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Beer of the Week (w/e 15th June 2025) with Tris39
on the Pub Forum
Image posted by Tris C
Submitted on Friday, 21st March 2025
With picture contributions to 2360 other pubs
View all this pub's pictures (24 more images)
Detail Pages
The Pocket, N1
N1
N1 2AS
Reviews of The Pocket (Average Rating: 8 of 10) see review guidelines
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Pocket
A great ale house from the people who brought you The Southampton Arms ,there are elements repeated here noteably the Ale Cider Meat pubsign strap line ...it all feels very familiar.The tap room is long and thin with good wood panelling,a dark wooden floor,fitted bench seating to the front with small tables and stools,a drinking shelf opposite the elegantly curved servery with more seating in an oblong back section under a glass roof light.
Above the picture rail there is a good collection of brewery ash trays,while the upright piano has a listing of when a pianist will be on.The high ceiling helps the vibe and even the Courage signage at the frontage has been exposed.
Ale and keg beers are priced by ABV with keg at a premium,the bar snacks are the same meat and veg treats. On my inaugural visit there were 6 real cider pulls,10 indie keg beers and an ale selection of Redemption Big Chief,Vocation West Coast IPA (NBSS 4),Two flints Day Dream,Castle Rock Harvest Pale and Rambling Rangers ,Left Handed Giant Dark Mild,Thornbridge Low Line milk stout and Newbarns Smoky Brown .Thats a line up of high quality with a mix of styles and ABV's and worth making the effort to get here.
I know I will visit a lot over the next few years,it's an outstanding pub for beer lovers and I will sample liberally next time I'm in.A must visit and not to be missed,not far from Highbury & Islington tube and rail station.
On 2nd June 2025
- rating: 9
[User has posted 2971 recommendations about 2971 pubs]
Moby Duck left this review about The Pocket
A splendid Alehouse and sister pub to The Southampton Arms In Gospel Oak, as mentioned the similarities internally are quite noticeable, the dark wood contrasts with the white butchers style tiling behind the bar. the room is long and narrow but pushes on beyond the main bar area into an open but slightly separate area.
There are eight handpumps for beer on the bar counter and reminiscent of the aforementioned Southampton Arms, six mounted at the back of the bar for Cider and Perry. Ten taps for craft beer on the counter and five in the back wall serving various wines. On my second visit to this pub yesterday there was also a wooden cask barrel mounted on the bar serving a barrel aged Imperial Stout from Howling Hops priced at £5 something a half, normal cask prices are a decent £4.97 for beers up to 4.6% , stronger beers rise quite steeply at a further £1.08 per 1% rise.
Both my visits have been lunchtime/early afternoon without encountering any problems such as loud chatter or folded bikes, just the one dog, a Jack Russel that wasn't in anyone's way.
This pub is top and I intend many more visits.
On 6th April 2025
- rating: 9
[User has posted 2183 recommendations about 2150 pubs]
Tris C left this review about The Pocket
This is an interesting place that has been in operation – COVID aside – since 1984, when it was a Courage place called the Four Sisters, on account of being run by a group of sisters, though how many I know not. It later became a wine bar called 25 Canonbury Lane before the original name was reinstated around 2011, only to close due to the pandemic. It reopened last night by the team behind the Southampton Arms (and Cock?) with their legend Ale Cider Meat to the pub sign.
The narrow, deep interior certainly has a Southamptonesque aesthetic (see photos), with a boarded floor, white tiled bar back, cream walls above three-quarter height baronial dark wood field panelling, then a gloss black Anaglypta ceiling from which Cockesque fans are suspended; there’s an upright piano too along with a lovely marble fireplace. Furniture is simple and quite limited, décor just a few odd prints, then old brewery ashtrays balanced above the panelling’s parapet; like the Southampton, there’s a vinyl-only soundtrack via huge period speakers that wouldn’t look out of place at Stone’enge, powered by an old-school Quad pre- and power amp. Customers were hipsterish local types in good spirits at the time of my near 9.30pm visit.
Beverages amount to 10 indie taps, six cider pumps and eight cask pumps dispensing: Shadow Boxing Brown Ale, Fyne Ales Jarl, Small Batch Special Dark Mild, Arbor Mosaic, Five Points Best, Single Hop Strata, Thornbridge Jaipur £3.19 a half and fantastic then Plum Porter from Titanic, £5.29 a pint which went down faster than the eponymous ship – absolutely gorgeous.
This place has by far the best cask selection in the whole borough and is a no-brainer when in N1, though my only complaints are that the background chatter is deafening, the dog and folded bikes a tripping hazard.
On 21st March 2025
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2243 recommendations about 2200 pubs]
View more reviews of The Pocket (4)
No known official website for this pub.
- CAMRA WhatPub :: The Pocket - whatpub.com
Highbury & Islington, 0.3 miles, 5 min walk (show)
Essex Road, 0.37 miles, 7 min walk (show)
Pub Details
Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.
- Accommodation : No last updated 21 March 2025 by Tris C
- Bar Billiards : No last updated 21 March 2025 by Tris C
- Beer Festivals : No last updated 21 March 2025 by Tris C
- Beer Garden : No last updated 21 March 2025 by Tris C
- CAMRA Discount : No last updated 21 March 2025 by Tris C
- Car Park : No last updated 21 March 2025 by Tris C
- Child Friendly : No last updated 21 March 2025 by Tris C
- Darts : No last updated 21 March 2025 by Tris C
- Dog Friendly : Yes last updated 21 March 2025 by Tris C
- Function Room : No last updated 21 March 2025 by Tris C
- Hot Food : No - Hot bar snacks. - last updated 21 March 2025 by Tris C
- Jukebox : No last updated 21 March 2025 by Tris C
- Karaoke : No last updated 21 March 2025 by Tris C
- Live Music : Yes last updated 21 March 2025 by Tris C
- Live TV Sports : No last updated 21 March 2025 by Tris C
- Micropub : No last updated 21 March 2025 by Tris C
- Pinball : No last updated 21 March 2025 by Tris C
- Pool Table : No last updated 21 March 2025 by Tris C
- Quiz Night : No last updated 21 March 2025 by Tris C
- Real Ale : Yes last updated 21 March 2025 by Tris C
- Real Cider : Yes - Not all CAMRA-approved. - last updated 10 June 2025 by Tris C
- Wheelchair Access : Yes - Disabled WC. - last updated 02 April 2025 by Tris C
- WiFi : Yes last updated 21 March 2025 by Tris C
