Sports Bar & Grill, Old Street, EC1

The Town and City pub company have recently revamped a lot of their old Litten Tree pubs, giving them new individual identities and smartening up the interiors, without really changing their ethos too much. The William Blake is the result of such a makeover and it now comes across as a shinier, sleeker (and more expensive) version of the Wetherspoons pub next door. The pub is essentially at the more respectable end of the ‘drinking barn’ phenomenon, with one large, open plan room, full of plush leather furnishings, high stools and tables and bare floorboards. There was a row of large TV screens, all showing sports channels on a Saturday lunchtime, whilst a second room to the rear had a huge screen projecting six nations rugby to nobody. Fruit machines and an odd electronic pinball machine were flashing away silently and signs advertised live music and swing dancing nights among other things. There was already one stag party in by 3pm and I can see that this is exactly the sort of crowd the pub is looking to attract, with VIP areas already roped off in readiness for the evening. There were six hand pumps dispensing Wells Bombardier, Sambrooks Wandle and Junction and Timothy Taylor Landlord. I tried the Junction and found it to be in decent condition – perhaps just a little too cold. Whilst I don’t see myself coming back to this place, I can see that it does have a degree of appeal and I can’t really complain at being served decent beer, sitting on a comfy chair and watching live rugby, but for me the place lacked any character and I would be more inclined to use the ‘Spoons next door the next time I want a quick stop before jumping on the tube, which is saying something.

Fortunately we hadn’t visited here before and didn’t realise its past identity when we decamped here after getting fed up waiting to be served in the ‘spoons a few doors up. But after being fully refurbished in summer 2010 this former Litten Tree has been rebadged and renamed as The William Blake, after the 18th Century English Poet who is buried in Bunhill Fields round the corner from Old Street station. The Town and City Pub Company blurb will give you some old horse shit that they have renamed it as part of their new policy of identifying pubs whose market and location have a strong local identity. So nothing to do with the fact that the Litten Tree brand has a reputation that stinks more that a 50 day old kipper then. Actually our experience of this new guise was not bad, probably helped by the fact that we went straight up the bar and got served almost straight away by a friendly, bubbly barmaid. And as well as all the usual gleaming Lager taps there are two banks of three handpumps on the bar which were dispensing 4 ales. As well as CW Bombardier and TT Landlord, the two Sambrook Brewery beers , Wandel and Junction were on and both were good pints. It’s still very much got a chain pub feel about it with a focus on the usual plastic cheep food menu and cheep drinks, but it’s nicely laid out and there is plenty of very comfortable leather sofa seating around the edges arranged in the form of individual alcove areas. Seems to be a place to watch the sport as there are five plasma screens dotted about and what looked like a couple projectors and pull down screens. Also appeared to be a second section beyond a set of dividing doors with its own bar beyond the toilets, but this seemed to be in use for a private function and we didn’t venture into here. It’s still not the type of place I personally would choose to spend an evening, but seemed perfectly OK for somewhere to grab a pint very close to Old Street station if you haven’t got the time to search out one of the far superior traditional pubs a short walk away.