Sutton Arms, Clerkenwell, EC1

This pub has all the appearances of an unpretentious backstreet pub, which is the last thing you would expect to find just a few off the busy Clerkenwell Road. The floor’s carpeted; there are a couple of tall tables/tall stools, with the majority of furnishings being standard tables and chairs. There are three TVs on the walls, with various chalkboards advertising Sky Sports HD; exhorting us to follow them on Twitter; daily food specials; function room upstairs, and so forth, plus a few old photos. It's a Cask Marque pub, which had on Kent's Best, Timothy Taylor Landlord and London Pride. While the ales seemed to be a tad on the expensive side (a half of Landlord was £2.10) the food seemed quite reasonably priced by comparison. It's pub grub all the way here - toad in the hole (£7.50), sausage & mash (£6.50), and steak & ale pie plus veg (£7.50) are examples. I wouldn't expect to much like the pub I've outlined above, but I did like this one for some reason. Although being at the top end of the pricing spectrum, the Timothy Taylor Landlord was in excellent condition (to be expected in a Cask Marque pub of course). There's nothing very special about this pub, but for me its simplicity is its main appeal. I reckon it's a good place to stop off for a quiet pint.

The Sutton Arms is a traditional corner pub sitting at the junction of Great Sutton Street and Berry Street which so far has missed being modernised into something bland and boring in the name of progress like a lot of other establishments in the near vicinity. A welcoming red exterior with a hanging pub sign and hanging baskets in summer on both street faces, inside this is a proper pub, with a traditional proper pub feel. If entering from the main front door at the road junction apex you enter into the tabled front section of the pub and the bar is tucked down the back on the right hand side with an area suitable for vertical drinking in front of the bar. As well as the usual chrome Lagers there are three ale hand pumps on the bar and these were Adnams Bitter, TT Landlord and London pride. So perhaps not the most adventurous choice, but the Landlord was a very well kept pint well served by the friendly bar staff. Quite busy for my early evening visit and a good mix of punters were in, seemingly having a good time. It’s a little bit off the beaten track and you get the feeling that it is off radar for a lot of the local workers and is utilised mainly by those in the know. Well, that includes me now and I’ll certainly be utilising it again the next time I find myself in this largely dead zone between Old Street and Clerkenwell.