The Lexington, N1

We weren't here for a gig, so spent our fairly brief visit in the downstairs (ie. ground floor) room. What I learned from this visit is what "bordello baroque" looks like; it fitted in quite well here. Other less usually seen decor was the guns (replicas I was assured by a companion who seemed to know about these things) on the back wall, and skulls of deer and similar mammals, complete with horns and antlers, on all the walls. Furnishings are fairly straightforward, with mainly normal recycled dining room tables with normal chairs, and a few booths along one side. The interior has obviously been drastically altered over the years, now with a raised DJ booth at the back and the bar counter now resited by the window. The four pumps are still at the far end of the counter. Unfortunately three had reversed clips, with the fourth having Five Points Best on. The Best was OK, being a very ordinary brown beer. A music venue having four ales on is good going, and I accept that visiting at lunchtime when it was quiet we were just unlucky that only one ale was available. I actually quite liked the pub, being better than I expected.

Here for a gig upstairs so didn’t spend much time in the main bar. In a nutshell; very high ceiling, soft muted sodium style lighting, many curtains, red and cream flock wallpaper (described on WhatPub as ‘bordello baroque’) – some will hate it, I quite liked it. Four pumps apologetically tucked away at the far right end of the long bar. Three on with a decent selection from Redemption, Hammerton and Sambrooks. I went for the Hammerton N7 which was in decent shape (NBSS 3). The venue upstairs is pretty good, the bar downstairs is decent also. So a fair bet if you are traversing between Angel and KCX and certainly one of the nicer small music venues in London.

A large street corner Victorian pub,better known as a live music venue.The ground floor is open plan with a ticket booth immediately to the right on entering with stairs leading to the entertainment.There is lots of wood panelling,a very high ceiling and a good looking bar running the full length of the opposite side.A table football machine,an upright piano and a raised mixing desk are all evident,while a small gallery runs above floor level to one side.Every wooden table has a tea light,the chandelier gives out a murky light,while the presence of a stuffed eagle,goat's skull and antlers completes the gothic scene,embellished by flock wallpaper. At the bar there were 4 handpumps but with three clips reversed on a Friday evening at 6pm,leaving hobsons choice of GK Rockin' Rudolph which was declined.There are 6 craft keg taps from which I chose Lagunitas IPA which tasted good but £3 the half was exorbitant.Another 5 keg taps had the usual multinational dross. A better real ale range would have resulted in a higher mark,I got the impression that isn't a priority here.

This is a large single room street corner pub with a first floor live music venue, easily reached from Angel and Kings Cross. The pub has plenty of dark wood which, when combined with the dark shaded paint scheme and muted lighting, created a feeling of warmth during a recent visit during the hours of darkness. There are dark floorboards throughout the pub and a high ceiling which has been adorned with various lamps and a large chandelier. The bar runs along the front wall and has a nice, high dark wood counter and a very large windowed bar back overlooking the main road. Banquette booths run down one wall with standard chairs and the occasional armchair filling out the bulk of the room. The rear wall has some floral wallpaper alongside a series of large mirrors, a set of hunting rifles and a number of animal skulls and antlers. There is also room for table football and a decent crowd was in prior to a gig upstairs, creating a good atmosphere without being overly crowded. An old winding staircase leads you up to the 200 capacity venue which has a servery along the back wall (sadly ale-free, although you can pop downstairs for a new pint as long as you get your hand stamped for re-entry). The rear part of the room is raised and has some nice, comfy seating along a balustrade which overlooks the performance area. The stage is to the front with a reasonable sized dance floor opposite, sadly occupied by a single pillar, which can restrict views. In my experience, this is a good place to catch up and coming acts and they also put on DJ nights as well. There were four hand pumps in operation on this occasion, dispensing Caledonian Deuchars IPA and Flying Scotsman, Sambrooks Junction and Hammerton N7. I decided to try the N7 and despite receiving a dubious looking, cloudy pint, I was pleased to find that it quickly settled and turned out to be in excellent shape. Boards around the servery detailed an extensive range of whiskies and I noticed a few interesting bottled beers in the fridges. I generally despair of finding decent beer in live music venues, so expectations were pretty low prior to visiting, but thankfully this place seems to buck the trend, as I enjoyed a fine pint in pleasant surrounds and the pub seemed convivial enough to merit investigation in its own right. I’ll definitely be giving this place another try soon.

Busy music pub with a young crowd. DJ booth in operation early on a Sunday evening, but decent music and operating at a sensible volume. Much louder live band rehearsing intermittently upstairs. High ceiling, mixed furniture and rather Bohemian decor. Two of three handpumps working, with Charles Wells DNA and Flying Scotsman (£3.00) available.

Well described by Malden Man.Noisy clubby pub with loud music.Tacky skulls and rifles on the walls seem so wrong .Three real ales Wandle Flying Scotsman and Trummans -Runner which was good.

This large Victorian corner pub has been given a bit of an American theme, not least due to the enormous list of bourbons and whiskies on offer as well as a decent range of American bottled beers. Now all one space on the ground floor with the bar along the end wall, lacquered wooden floor, slightly raised area to one side presided over by an eagle, a pair of booths on the opposite side next to a table with a cow hide stretched across. Various horned skulls and hunting rifles are hung on the walls, the other decor being mainly band flyers as this is a serious music venue with bands seemingly on most nights on the upper floor or basement. Food is rather American themed too with numerous versions of burgers at £10.50 a go, other main dishes at £8-£10.50. A few pavement tables outside presumably for the smokers as sitting there with the Pentonville Rd roaring past is hardly idyllic. Despite the theming there were still three cask ales on handpump, Caledonian Flying Scotsman, Sambrooks Wandle and O'Hanlon's Yellowhammer, a decent drop too (£3.90). An unusual spot but certainly ok for a quick pint of something different and likely to be of interest to those who enjoy the gig circuit.