Hideaway, Archway, N19

We always have an excellent time at the hideaway. The owners and bar staff are so friendly and welcoming. The bar staff are also great. It is still getting established after the reopening but defiantly on the up and up fast. It''s a shame the garden cannot be opened yet as this would defiantly enhance it especially in the coming summer months . The other local venues have gardens open until around 10.30pm. I can''t see why the residents have rejected it for the Hideaway. The council should be consistent or not with all pubs/ bars in the same street. This is totally unfair. The dj they had last Friday was excellent and played all the old school anthems and also welcomed requests. If you haven''t tried it there yet, please do. It''s open late and has a great atmosphere.

An unusual "neighbourhood bar and kitchen" in a shop unit, though this is no micropub. The door leads into a fairly small oblong room with the bar at the back. The floorboards are pretty scruffy, the tables and chairs have mostly seen better days and there are a couple of dark red leather sofas and a pair of armchairs further back near the bar. Some subdued pop music was being played on the sound system. On the bar itself is a modest offering of just two lagers and Guinness. There is no real ale here. With a choice of Staropramen and Camden Hells I went for the latter, but only because I've never tried it before. I probably won't be drinking it again. The chief attractions in the Hideaway are the paintings on the wall, apparently based on the covers of books of the sort that would have described people having sex if it hadn't been illegal to do so at the time. Appreciating the artist's efforts in depicting naked breasts, while simultaneously not depicting any nipples, helped to pass the time until I had finished my half.