Whittington Stone, Archway, N19

Dating from 1740 with the current incarnation built in 1978, this is situated on the hill climbed by Dick Whittington on his attempt to leave London when the City’s bells tolled, asking him to return. My guess though is that he couldn’t face the struggle up the hill, especially with cat in tow and speaking of which, there’s a large late Georgian stone statue of a cat a few feet up the hill from the pub (hence the name), voiced by Helen Lederer if you point your smartphone at it. Situated adjacent to the Whittington Mental Hospital, it’s well described below, this being a first-time visit the other day, predicated only upon having made a return visit to the Winchester up the road; expectations weren’t high. It’s pale boarded to the right-hand pool area, carpeted to the left, mid grey walls with a white ceiling, trendy lighting, conventional furniture, miscellaneous prints by way of décor, a flashing games machine and seven TVs showing the football with the sound up. Customers understandably were locals – no-one in their right mind would make any effort to come here – of mixed age, young and very rowdy to the right half, much older to the carpeted ‘snug’. Ales amounted to just Doom and Pride with a reversed clip, me opting for a half of Neck Oil, served by a friendly barman, price forgotten. This is a very poor pub indeed, the Archway Tavern across the road being the clear choice for fashionable locals, though sadly devoid of cask beer. Rated 2.5.

Dull keg beers and Sky Sports a winning combo for some.Sadly not for me.

Official site of the Whittington Stone - www.thewhittingtonstonehighgate.co.uk

Official site of the Whittington Stone - www.thewhittingtonstonehighgate.co.uk

I was visiting someone at the nearby hospital, so popped into this pub and was extremely dissapointed. The lager was awful and the beer garden is 5 foot from the main road leading to Archway station. You can hear the local care in the community psychopaths who have ditched their medication screaming obscenities at and threatening passers by. If you're not a local I wouldn't bother.