Stag & Hounds, N9

This is an Ember Inns pub (and restaurant of course) so you're going to get something half decent to drink. This one had on London Pride, Doom Bar, Adnam's Broadside, something called Ember Pale Ale (brewed by Black Sheep), and Brakspear's Bitter (£150 a half). Trays of condiments plus illustrated menus are on all the tables advertising the usual pub grub - as an example, cod & chips is £9.49. The pub now has the usual Ember Inns hotel lounge look. It's a very large pub - a room on the left looks like it was being used as a dining room, although I'm sure I could have sat there had I wanted to. The room then wraps itself around the front and to the right of the servery. It's carpeted throughout, has a few tall tables/tall stools, but more than enough normal tables and chairs. There were muted TVs around the place, as well as fruit machines unfortunately, but that's to be expected in a pub like this. When I was in there early afternoon on Friday there were still a few people dining, plus a smattering of people enjoying a quiet drink. It obviously lacks the intimacy and homeliness of a traditional pub, but at least it's a survivor even if it's now a member of the corporate pub and dining club.

Built in 1925, the Stag & Hounds is a quite typical suburban inter-war complete with the mock Tudor exterior that was all the rage in pub building at the time. The carpeted L shaped interior has been tastefully modernised and is quite spacious and comfortable. The décor is quite plain but pleasant with an interesting collection of vases being the one thing that caught my eye. It did feel like it would appeal more to diners than drinkers but that shouldn’t be a reason not to give the place a go. There is a car park and attractive beer garden when the weather allows. It is currently part of the Ember Inns chain who I find are a notch above the general PubCo approach. 3 ales were available, (Adnams Lighthouse, Cropton Royal Union and Caledonian Flying Dutchman) of which I had a pint of each during my stay and quality was consistently good and prices reasonable enough. We made a point of eating here as there didn’t seem to be anywhere comparable in the area and the food was very good, promptly served and value for money with most main courses under a tenner. It wasn’t busy for a Saturday lunchtime (despite Spurs playing at home that day) but it seemed friendly and welcoming enough place and I certainly couldn’t fault the attentive staff. There isn’t much around this residential area that would make this a destibation for anyone other than the locals but you will do far worse than stopping off if pasing by.