The Snooty Fox, N5

Official site of the Snooty Fox with event details - www.snootyfoxlondon.co.uk

This is a single room, street corner pub very close to Canonbury overground station. The pub has a modern take on a traditional interior with lots of retro artifacts which enhance this feel. There are dark floorboards and furniture, which combined with the muted lighting, gave the place a warm and cosy vibe, although in some spots it veered a bit too much towards the ‘gloomy’ end of the spectrum. The servery runs along the back wall and has blackboards above it which list drink and bar snack options. The rest of the room is filled with a mix of standard seating with some comfy seats on the right hand side and a few benches on the left, where you can see into the open kitchen. A blackboard listed the food options with most of the main meals coming in around a tenner. The room is nicely decorated with lots of old movie and music posters and there is an old fashioned juke box near to the front door under a TV screen which was turned off during my stay. The pub didn’t strike me as the sort of place to show live sport, but there appeared to be a large screen lined with hops above the fireplace on the right hand wall. Four ales were available on handpull – Otter Ale, Redemption Trinity, ELB Foundation Bitter and an outstanding London Brewers Alliance Collaboration London Stout, which set me back £4.00, but was well worth it for what is by far the best pint I’ve tried this year. Addlestone’s Premium Cloudy Cider and Sandford Devon Mist Cider were also available. There is a nice collection of Northern Soul themed pump clips from the Northern Brewery behind the bar, which fits in nicely with the pub’s image. This place was packed when I visited on a mid-week evening, and I thought it was rightly popular. It has found a nice balance which should attract a young crowd without alienating the traditionalist and the beer, if my pint is anything to go by, is kept very well and offers an interesting selection. I would be more than happy to seek this place out again the next time I’m in the area.

I visited here midweek one evening three weeks ago and found a rather dimly lit corner pub that had open blinds on the windows making it feel even smaller than it is. The bar is to the right where there was also a projector screen that was showing muted cartoons and to the left is an open kitchen that was dishing up some gastro fayre. There is an old style record jukebox by the entrance and some obscure 60s music was being played as background music. I found the barman to be friendly enough and he poured a decent pint of Guinness. Apart from some Fosters the other draught was of the premium type and the two hand pumps that adorn the bar were drawing Tribute and Sambrooks Junction. There is some outside seating that wraps around the outside of the pub behind some railings. The Ale Rattle and Roll beer festival was recently held here and the whole pub is also available for private hire. I’m not sure how this affects normal punters when it is hired out, I wouldn’t like to think the pub was randomly off limits to the locals some nights. This place isn’t really my scene so I doubt I will return.