The Highgate Inn, Highgate, N6

Visited 23/04/26. Visited previously 20/09/21. No cask. Keg offering of Fosters, Budvar, K1664, Morreti, Amstel, Guinness, Neck Oil, Brooklyn Stonewall Inn IPA, Heineken, Cruz and Somersby cider. Traditional venue on Highgate Rd. Small amount of pavement seating at the front, but on a very busy road. Inside front part is bare boarded with the bar counter on the right-hand wall just inside the entrance with a small amount of tall stool seating at the bar counter. Left-hand wall opposite bar counter see logs piled up to create a rustic feel with a couple of barrel type tables, the walls adorned by brewery mirrors and a fire grate opposite the end of the bar counter. The rear, tiled floor, seating area has quite a few leather seating areas including a sofa array in the rear right hand corner with a dating area to the left of it. It is very rustic and very homely. There are a lot of ceiling based warm white fairy lights and a lovely calming music soundtrack. Basic keg beer offering but this place is much more than that(and in any case I can’t imagine drinking anything other than Guinness here) and it will always be a favourite of mine in this part of the North London world as it escapes the busyness and noise of other venues around and up on the High St. Proper old school Irish manager (there is a chalkboard sign by the bar counter counting down the days to the next St Patrick’s Day), been there years and is always perpetually busy keeping the venue spic and span.

I've been in here a couple of times and the Black Sheep has been off both times and I've also been given pints of Guinness with unacceptably large heads. I can understand in a trendy bar when I'm being served by a student, but not in this supposedly Irish pub. This is my only gripe as I really like this pub and being a football fan it is the place to be on a Saturday as there are plenty of plasma screens and the barman will try to accommodate all games. There is a selection of standard and premium lagers and an unusually large spirit selection in bottles on the back shelf of the bar. I will make the effort to travel from the barren pub land of Muswell Hill to visit here again for the footie.