The Corner House, Kingsbury, NW9

Facebook page of The Corner House - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of The Corner House - www.facebook.com

This is an Irish bar of course, although it doesn't have anything in the way of Irish decor, such as the leprachauns and shamrocks that one often sees in Irish themed bars. It's a fair bit larger than most shop conversion Irish bars, occupying a fairly large corner site. It's got a brewers' Tudor facade on the exterior, but inside it's got the more modern feel of Irish bars. There's plenty of pine woodwork around the place, it has a nice carpet on the floor, and furnishings are a few tall tables/tall stools but mainly booth seating. I spotted a dartboard at the back. There's no real ale of course, and although there was a lone handpump it was unclipped and didn't look like it had seen any action for a while. It's a comfortable pub, and I guess it serves a purpose for lager and Guinness drinkers in an area where traditional pubs are very thin on the ground.

McDonagh’s Bar is an L shaped shop converted Irish bar that comes with screens throughout for watching Sky Sports and a dartboard to the right of the entrance. Unsurprisingly the bar is stocked with standard draught products and I was served a decent pint of Guinness by the jovial manager. It wasn’t overly busy on my recent Saturday night visit, but there was a good crowd in and most of them were bladdered. There was a guy asleep at one of the tables by the entrance and another was clinging to the bar to stop himself falling to the ground. To the right of the bar at the rear of the building there is an extension that feels like a wood cabin. Some picnic tables can be found down the side of the pub. No children are permitted after 19:00. I thought that this was one of the better Irish bars in the area, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to return.