The Old Ivy House, EC1

Nice enough pub - had Spitfire on draught which was OK. Bit quiet on Sunday night.

Much as described below, this is quite a dark and gloomy place but quite dated with the bare brick and wagon wheels on the wall and barrels as tables; it's a bit Schooner Inn. Sport played with the sound down, thankfully but I didn't take well to the overly loud music. The landlord (American?) was very friendly and my pint of Bishops Finger was fine (I didn't clock the price). I'd come here again but it's a far from being the best in EC1.

This is a nice old pub that's been largely modernised, although it has reverted to its original name after doing time as a Firkin pub. It's definitely moved a bit upmarket since the previous reviewer's visit. The walls are now entirely exposed brickwork, and the rustic look is reinforced by the three large waggonwheels decorating one of the walls. That's unusual, but nice enough I suppose. Other slightly odd decor includes a collection of vinyl records on the ceiling to the right of the bar counter. Seating is wrapped around a central horseshoe bar, with a couple of large barrells doing service as tall tables, with tall stools of course, but the vast majority of furnishing is normal tables and chairs. The tables all had litle floral displays on them, all having a drink from a wine glass. It's all quite comfortable and respectable in here, and although the pop music being played was reasonably good stuff, I would have had the volume down a couple of notches if it was up to me. This is a Shepherd Neame house; the three ales they had on were Spitfire, Masterbrew, and Amber Ale, the latter being a sort of Winter ale at £1.85 a half. The menu looks reasonable, featuring several classic pub grub favourites; the steak & ale pie is £9.90; the fish n chips £9; plus they do an offer of the month for £8.50 - at the moment it's steakburger and chips with a pint (didn't specify what - hopefully something worth drinking). The only thing that I didn't care for in this pub was the overly loud music. It's a bit quirky in places, but nevertheless I thought it well worth a visit. Mind you, I quite like Shep's beers.

The Old Ivy House page at the Shepherd Neame site - www.shepherdneame.co.uk

The Old Ivy House page at the Shepherd Neame site - www.shepherdneame.co.uk

I doubled the occupancy when I walked in as the governor and a regular were watching a 2008 Serie A game on a plasma screen with terrible reception. Although clean the interior looked in need of some sympathetic refurbishment, but it was great to spot a dartboard. The old school governor was a very friendly chap who made me feel very welcome and my pint of Guinness was very well served. Spitfire and Master Brew were also available alongside a standard draught selection. I think that the gov likes to pour beer, but a little more attention to detail like writing on the A-board outside in legible writing and not playing depressing love songs would put this place on the radar of a few more people.