The Chapel Market Tavern, N1

Reasonable selection of (expensive) craft ales but not as good as the Craft Bar round the corner.

Over the last six years or so this pub has gone from being called the Salmon and Compasses, Salmon and Compass, Compass, Hundred Crows Rising and as of 2014, the Joker of Penton Street. I came here about six years ago when it was called...well, one of the above and it seems that little if anything has changed. Canteen furniture, pink tea light holders on tables, a hot and noisy open kitchen. Décor includes the likes of heavy duty industrial hanging lights and oddities like the lamp array from an operating theatre, an optician's illuminated test chart and a 1960s' hairdresser's beehive dryer with perspex hood. Lighting is very gloomy; the interior is very dark. The music is also very loud - the only other drinker on our Monday mid-evening visit asked the barman if he could turn it down. Ales: three blank pumps, which I was informed had been mothballed in favour of the oh-so-fashionable 'beer wall tap'; so no real ale then. I opted for a half of Laines IPA from keg which weighed in at a mighty £5.40 a pint (£2.70 a half). It was served in a wineglass. The gloom, lack of atmosphere, lack of real ale, outrageous prices and loud music results in a pub which is really very poor and I shan't be returning. Fortunately the local Craft Beer Co. is just around the corner.

The pub was surprisingly quiet on our Friday eve visit, six people in all, who had called in as a group to sample the craft beers, dispensed from taps from a wall behind the bar. The pub does have late licensing hours, 1am mid week and 3am on Fri and Sat nights, so maybe the pub fills up later on in the evening. There were two ales on handpump on our visit, so we went for the Laines 48 at £4.15 a pint, which was considerably dearer than Craft Islington, which is just on the next corner. Their craft beers on tap, were very pricey as one would expect for this area.

A spacious contemporary pub,although quiet early on a Saturday afternoon there was a decent feel about the pub,four cask beers were available, I settled for a very good pint of Kings Northern Lights.Nice place.

Standard-issue gastro-pub, with wood-effect canteen furniture and mixed decor including a giant clock-face. Four real ales available on handpump: Laines Best Bitter (£4.00), something from Hackney with a generic clip, Truman's Swift and Kings Evolution Black Symphony.

This attractive glazed tiled street-corner pub has gone through a number of incarnations in recent years, but has now been taken over by the people behind Brighton's Laine Brewery, creating a modest environment in which to showcase their beers to the capital. The exterior is certainly striking with the tiles complimented by a large Courage Ales sign on the front wall. Once inside, a simple, rectangular single room layout becomes apparent, with the servery running along most of the back wall. The room is painted in dark red, with a dark wood servery, bare floorboards and an exposed brick bar back all lit by muted lights in huge bell-shaped lightshades and exposed naked bulbs caged in quirky whisk shaped fittings. There are some button backed sofas and a solitary pew running along the front wall in arguably the comfiest section of the pub. Elsewhere, reclaimed tables and chairs fill the open space, each table set out with a lit candle and a clipboard detailing the simple burger menu. There are some large paintings of jesters on the walls plus lots of smaller photos of more contemporary comedians. A huge, almost floor to ceiling, clock stands on the back wall with its hands racing around in an anti-clockwise motion. The servery is in two parts, with the bar occupying the right hand half and an open kitchen sited in the left hand section with a couple of huge theatre masks above. A sign pointed out additional seating available upstairs, but the place was pretty quiet on my Tuesday evening visit, so I didn't explore. Music played quietly in the background throughout my stay and I thought the general ambiance was quite nice and that it was a shame there wasn't a livelier crowd in to generate more atmosphere. Two ales were available at the bar - Laines Angel RPA and Angel Porter - with a third handpull displaying a turned clip. The final pump had a handwritten clip for something called Heart Breaker Welsh Cider. I gave the porter a try and was pleased to find it in great shape. The barmaid who served me was very prompt and friendly and I felt a bit sorry that she didn't have more customers to keep her busy. I quite enjoyed this place without being able to put my finger on exactly why that was. Whilst not really being a pub for the traditionalist, it still felt warm and welcoming, perhaps because it doesn't seem to have the pretensions of some other N1 bars. This, coupled with the excellent pint I enjoyed, would be enough for me to consider another visit, perhaps as a double header with the nearby Craft Beer Co.