The Old Wheatsheaf, Enfield

This is a very attractive, two bar pub, just a few doors down from Enfield Chase station. The right-hand room is a simple but pleasant public bar with two lovely bay windows sporting fine etched glass "Public Bar" panels, with decorative leaded panes above. It's a bare boarded room with button backed banquettes to the front right and rear left and basic tables and chairs elsewhere. The servery is along the back wall and has a tongue and groove counter front, chunky dark wood pillars upholding a grand gantry, and a modern, glazed tile bar back with a long row of keg taps, about half of which were in use. A fine, tiled fireplace stands to the right with an impressive mantlepiece and surround, whilst a much smaller fireplace can be seen to the left, partly covered by a blackboard promoting their off-site catering service. The walls have been decorated with a large Big Smoke brewery mirror, several modern art prints and a sizeable pump clip collection on the left-hand side. The lounge bar can't be reached from here, so I didn't get to explore it properly, but it appears to be a larger space with similar decor and furniture and a good stretch of servery down the right-hand wall. It also sounded like they were showing live football, but I couldn't see the screen myself, although disco tracks were unmistakably playing in the Public Bar, so it was difficult to hear properly and I may have just imagined the football sounds! On the bar, a solid ale range comprised Fullers London Pride, Sharps Doom Bar, St Austell Tribute and Wainwright's Amber. Keg beer comes from Laine and a couple of other micro breweries and is more varied than in your average boozer. A very friendly bar team all said hello individually when I arrived, which was a nice touch that instantly made it feel like a comfortable place to settle down in. I thought this was a nice pub with a great two bar set up, plenty of interesting traditional features and well integrated modern design elements, some decent beer and great service. A slightly more adventurous ale selection may have made me up my rating, but either way, this was my pub of the day and a good way to round out my time in Enfield. Date of visit - 5th October 2024