The George & Monkey, EC1

I came here twice before: once a long time back when it was Filthy McNasty’s which had a late licence and was rumoured to be the hangout for former Westminster public schoolboy, Shane McGowan. I returned a couple of years ago to what was briefly the Amwell Arms, named after the eponymous Hertfordshire village, source of the Hugh Myddleton-engineered New River, 1613, which flows through here. At that time, it was one of the most boring pubs I’d ever visited, with the poor barmaid sat behind the bar and reading her book. The interior has been completely reordered, with the bar to the rear wall rather than being centrally located and what is in effect a two-room layout. There’s bare boarding of course with t ‘n’ g panelling to dado height painted a hackneyed shade of dark grey/blue, thereafter white walls and ceiling. Furniture is simple and wooden with décor comprising old framed prints and maps to the walls which also support sconce lights with filament bulbs, so gloomy that I couldn’t read the menu on the table. Music played at a sensible level and no TVs were in evidence, which bodes well. Lavatories are new and quite swanky, but the walls are lined with aquatint cartoons of hardcore Victorian pornography. I can handle this, but I think some punters could be quite offended and if this place is going to position itself as being child-friendly, would anyone want their children exposed to this? Is it even legal to expose them to this? The barman was friendly, busying himself microwaving a piece of cheese onto a Jacobs Cream Cracker (?). Ales: two unused pumps, thereafter Thornbridge’s Peverel at an astonishing £3.00 a pint. I’d not had it before so wasn’t sure if it may have been a fraction stale, but I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps that’s why it was so cheap? This is the best incarnation yet, despite the stupid name but they really need to turn the lights up in here and definitely get rid of the porn. Utilising the other two pumps would be a bonus too, but not if they are going to dispense Doom Bore.

Official site of The George & Monkey - georgeandmonkey.co.uk

Official site of The George & Monkey - georgeandmonkey.co.uk