The Black Horse, Barnet

This is an old boozer on a road junction a short walk from the main street through Barnet. I could see no signs of a dartboard or TV screens so I think it's safe to describe this as a Brewpub and restaurant as the far room was laid out for dining. There is a pleasant looking garden with picnic tables as you approach it from Barnet Central and inside it has traditional pub furnishings with wooden floorboards. On the bar there were 8 pumps one of which was unclipped and three had the Barnet Brewery beers Silly Mare, Giddy Up and Trotter's Bottom. The other four pumps I noticed included beers from Tring, Hanlon's and Warwickshire but I didn't note them all. I went for the Giddy Up (£3.50) which isn't cheap for a house brewed beer of modest (4.2% or 4.3%, I didn't write it down) ABV. It was the style of beer that has become known as a boring brown bitter, which many people would be happy with but for me it could have done with a lot more hops. Sadly I didn't have time to try the other two. The Trotter's Bottom was a similar ABV and the Silly Mare 3.7% This is a pleasant enough place and I would return if only to try more Barnet beers.

Its reopened as a good Ales & Food Pub now there were five Ales on when we went in on our last pub crawl and we tried them all between us including two they brewed themselves at the Barnet Brewery and all were in good condition and the staff friendly and knowledgeable. As it was our first visit and last Pub on our Crawl detail's are a bit vague I will add more after next visit.

Official site of the Black Horse - www.blackhorsebarnet.co.uk

Official site of the Black Horse - www.blackhorsebarnet.co.uk

I was pretty much the only non-regular in here on Saturday night and I have to report that the barmaid was very polite and most of the locals seemed friendly enough. The Pride was good and Greene King IPA was also available along with some standard lagers. There is a dartboard that was being fully utilised and a plasma screen for showing the Sky Sports. There is also a stage area perfect for bands to set up on, not that there was anything going on whilst I was there. There is a covered area at the back with some seating that leads onto a healthily sized beer garden, although there is a fairly busy road and roundabout right next to it. This is an ok pub and I wouldn't grumble if it was my local.