The Italian Job, E9

Located in a fairly quiet, inauspicious area near a corner of Victoria Park, this is an overpriced Italian themed pub - part of a small London-based chain - which amazingly, didn’t seem to have any Italian beer on draught. It’s a quirky split-level premises, as you enter to a landing area from where you can go downstairs to the main bar, or up to a first floor seating area. The bar has lots of rustic floorboards with a check-tile splash panel around the servery. The bar is fronted by a chunky dark wood counter, with a fancy modern wood and metal canopy above, but no proper bar back to speak of. There’s mixed seating throughout, including some mid-height stools and comfy chairs, mostly arranged to one side of the staircase. To the right is a small sunken outdoor decked seating area, which is below street level and seems to be used as a urinal by passers-by, as it had a strong smell of urine, which prevented me from sitting out there. To the left of the bar, there’s access to a much nicer garden, with better seating options and some bright plants. The upper level seems fairly basic and perhaps only gets used as overspill, as no-one had bothered with it on my visit. Bland pop played quite loudly, to my irritation, and most punters seemed to be popping in for takeaway drinks, rather than staying to take in the piss aromas. I was really disappointed to find there was no draught Italian beer anywhere to be found, nor any cask ale, with options limited to Italian bottles or keg beer from Signature Brew and Five Points. I tried the latter’s Jupa - a reliable pint at an inflated price of £6.00, which went down well on a hot day, but was hardly the interesting Italian rarity i’d hoped to find. Having really enjoyed their Chiswick branch a few years ago, I was excited to check their sister pub out, but found it a huge disappointment, from the glum service to the poor beer range and the unpleasant smell in the decked garden area. I left feeling that this place was struggling a bit and on this evidence, I wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t survive for much longer.

Official site of The Italian Job - www.theitalianjobpub.co.uk

Official site of The Italian Job - www.theitalianjobpub.co.uk