The Half Crown, Hackney, E8

This place was created this year as an extension to the Crown next door, in a conversion of what was formerly a mobile phone shop, but one of those dodgy places where you go to get – ahem – ‘your’ phone unlocked. The interior looks convincingly like a former Victorian pub, with rough boarded floor, white and blue glazed tiles to the dado then some distressed bare brick, thereafter rag washed ochre ceiling and Anaglypta, painted either cappuccino or Scheele’s green. To the rear is a clutch of shelves and cabinets, home to a pot pourri of knickknacks. Lighting is Victorian-style, furniture likewise, with banquettes of either fluted dark green or studded fawn, all at variance with an overly large array of TVs showing the Olympics in silence (though at least watched), to a very loud Afrobeat then Pussycat Dolls soundtrack, lapped up by a more traditional local bunch; no hipsters or trustafarians here. Like the sister pub next door, there’s no cask, a Eurofizz lineup yielding Five Points Pale (£2.80 a half) as the least unappealing option, served by a friendly barmaid. This place is just about ok, but I prefer the full fat version next door; a decent cask lineup would get the score up, likewise ditching the sports’ bar vibe.

Official site of The Half Crown - www.thecrownhackney.co.uk

Facebook page of The Half Crown - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of The Half Crown - www.facebook.com

Official site of The Half Crown - www.thecrownhackney.co.uk