The Canonbury Tavern, N1

Tucked away down a backstreet, but still very quickly and easily reached from Highbury and Islington station, this is a very large gastro pub in what looks like quite a well-to-do residential area. You enter to a huge main bar area with bare boards and dark painted walls plus two brick pillars in the centre which help to break up the big open space a little bit. Mid-height tables and stools are arranged along the front wall, under windows with potted plants on the sills, whilst high tables and stools form a row through the middle of the room, between the aforementioned pillars. Seating is rounded off by banquettes and pews along the left side of the room, including in a smaller, cosier space to the rear left where a large number of portraits cover the wall space. Impressive light features hang from decorative roses across the ceiling and the rest of the room is fairly sparsely decorated, with just a few framed historical documents dotted around the walls. The bar along the rear wall has a nice panelled counter which contrasts the less appealing modern bar back which has been lined with hops, presumably to take the edge off the bright, white spot-lit shelving units. The pub extends a considerable way to the right, where a separate, sizable dining room can be found. There is a great deal of additional chair, banquette and sofa seating through here, as well as a centrally positioned fireplace, which suggests some form of long-lost partitioning. The walls have three quarter height panels with a number of old paintings above and overall, the room feels a little more appealing than the main bar area where a drab synth-pop soundtrack complimented the dull interior design. Five handpulls on the bar were dispensing Youngs Ordinary, Sharps Doom Bar, Twickenham Naked Ladies, St Austell Proper Job and a real cider. The friendly barmaid pulled a pretty good pint of the Proper Job, which set me back an improper £5.20. This is one of those pubs that feels far too big for its own good, leaving a small handful of customers scattered around two very large rooms, resulting in no atmosphere. Whilst the building is impressive, the décor is rather dull and the prices are pretty steep, so I can’t see me heading back here when there are better options closer to the station.