Cat & Mutton, E8

Out of Hackney and through London Fields to find this handsome and large pub. The words "Dining Room and Pub" gave the game away. I knew it was going to be gentrified and set out for casual dining, with a QR code on the table. Room upstairs (unexplored), iron staircase up and down and a large main room. Tastefully decorated, with lots of art work. Plenty of outdoor seating. Only cask was Youngs - so went keg, with a Five Points XPA coming in at £7.50.

Official site of The Cat and Mutton - www.catandmutton.com

Official site of The Cat and Mutton - www.catandmutton.com

Corner pub with bar to the rear. No real ales - two hand pulled ciders, rest keg.

A second visit since my first back in mid-2013 and this pub is much improved, probably due in part to the further gentrification that has taken place here in the interim three-year period. There's a fair amount of bare brickwork but some very interesting carved motifs to the bar and rear which have a certain Palace of Westminster whiff about them. Also a bit PoW are the tiles to the bar's apron which look a bit Minton. Also of interest are the old brewer's mirrors with gilt lettering to the rear, panelled ceiling and the charming Charrington's red lettering panels to the picture windows, some of which are modern additions. Thereafter furniture is fairly conventional and the floor is boarded. Up the helical staircase is a rather grander lounge bar which looks a bit like a Victorian clubroom. The lavatories are vastly improved since my last visit when lumps of masonry adorned the floor. Ales: Redemption's Big Chief IPA and Trinity, Signature's Session and Hackney Brewery's APA which was good as it should be at £4.60 a pint, especially when served in an E8 postcode! Worth returning, this is a far better hostelry than before with better ale though at a price. Certainly better than the Pub on the Park across London Fields.