The Griffin, N20

Official site of The Griffin - www.griffinwhetstone.pub

Official site of The Griffin - www.griffinwhetstone.pub

This is now a Laine's pub, so we can now expect a decent choice of real ales here, but those on offer during my midweek late morning visit weren't very exciting - no Laine's beers yet; London Pride; a house ale called Griffin Ale (Caledonian Edinburgh Castle 80/- according to WhatPub), and Adnam's Ghost Ship (£2.20 a half). The landlady wasn't sure of the provenance of the Griffin Ale, but kindly gave me a taster which tasted fine. I was in too early to see whether food was available. This is an interesting pub. According to the landlady a pub on this site was a coaching inn for those heading north from London. Inside there are several (inter-war probably) heritage features. The fielded wood panelling on the walls is old, as is the bar counter front, and the oddly Tudor arch topped doors at the back are an interesting feature. There are brick built fireplaces on both sides of the main bar area which are clearly original, as is the rare diagonal (grey-painted) matchboard panelling on the ceiling. This room would once have been divided into three - what was probably the public bar on the right; a jug and bottle bar leading from the now unused door in the centre; and a saloon bar on the left. There is a fairly large room at the back which has a large skylight which suggests that it may have been a billiards room. But the pub doesn't end there. On the right, behind the large double doors leading from the street is a "function room", which is effectively a small outside conservatory. Past that is an outside area with an outside toilet and storage buildings that may have been stables; then a large covered seating area with its own bar counter; then a large garden at the back. It's much larger than it looks from the outside. I was the only customer in there so can't judge the atmosphere of the place from my short visit. But it struck me as a comfortable and friendly pub - the landlady was certainly friendly enough as seemingly having nothing better to do she gave me a grand tour of the estate. The furnishings were all of the traditional sort that I appreciate. I was expecting better in the way of ale choice, but nonetheless I really liked this pub.