Betsey Trotwood, Clerkenwell, EC1

Only had one visit here and that was effectively a private party for a Get Cape Wear Cape Fly single release. As a pub I wasn't over impressed. The main bar is a rather basic and bland affair with wooden furnishings and not much that stood out other than a broken clock on the wall that is at least right twice a day. There was a limited range of Shepherd Neame beers but these were all off on my visit and the prices were higher than I would have expected. On the plus side, the staff were very friendly, chatty and efficient. Downstairs is the rather dingy Todd's wine bar that is more reminiscent of a dungeon and it is here where they have live music and comedy acts. Be warned – it is tiny. At best you can get an audience of 25 people squashed in beneath the brick arch and if you get to see a decent act in here as I did, it can be quite memorable. Otherwise, it is not a pub I would go out of my way for given that there are some superb pubs in the vicinity.

It took a while for me to be served in here as it was very busy for a Monday night with a large student contingent. I noticed that there is an upstairs bar and a downstairs function room so maybe some event had just finished or was about to start or maybe there is a university nearby as I didn't think that much of the pub for it to deserve to be this rammed. It's a Shepherd Neame house that had four ales off leaving only Bishop's Finger along with the usual Neame draught. Thankfully the Guinness was ok even if the barman was a little preoccupied in talking to the clientele whilst making a half arsed attempt to serve me. Maybe I chose the wrong time to go, but I would probably walk past this pub if I was passing again.