The Narrowboat, Islington, N1

A first time in here the other day and you'd never guess that this is a Victorian pub, once called The Star. I've never seen such a gastro makeover. It looks like some corporate bar that you'd find in an office development. A little bare brick hints at something older but at best it looks like a warehouse conversion, with plate glass windows and wooden slats behind the bar. Food is big here - most people seemed to be eating and we couldn't get a seat, not that we wanted to stay long. There's muted mood music, a couple of TVs - off - some old school furniture and a boarded floor which looks modern. Downstairs is a canal-side bar, but it leads nowhere other than a narrow towpath, beyond which is the rather stagnant canal. Three Young's ales were on, but with clips reversed. Thereafter it was London Beer Factory's Beyond The Pale and Chelsea Blonde which was good, and so it should be at £2.35 a half. This is a really a corporate restaurant/bar and not what I'd call a pub. Suffice to say, I won't be returning, not least because there are far better pubs in the area.

Had this one on the ‘to-do’ list for a long time. It is situated in the hinterland where Islington peters out and turns into the Old Street area, sitting on the Islington side of the Grand Union canal. The pub has clearly had a massive refurbishment and is aimed squarely at the upmarket N1 brigade. Tidy and whitewashed on the outside, the interior within is (as expected) long and narrow with the bar to the left and a set of large glass doors that open out to a small balcony to the left that overlooks the canal. The décor is clean and linear; the wood blocking behind the bar works well and the Kath Kidston-style bunting above the bar seemed oddly in tune with the atmosphere. The large glass windows also allow in a lot of light which is pleasant. Beer-wise there were six ales at the bar (three Redemptions, two Youngs and an ELB). The two Redemption beers we picked were drinkable enough if not quite the grade I’d apply to a ‘good’ pint. Also of note was a pretty decent looking wine list and Camden beers on keg. Service behind the bar was from the young staff was friendly. Food is a big thing here and almost all the tables had a little nest of condiments on them but there were no restrictions to just plopping yourself down and having a pint; bar snacks were on offer and I was almost tempted by a scotch egg though I think the cakes could be left to the tea and coffee brigade (also well-catered for judging by the size of the hissing machine). The toilets were impeccably clean and rather impressive. We sat on a table adjacent to the long full-length glass windows that allowed a view of the canal, towpath and the nasty-looking new builds on the opposite bank. Overall this was a pleasant little place to stop-off and is worth taking in if you are crawling the area or fancy a change from the nearby Wenlock Arms.