Simmons Old Street, EC1

Once The George IV and rebuilt post-World War II in a prominent location and known as Nelson's Retreat until 2014 when the name changed to Canvas Bar; some roundels to the front indicate that this was once a Watney Combe Reid pub. This was a bit of a dodgy boozer and I was wary of it whenever I walked past. It didn't look great the other night, but as it was a long walk to our next stop and we needed a pee, we popped in for a swift half. It was almost deserted early evening and what few people were in attendance didn't appeal. There's bare brick throughout and the floor is covered with patterned tiles. There are leatherette sofas and pouffes and seemingly no tables, just a few semi-circular rests to the windows, covered with Perspex which was partially shattered. Lighting is coloured, typically red or blue and music is muted. Given the number of shakers, the place seems to revolve around cocktails, though I didn't see any being ordered, probably due to the fact that it was almost empty. The pub had a token beer, Poretti lager at an insulting £3.00 a half. At best, this isn't my sort of thing and it's not at it's best so there's no chance I'll return.