Hicce Hart, N1

Nice gastro -pub but with good beer.They have 4 beers from the Old Dairy brewery inc the house beer.Never overly busy when i have visited but the beer has been in good condition.Didn,t try the Moose burgers on my last visit, much prefer horse.

Refurbished mid-2009, the Compass has acquired a shortened name (it was formerly the Salmon & Compass) as well as a new direction having now become firstly and foremost a gastro pub. The large interior is been divided into two with a dining section one end and a decent sized drinker’s area at the other. A curtain can be pulled across the room to separate the two if required. The lengthy bar runs around the corner of the pub and is equally divided into food and drink sections. The décor is quite plain and unfussy with bare floors and large curtainless windows but no real focal point. Despite being food orientated, there is a decent selection of ales available at not unreasonable prices. The 4 pumps on my visit were dispensing Adnams, Whistable India Pale Ale, Skinners Jingle Knockers and Cheddar Valley cider with the quality very good. I’m not a great fan of gastro pubs and the Compass wouldn’t be my choice for an evening session but it does seem to have made a bit of an effort to appeal to drinkers and given the policy of offering some more unusual ales, I can see myself popping in again when in the area.