Faltering Fullback, N4

Pub SignMan left this review about Faltering Fullback

This is an impressive, multiple room, back street boozer that was packed for a televised Euro 2024 football fixture and therefore very difficult to properly explore. The bar appears to be spread across two rooms - a wedge shaped space on the street corner and a much smaller side room with its own entrance. There's also a back room with no TV screens which offered a quieter space for those not interested in the match and a large room to the rear full of benches, which caters to larger events and is presumably useful on match days, when the place doubtless gets packed when Arsenal are at home. The whole pub has a nice traditional feel, with bare boards throughout, a traditional servery, walls painted in darker shades with muted lighting which creates a nice ambiance and loads of random decor. Lots of this is rugby related, but there's also plenty of football memorabilia on display and all manner of stuff has been hung from the ceiling in the main bar. Items of note include bicycles, large bookcases, lots of breweriana, an ancient looking telephone, movie and music posters, decorative plants, a globe drinks cabinet and massive collections of bottles, jugs, ceramics, earthenware and the like. Lots of TV screens were showing the aforementioned match with the sound just about audible. It would've been great to explore fully at a quieter time, as it seems there is a vast amount to discover across the various rooms.
Three operational handpulls were dispensjng Sharps Solar Wave (£5.60 a pint), Fullers London Pride and a rhubarb cider, with the Solar Wave turning out to be in pretty good condition. The bar staff were very efficient in dealing with the large volume of customers, but it was difficult to reach the bar due to the awkward layout of the main bar area, so efficiency gains were lost to bar blockers and a general inability to get close enough to place your order.
This struck me as a really interesting pub with lots going for it and I definitely enjoyed my relatively short visit. The beer options certainly wouldn't be a reason to return, but I left here feeling like I had unfinished business, having only really been able to scratch the surface of what the pub has to offer. I liked this one and will have take sure I return at a quieter time so I can try and take everything in properly.

Date of visit - 21st June 2024

On 31^st October 2024 - rating: 7
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