The Corner House, Kingsbury, NW9

Visited 23/04/25 Pint of Guinness. No cask. Keg offering of Coors, John Smiths, Madri, Guinness, San Miguel, Angelo Poretti, original SB, Carlsberg, Fosters. As name suggests this is a pub on a corner, or rather more specifically it is an Irish pub on a corner in NW9. The bar counter is against the rear wall, and it has a long side along the rear length of the venue with a small side in the window. Nice, polished wood bar counter and all in here on my visit were sitting on nice leather backed stools on the boarded skirt. The rest of the venue is carpeted. There is a small stage area in the corner to the left of the door and a booth table between it and the entrance. To the right of the door is a series of regular tables and a tall table right in front of the entrance with a darts area in the corner of this area. A central column on the way to the bar has a precarious ledge on its four sides with one stool to sit on each side, presumably so your beer spillage doesn’t impact another punter. To the right of the bar counter is a slightly raised area with a table and four chairs, the area dubbed " Jim's Trad Session" and the area leads to a small outside space of the back, but probably the domain of the smokers. The multiple TV's, including a couple on the wall above the front of the bar counter were all tuned into the afternoon racing action, but with no sound, that instead provided by a low volume country & western soundtrack. The windows on the two roadsides were leaded glass and there was a very pleasant ambiance in the venue. I quite liked this venue and a good place to stop for a pint of Guinness and watch the racing for 30 mins.

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.