The Volunteer, Tottenham Hale, N17

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Facebook page of The Volunteer - www.facebook.com

A well used local boozer,there is a large ,friendly pub dog meaning the front gate leading to the front door must be kept closed to avoid interaction with the busy local roads.There are quite a few benches outside,while the pub itself is neat and tidy with the front door opening into an open plan room with a horseshoe servery and two wings either side with two bay windows.Carpeted throughout it has a lounge feel with two sports flatscreens for live soccer. Traditional furniture and there is a signed Spurs shirt as you might expect,although it's a fair walk to their ground from here.The bar stools are popular with the regulars and there was some light hearted banter ,especially when the cheeky pub cat started wandering along the bar. Two ales ,both well kept and very reasonable at £4.60,London Pride (NBSS 4) and TT Landlord (NBSS 3.5) made this an enjoyable visit and one that I would repeat in this rather uninspiring neighbourhood.

Situated on an unattractive housing estate close to Tottenham Hale station but also easily diverted to from the nearby A10, this is a decent little local's boozer that was doing a good trade on the afternoon of a match at White Hart Lane. The pub has a single room layout, with a centrally positioned servery creating a U-shaped room. The bar has a nice panelled counter with a brass foot rail and a smart, mirrored bar back with old integral signs above for 'Gin', 'Brandy' and the like. Some decent fixed bench seating runs around the perimeter with low stools and standard chairs fleshing out the options. Walls are half panelled and have been covered with a great collection of branded mirrors from all sots of different beverage companies. A few interesting black and white photos are also on show and over on the left hand side you will find a dartboard surrounded by a collection of trophies won by the pub over the years. I noted a couple of fireplaces to either side of the bar, suggesting a former two bar layout in the past, but both were sadly out of use. Large TV screens either side of the entrance were showing the afternoon's early kick-off whilst music quietly played below the general hubbub around the bar. To the right there was a door propped open which led out to a rather glum looking side patio area which only the pub dog seemed to appreciate, giving him somewhere to sprawl during the peak pre-match hours. I hadn't expected to find any ale here, so was briefly heartened to see to clipped hand pumps, but my enthusiasm quickly waned when I realised they were both dispensing Wells Bombardier - arguably my least favourite cask ale. To the pub's credit, they served up a very passable pint that went down surprisingly well after my walk in the sun from Seven Sisters tube station. As with any football pub worth its salt, the bar staff were well drilled and I had a pint in my hand within no time. This is a perfectly serviceable back street boozer and seems to be competently run and a rightly popular pre-match destination. I can only speculate what it's like on quieter days but based on this visit I felt this was a nice uncomplicated pub that is worth supporting in an area where pub closures have decimated the local drinking scene.

There were a couple of ales on in here – the ubiquitous Bombardier and the excellent Redemption Hopspur (£3.0 a pint). Unusually, the pumps don’t face you on the front of the bar as you enter, but there’s one each on the left and right hand sides of the counter. The engaging barmaid (landlady?) said she would let my pint settle before topping it up – which she did. That’s top notch service in my book. Pub grub bar meals were available at £5.20 a go. It’s carpeted, with banquettes around the sides combined with small round stools and normal tables and chairs. An unusual feature is the matchboard wood panelled ceiling, matching the more traditional matchboard panelled bar counter. The walls are covered with brewery/distillery mirrors, and the usual ancient black and white photos. A dartboard is tucked away back at the left of the room, and the tables all had on them the odd mix of beermats and sprigs of flowers. But it does have a couple of things that detract from the ambienc of a pub – games/fruit machines and a Pringles (!) dispenser – although I appreciate the business need for such things. This is not a destination pub, but it does have at least one decent ale on (at a decent price as well); and it had a comfortable feel when I dropped in at Friday lunchtime. It’s definitely worth a visit if you happen to be passing.