The Tamil Crown, N1

Situated in a backstreet off City Road in Islington, the Charles Lamb sits between typically lovely Georgian terraces and some rather less aesthetically grand sixties council housing. On our saturday evening visit it had a lovely warm, communal feel; a small group to the right of the entrance were eating, others were playing scrabble and backgammon and although it is a fairly small place my party were able to squeeze into a space at the bar and quaff excellent pints of Dark Star Hophead, Triple fff Alton's Pride (£3) and Fullers' Honey Dew. Also worthy of note were the christmas hampers they were displaying at the bar, containing a variety of beers and Charles Lamb branded wine, plus the pub's own Mincemeat jars, which was a nice touch. This pub strikes me as the sort of establishment that inspires a loyal local following and I am only envious I live a bit too far away to count myself part of that. I rate it very highly.

Randomness Guide to London - Charles Lamb entry

Randomness Guide to London - Charles Lamb entry

This is probably one of those pubs you either love or hate. Its very cosmopolitan with two bar areas. Its not what you would call comfortable, but its fresh and clean, bare stripped boards and lots of pastel painted wood, I like it & think its very well done, all a bit different. Roaring fire in the far room (though probably not 'real', there are maps on the wall of London & Paris, a winner for me as a map geek. I'm sure they left the kitchen door open on purpose, the smell was amazing! The beer choice was very good and very well kept indeed. Dark Star Hophead was superb. Well worth a visit.

They had Butcombe Bitter on, which was superb, as well as Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, which is a rather good beer from a small(ish) brewery in Chico, California. First time I have seen it in the UK. This pub was once called The Prince Albert but it is now a gastropub, and as I didn’t eat there I can’t comment on the food that is obviously now their raison d’etre. But I had a very friendly chat with the young man behind the bar about pub names and similar things. Definitely worth dropping in for a pint of Butcombe Bitter if you are passing, but not really worth going far out of your way to visit.

Excellent boozer with high quality ale, friendly knowledgable staff and a fair smattering of attractive totty. A winning combination. Butcombe bitter and Dark Star Hophead both excellent and Dark Star Oktoberfest at 5.2% on as a guest. Didn't eat but the menu looked interesting and food appeared good.

The attractive exterior still has the brown half tiled facade, plenty of planted tubs, and cafe style outside seating occupied by youngish well-heeled locals. Inside to the main room with a large inner corner bar with a carved bar back and feature clock. The lower area of the bar is painted light green, as is the wall panelling. The walls are cream above and the ceiling white; the overall impression hints slightly at a continental cafe/brasserie but does not detract. A side room was taken over with diners. Food is a priority here it seems but not to the exclusion of drinkers. The menu includes such pub staples as rabbit rillettes with cornichons, and morcilla and pear on toast, no pie and mushy peas here. It is all a bit "Islington" really but I enjoyed our short stay, a good selection of decently kept ales, Dark Star Hophead, Butcombe Bitter and Cottage Whippet Jack Boxer, plus a real cider, Thatchers something. Worth a look in if in the area and to be commended for serving three decent non-mainstream ales at pub prices too, £3 or just over.

This place was mobbed outside when I visited on an early evening a couple of weeks ago, but it was almost empty in the bar area. There was a small room to the side with some tables that was very busy so maybe this was a dining type area. Dark Star, Butcombe and another ale called something Hound were available alongside a couple of Meantime beers. The barman seemed a nice enough chap, but I also had to escape to outside with the majority of the patrons to drink my nice pint of Butcombe as the music wasn't my taste and was a little loud. I would try my luck in here again if passing.