The Crooked Chimney, Welwyn Garden City

Attractive old inn, with no prizes for guessing what the distinguishing feature is... but its certainly unusual. The 'L'-shaped interior has been largely opened out and thoroughly refurbished, but in the usual Vintage Inns way it comprises a mix of semi-modern and more traditional elements. A full-service restaurant can be found in a separate room at the back, and it also has a rear patio beer garden, although the side benches get a lot of traffic noise. Disappointingly, only Doom Bar (£1.95, half) and London Pride were available from the five handpumps (and, annoyingly, with Proper Job and Sharp's Atlantic "conditioning in the cellar").