All Good Beer, Dalston, N1

This is the second outlet for All Good Beer following on from their place in Hackney Downs. This one is a conversion from a former wine bar called Weino BIB, which itself was a shop conversion from a Polish deli called Polsmak which took over another Eastern European deli, which took over another grocery shop before that. It’s been a shop on this site for well over a 100 years, so yes it is a shop conversion. And basically, it still largely feels like one in the shape of a bottle shop, although there is internal seating around an eight tap wall dispensing modern keg offerings, which included a decent Kernel stout offering, it really wasn’t that much of a bar experience for me.

Not a shop conversion, at least not the right-hand half, which was a pub called the Anchor – the name still visible to the parapet – which dates from the mid-19th century, but closed around the time of the Great War, to reopen as a bar roughly 100 years later, reviewed by Quick Pint. Sat in the right-hand side of the room for want of trying to claw back some ambience of old, in a place without any hint of original pubbery, there’s much natural plywood, a floor of either pale pine or black, mismatched modern furniture, bulkhead lamps, masses of pot plants and a substantial chiller to the right-hand side, where there’s a beer wall with eight taps, discharge and further information to a board above. Customers were young trendy Dalston types, making for a good atmosphere at the time of my 9.25pm visit last night. A house of keggery – otherwise it would surely qualify as a micro – I plumped for a half of something called Windsor Hazy Pale (£3.95). Was it freezing cold and did it taste of grapefruit? Of course, though once it warmed up a bit, I warmed to it, unsure though what effect the grapefruit would have on my statins. Still, the barmaid was very friendly but in no way dressed as below. Catering for the area’s well-heeled kegocracy, this isn’t a bad place for what it is, but I’d prefer the Railway Tavern over the road or the Prince George a short walk east.

Facebook page of All Good Beer - www.facebook.com

Official site of All Good Beer - allgoodbeer.co.uk

Facebook page of All Good Beer - www.facebook.com

Official site of All Good Beer - allgoodbeer.co.uk

A small, shop-converted bar and bottle shop just a short walk from Dalston Junction station, All Good Beer offers a relaxed, modern space with a creative layout. The servery is immediately on the right upon entry, fronted by a simple bar counter with a large shelving unit acting as the bar back, the keg taps stylishly set within one of the shelves. A central pillar helps divide the space, creating a more intimate feel in line with the compact footprint. Seating includes high stools at ledges along the front and left, plus low stools around tables further back. The rear wall is painted with blackboard paint and used to promote snacks and event hire, while the rest of the venue is brightened with large potted plants and shelving packed with quirky knick-knacks. There’s also a nod to the building’s past as a wine bar, with shelves stocked full of bottles to the left and fridges of bottles and cans for on-site or takeaway drinking. The atmosphere is completed by a low-key post-punk soundtrack and a smartly dressed barmaid in a barkeep's waistcoat, who really looked the part. There was no cask ale available, but six of the eight keg lines were pouring, including Anspach & Hobday's Pfeffernüsse Stout at £6.90, with a Happy Hour deal offering a house Pilsner and Pale Ale at £5.00 a pint. An impressive and varied bottled and canned beer selection was available too, alongside an extensive wine range. Service was friendly and efficient, with the space feeling lively but not hectic during a Wednesday evening visit. I'm not really a fan of this sort of bottle shop bar, but I think this place benefitted from having been operated as a wine bar in the past, as the place has a lot more character than the usual, blank-canvas shop units that these bars tend to occupy. The service was great and a modest buzz from a few other punters meant that this worked out better than I'd expected, even if the lack of cask ale and expensive pricing will probably keep me away in the future. Date of visit: 8th January 2025

Small wine bar / delicatessen with a 'U'-shaped layout featuring the shop on one side and a limited amount of seating on the other. Two banks of four taps can be found under the bottle-display shelves, but most unusually seven of these dispense a good selection of different wines, plus Cloudwater Pale Ale (£4.00 for what I think was a 330 ml glass), all from key-keg containers.