul, like an estate agent on valium. Two over-loud TVs tuned to E4 for the staff's own pleasure (I was the only customer). A bare bar area with little choice beyond half a dozen national keg fonts. I went for half a Guinness (£2.50) and made good my escape. An atrocious, sterile mess.

This backstreet building is hidden away behind the Regent's Place development, with an unusual façade hiding a very plain rectangular bar. Modern furniture and decor, but rather dark (apart from the large conservatory at the back). Dingy downstairs room with an apparently disused pool table in a roped-off area. Two small tables out front plus a little patio to the rear. Describes itself as a "Restaurant & Bar", but no menus, crockery or cutlery on the tables when I visited (so perhaps food is just a lunch-time thing, as it seemed to be just locals drinking in the early evening). No real ale, so I had a quick pint of a thin, brown liquid describing itself as Toby Bitter (£3.00) and I was off...