Alwyne Castle, Canonbury, N1

This 60s built pub is a short walk from the busy highbury corner. This pub used to be called the Alwyne Castle but after being given the trendy makeover thought Castle was'nt trendy enough for this pub. Once inside here there was one largish room and also a largish conservitory i sat in the main bar area at the front of the pub which was very quiet early dinnertime. There were two real ales on here i had a drink of London Pride which tasted slightly off the other beer was Black Sheep bitter. This pub was fairly comfortable and ok for a quick drink.

This pub is split into three sections with the main bar area at the front and some more seating to the right where there is an open kitchen. Tacked onto the end of this space is a conservatory and a large beer garden strewn with picnic tables, but I did not investigate fully as the time of my visit was approaching midnight as this pub is open from midday until midnight everyday of the week. There is a strong leaning towards food here and an extensive amount of wines are available for those who do not want one of the many premium lagers available from the bar. One of the four hand pumps was off during my visit, but the other functioning three were drawing Pride, Doom Bar and Brewdog Edge. The service was friendly and Guinness well poured, but the other customers ranged from pretentious to bottom feeder so the atmosphere wasn’t great. Maybe this was more due to the timing of my visit than the pub itself. There is a DJ on Friday nights and a Quiz on Mondays from 20:30. Children are permitted until 19:00 and the conservatory area is available for hire at a price. I don’t plan on returning here, but it is always handy to know a pub that is open late every night.

Randomness Guide to London - Alwyne entry