The Wonder, Enfield

The Wonder pages at the McMullens site - www.mcmullens.co.uk

The Wonder pages at the McMullens site - www.mcmullens.co.uk

This is an attractive looking, prominent street corner community local in a residential area north of Enfield and a 20 minute or so walk from Enfield Chase Station ( Zone 5 ). An exterior that features Tudor gables and glazed brickwork leads into a two bar pub with much of a feel of a pub from yesteryear that has remained unspoiled by modern trends. Posters on the windows advertise the fact that the pub is a football free zone. The large basic public bar features lino flooring, basic fixed seating, wooden tables and padded seats and a fine fireplace with a brick surround. This bar contains a piano and a dartboard and the walls are decorated with framed photographs, many showing the pub’s mainly elderly customers and singers who have performed on the piano over the years. Several small posters advertise the fact that Honky Tonk Dave features on the piano on Saturday evening. There’s also a Sunday afternoon session. Also of interest is a set of photographs featuring a street party in May 1995 – V E Day – to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the end of World War 2. Above the bar are a series of CAMRA award certificates – I gather the pub was local CAMRA Branch Winner for 3 consecutive years. Around the bar area and on the ceiling is a series of blue flashing mini fairy lights, a minor blot on the landscape in my view. The pub was listed in the original CAMRA Regional Inventory for London book published in 2004, but, notably, it does not appear in the much more recent book - “London Heritage Pubs – an Inside Story”. The external pub sign depicts a horse and cart although I didn’t see anything in either bar to tell me if this bore any connection to the pub name. A smaller lounge with a separate entrance is cosy, carpeted and has some McMullens memorabilia. It’s a McMullens pub which, on my recent Saturday lunchtime visit was offering 4 of their beers – AK, Country, Cask and ( not seen before ) Chancellors Revenge. The latter – at an ABV of only 3% - is probably the weakest beer that I can recollect ever seeing. The independent breweries section of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide shows most ordinary /session bitters / milds at being between 3.6 and 3.9%. The AK - £ 2.58p – was in good form and came accompanied with a 20p voucher off a subsequent pint in this pub only valid throughout March 2011. I really took to this pub and I’m sorely tempted to make the trek up here again in March.

Randomness Guide to London - Wonder entry

Randomness Guide to London - Wonder entry

This pub is tucked away to the north of Enfield in a side street just off Lancaster Road and Chase side and is aptly named. In that it is a wonder how it has managed to avoid change and gentrification and is today as it probably was 50 years ago. It’s a place where time has stood still, and will not be to everyone’s taste, as it is old school pub decor with no teles, no juke box, a plain and simple drinks choice, and the majority of the locals are of pensionable age (although they are friendly and always happy to see someone new). And the height of liveliness usually comes when someone decides to have a go on the resident piano in the public for a Chaz and Dave style session. It is still a two bar pub set up with separate Public and Saloon bars. The public bar is traditionally plain no frills drinking area, with a lino floor and vinyl bench seating. The saloon is much more comfortable but still traditional with carpeted floor and padded seating. The beer choice is limited as it is McMullen house and has three hand pumps dispensing McMullen Ales and only one Lager tap if I remember correctly. But this is made up for by the quality of the beer and I defy you to find a better tasting pint of Country. So, in conclusion, an old school boozer which will not be to everyone’s taste, but if you are in the area, pop in to have a look at a piece of history before it falls foul to a makeover and is lost for good.