The Worlds End, Finsbury Park, N4

I came here once with a group of about six just before Fireworks' Night to music in Finsbury Park in 1998. I do recall that it was a good pub at the time when it may have been called the Earl of Essex. N4 isn't exactly a hotbed of quality pubs, so this is probably your best bet for a civilised pint in the area, though alas, the fireworks here are long gone.

The Worlds End is a corner pub that is not that far from Finsbury Park station. Once inside there is a large opened out room with the bar facing,there is a table football close to the front entrance,the seating is long tables to the front and normal tables and chairs elswhere. There were four real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Portobello VPA which went down well,the other beers noted were Hop Stuff Justified,Hogs Back Golden ? and GK IPA. There was decent background music playing. I thought this was a decent pub to end my crawl in. Pub visited 4/8/2016

This is a large multiple room corner pub a short walk from Finsbury Park station. The various rooms wrap around a long U-shaped servery in the centre of the pub. The area to the left of the entrance is quite dark and has exposed floorboards and dark wood panelling. There are some screened seating spaces next to this space, under large windows, with some of the sections boasting some nice tiled flooring. The front section has bare brick and pastel shaded walls with numerous TV screens showing sports channels and some large industrial cog-wheels on one wall. Lots of LP sleeves have been stuck on various walls and pillars reflecting the pub's live music tradition. At the rear there is an amazing space with a fantastic ceiling boasting curved sides and some intricate decorations with a matching frieze. A fireplace stands to the left and has a pub mirror above it whilst a row of plain windows and a couple of etched glass panes run along the opposite wall and allow you to view the front room. To the rear of the room is the performance area with music scheduled for several nights each week. Moving round to the far right hand side of the pub you pass a table football game and lots of standard and high bench seating, before emerging into a dining room style area with standard tables and chairs, a fireplace on the end wall, a stack of board games and lots of old pictures on display. I walked around most of the servery and only noticed the one hand pump serving a decent drop of Truman's Runner at £3.80 a pint, but it seems that I somehow missed three other pumps, so the range may have been a whole lot more exciting. This place doesn't really look like it's going to be up to much on passing, but I was glad I stopped in on my way back to the station, as there are some interesting features to discover, especially in the rear room. There are some good pubs further up Stroud Green Road and this place is a solid option to bulk out a crawl of the area.

Large corner pub. 3 real ales and food served. Advertising live music.

Rather more traditional inside than you might expect from the facade decor which hints at gastro-pub. The original multi-room layout around the island bar appears largely intact, giving a good variety of seating plus the stage/massive projector screen area in the back corner. Two of the four handpumps appeared to be on, offering Doom Bar plus Sharp's Honey Gold (£3.40 - OK, except for being served in a nasty polycarbonate 'glass').

Randomness Guide to London - Worlds End entry

Randomness Guide to London - Worlds End entry

This is a large pub with an island bar that is surrounded with plenty of seating and standing room. At the rear of the pub there is a stage area which had a projector screen pulled down in front of it during my visit as Six Nations rugby was being shown to a large group of people who were sitting at tables that were placed on what would become a dance floor in the evening. There are also flat screen TVs dotted around the pub which show Sky Sports and I spotted a large football table that looked hand made and also a retro arcade game table. The staff seemed pleasant enough and I enjoyed a decent pint of Guinness. Doom Bar, Chiswick and Pride were also available alongside a standard and premium draught selection. I liked it in here and would return if in the area again.