The Griffin, Shoreditch, EC2

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

Roger Button left this review about The Griffin

The Griffin is a place that needs to be experienced to be believed. It sits among a block of buildings that are at best, long past their prime and the tiled exterior of the pub (note the old Meux brewery lettering) seems to stand out all the more for it. The interior has been knocked through into one long bar and to call it tatty and battered is an understatement. How it appears to have escaped even the merest lick of fresh paint or new carpet for what must be decades is beyond comprehension. The run down appearance is actually part of its charm and appeal and whilst the interior designers have been busy elsewhere in the area, the Griffin has managed to stay as a genuine no nonsense pub. The carpet in the pool/darts area little more than the original underlay with a few tufts and the feeling as your chair legs sink in is only matched by the bizarre ritual of pulling them back out. Whilst you do so, notice the London Pub Crawl poster and I defy you not to mentally tick them off. The customer base is a very mixed bunch from a variety of backgrounds but no matter how different everyone appears to be, everyone seems to blend together harmoniously. The Jukebox mentioned in an earlier post was certainly on form when I was there as it spewed out selections from the likes of the Clash / Dylan / Tubes / Richard Hell – so much more to my taste than the drum & bass / club rubbish that seems to blight so many pubs. The 3 Ales were all available on my visit – Deuchars, Pride and Speckled Hen, a bit pricey but tasted fine. The smoking ban probably detracts from the pub's ambience but there are a few seats outside under blinds for the banished souls. In a nutshell, the Griffin is well worth seeking out for the experience but I wouldn't recommend it to impress someone on a first date.

On 29^th October 2008 - rating: 6
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