The Coach & Horses, Leyton, E10

I first came in here about twelve years ago to watch and England game on the TV shortly after seeing a match at nearby Brisbane Road. I seem to recall the pub was a pretty rough place with no decent beer, so I was pleased to hear that it had been given a makeover in recent years and had cask ale beck on the bar. The pub is much bigger than I remember, with a large knocked through front bar area and separate rear restaurant space. The bar is dominated by the extremely large servery to the left, which has a smart dark wood counter front with a pewter top and a grand, high shelved bar back. There are bare boards around the majority of the room, but the bar area has a very pleasant tile floored band running around it with a nice geometric pattern design. Standard tables and chairs can be found to the front of the room under large windows, with some nice banquettes over to the left and a mix of chairs and banquettes along the full length of the right-hand wall. The room has been decorated with old whisky mirrors, black and white photos of the local area and plenty of promotional material including a large beer board listing the full draught range. A nice tiled fireplace can be found in the rear corner of the room next to an upright piano and across from a bookcase full of old paperbacks and some board games. Several large screens around the bar area were showing live boxing with the sound just about audible between lulls in the general hubbub. A large arch to the rear of the room leads through to a big dining area with a small servery to the left, tables and chairs in rows through the centre and another such row along a raised platform to the right, supplemented by a couple of banquettes. There are more old photos on display, as well as plenty of potted plants and some quite effective looking fairly lights around the ceiling. Another screen here was also showing the boxing although people here seemed more interested in their food. A trip to the gents uncovered a treasure trove of Leyton Orient themed newspaper clippings and upon returning to the bar, I realised that the pub has some sort of Escape Room game on the first floor, with punters checking in at a desk at the far end of the servery. There are now five handpulls on the bar and these offered an interesting line-up of Three Sods Session IPA, New River Isle of Rye and Mighty Oak The Old Man and Captain Bob plus a real cider. My pint of IPA was in top condition and went down very easily as I watched the build up to the boxing and snooped around the place. The staff seemed pretty friendly and there was a good mix of customers including a big group of CAMRA types who were clearly on a crawl of the local area. This place has definitely transformed for the better, offering a far more attractive, comfortable and welcoming place to stop for a drink than when I first visited. The introduction of some well-kept cask ales should add some extra incentive to check this place out again the next time I’m in the area.

This pub has clearly improved immeasurably since the previous reviewer's visit some three years ago. It's no longer the scruffy old pub that Quinno visited, having been smartened up considerably and with a few family groups in. On my Saturday afternoon visit there were three ales on - Ringwood Razorback, Truman's Zephyr, and Hamerton N1 (£2.25 a half). They clearly do food as I saw it being delivered, and it looked OK, but there wasn't a menu at the table at which I sat. At least a couple of the family groups were enjoying a meal. It's a large opened up place now, with very little of its victorian heritage remaining. But the bar counter is very old, and possibly an original Victorian piece. The indicator was the tell tale key holes in the bar counter front, which would permit hinged panels to swing forward so as to allow easy access to the beer engines. The bar back's modern work. There is also some green banded glazing in the upper parts of the windows (Charringtons possibly?), and the paint has been scraped off the exterior to reveal the original tiling. Furnishings are all normal tables and chairs, of which I approve heartily. There is quite a lot of seating, as the pub has been extended into a large room at the back on the right. A football match was being broadcast, watched by an enthusiastic bunch of blokes. The guv'nor, Ian, spoke to me about his desire to maintain an interesting ale selection. more power to his elbow I say. He also knew about the CAMRA Pub Heritage Group, as he had previously been at the Scottish Stores. This one was surprisingly good, as I wasn't expecting much. Definitely worth a visit if you're in the area.

Beer was Courage Best when I visited which wasn't too bad but I really visited for the Blues jam on Wednesday nights. Some good stuff for a £2 entrance fee.