The Lion, Archway, N19

Basic Irish pub, also known as Sweeney's. Some of the furniture is OK, but the overall effect is rather grim (although the building could be quite attractive in kinder hands). No real ale of course, so it was a quick pint of John Smiths Smooth (£3.10) and I was off...

This is exactly the sort of pub I would expect to find opposite Archway tube station with its ‘diverse crowd', Guinness a plenty and grubby interior. The bar was lined with locals sitting on bar stools that wouldn't have moved if I had set them on fire and the barmaid didn't seem to want to serve anyone that wasn't standing directly at the bar – Hopefully you can see the problem that I was confronted with. After a fun game of sardines I managed to part with 3 quid for a pint of lager that was quickly knocked back as on my way out I still had to fight my way past the pisshead that was blocking the door when I entered. The only plus that I could find was that the pub has 2 plasma screens, but that hardly makes up for the pub's other failings.