Wenlock & Essex, Islington, N1

Blessed with a pretty good location on the main Essex Road, this is an interesting modernisation of a traditional pub, to create a contemporary craft beer bar. You enter through a revolving door, which is a rare feature for pubs these days and felt like it might itself become extinct were I to push too hard. You’re taken into an L-shaped main bar with the servery to the rear left. The bar has a green painted wooden counter with a chunky top and metal frame bar back. Large sliding front windows open out to the pavement, where a few benches have been arranged for those who enjoy a lungful of exhaust fumes with their beer. Scruffy wooden tables and chairs run along the front of the room, offering a bright spot for those wanting to read, work or do a bit of people-watching. A similar row runs through the centre of the room, whilst some padded banquettes can be found to the left under some pretty naff wallpaper decorated with Victorian-era portraits. The right-hand side of the room has some button backed sofas and more tables and chairs arranged in a space that seems to run a fair way back, past some large side windows that provide some much-needed natural light. To the left of the bar, there is a spacious carpeted area with more banquette booths around all of the walls and a door with a neon sign above reading ‘Satan’s Circus’, which presumably leads through to some sort of performance space, although I didn’t venture through myself. The ceiling throughout the pub is very attractive thanks to its decorative lintels, roses and feature panels, making it perhaps the pub’s standout feature. The pub seems to have gone for a craft-keg only approach, as there are no handpulls on the bar, so after a quick look through the interesting keg range I plumped for a pint of the Beavertown Neck Oil, which came in at an eye-watering £5.50. The bar staff were very nice and displayed zen-like patience when their card machine decided to conk out on one of the few occasions I had no cash on me. I thought this place was an interesting example of how to convert a traditional pub into a modern craft beer bar without totally destroying all the features that made it interesting in the first place. The fine ceiling is perhaps the best example of this, but the creation of different seating areas, the ‘proper’ pub service and the quirky revolving door set the place apart from other such ventures. Sadly, the lack of ale and the prohibitive prices mean I’m unlikely to return, but I’m glad I at least managed the one visit.

No real ale on my visit and little else on offer. Not returning to this one.