The Joker, Ilford

This is a surprisingly large high street pub just outside Seven Kings station. It has three rooms, but all are interconnected. The first room as you enter is a very basic area, with a few low settles and tables, and with just three or four locals at the bar using industrial language. There’s a lounge at the back on the right that looks a little more sumptuous (presumably the function room for hire advertised outside), and a room on the left contains a pool table as well as games machines, including some sort of boxing game for those punters with excess energy to use up. Decor amounted to various adverts, and some photos of customers evidently enjoying a St Patrick’s Day bash. As you would expect the usual TVs were in place, but muted during my midweek lunchtime visit. The only ale on was GKIPA, dispensed through one of those shiny new pumps that they’ve started to use. I didn’t see any menus although hot food all day is advertised on an enormous banner on the front of the building. However, I did take pity on one of the three clingfilm covered rolls sitting behind the bar counter, and enjoyed a well filled cheese roll for £1.50, eaten on the clingfilm it came in – no plate, it really is a no frills pub. This is a very basic, nothing special, pub, but it did manage to produce a decent cheese roll when I felt peckish. Indeed, the cheese roll was the best thing about the pub.