Fox on the Green, N1

A pretty nondescript corner pub with little in the way of any pub atmosphere, there was a choice of Doom Bar or Proper Job with Ghost Ship coming soon, hopefully not the same one Graham was waiting for last year. One to walk past.

A large corner pub with a few original features hiding beneath the distressed and industrial fascias, which presumably are designed to attract the local types. Garish signs and a couple of sports screens don't help. Something called Berties Bar is upstairs (not visited). Overall it feels a bit pubby but not quite right, although it could probably be improved with minimal effort. The handpumps had Seafarers and Ghost Ship sadly labelled as 'Coming Soon', leaving a rather indifferent Doom Bar.

Obviously well described by the previous reviewer, it must be an enormous improvement on its previous incarnation as a Slug & Lettuce even though I'm not a great fan of Stonegate pubs. The beer selection was better than PSM encountered, with Doom Bar and Five Points Railway Porter (£2.30 a half) on, with a third pump having a reversed clip. The Railway Porter was a superb drop. I didn't look at a menu but I did see the special of the day - turkey pie - advertised at £5.90. Little of the original heritage features remain now that it's been completely opened up, although the bar counter looks old, as does a section of the bar back although unfortunately obscured by a red neon sign of "for fox sake" (ugh!). There's some old wooden wall panelling to dado height on the left as well. Furnishings are mainly normal tables and chairs, but with one or two tall tables/tall stools. In one way it's an odd room - the road outide slopes slightly, which is catered for by the floor having a step up (or down, depends which way you're going!) at each end of the bar counter facing you. But the bar counter itself is mainly level which means that at the lower end of the room it's too high; the right height in the middle; and would be too low at the high end of the room had they not plonked a another bit of counter on top it there. Looks quite odd. This place is all a bit minimalist, but is OK nonetheless. But it has to be said that the presence of the Five Points Porter made a big difference in my assessment.

This is a large Stonegate pub which, as its name suggests, is situated at the top end of Islington green. Formerly a Slug and Lettuce, you’d be forgiven for expecting a bland, modern bar, but the people at Stonegate have reopened the place as a proper pub – albeit a pub shorn of much of its character and full of corporate décor. Two entrances lead into either side of a wide U-shaped room with the servery on the back wall in between two distinct seating areas. The room is bare boarded throughout and has tables and chairs plus a few banquette booths to the front with lots of high tables and high padded benches in the spacious areas to either side of the bar. The servery has a nice counter with curved ends, plus a basic bar back and modern, metal-framed pot shelf. There is plenty of standing room, thanks to most of the furniture being confined to the room’s perimeter, which would doubtless be very useful at peak times, but it does imbue the pub with a sense of its former life as a drinking barn venue. Walls are mostly bare brick with low wood panels and lots of promotional material on the uppers. TV screens were showing a muted sports channel and a staircase leads up to Basil’s Bar, which appears to be a dedicated sports viewing room with an extra-large screen. Elsewhere, stylised lettering on one wall spells out the pub’s name and a mounted toy fox implies that Basil’s Bar is in fact named after Basil Brush. There’s also an upright piano painted in funky colours in one corner, although nothing suggested that it ever gets a run out. There are three handpulls here, two of which were in use, offering a choice between Fullers London Pride and Sharps Doom bar. I opted for the former, which was just about acceptable and served up by a chatty, but rather condescending barman. I think this place is probably an improvement from its Slug and Lettuce days, providing a very generic, corporate idea of a modern pub to a neighbourhood that is probably fine with such a venue. For me, it was devoid of character and lacking in beer choice or quality, and whilst it was a comfy enough place to stop off for a while, I can’t see me rushing back again any time soon.

Stonegate chain pub,but at least it has reverted to the original Fox name which is picked out in mosaic tiling by one door.The interior is on three levels,just one step higher each time.There is a banquette in the right corner,high tables opposite the bar and more comfortable booths and loose seating to the left.There is a distressed wooden frontage to the bar and a neon "What's the Fox that" sign above .There are 3 flatscreens so this will have a sports vibe when live soccer is on,and you are encouraged to book a table to view such events.Muzak will chunter away when there no match on.Up some wooden stairs leads to Basil's Bar,a square wood panelled room with more seating and a drop down screen but no servery. Food is from a corporate menu and at the bar there are three handpumps drawing on my visit Black Sheep Holy Grail,Doom Bar and Adnams Ghost Ship in ok condition. It's neat and tidy inside and the welcome was friendly but there is not a lot to recommend a revisit,unless you want to watch sport.

I've been in here when it was The Fox, Slug & Lettuce and now the Fox on the Green and I rather wish I hadn't as this is by far the worst of its incarnations. A handsome corner building dating from 1872 overlooking Islington Green but with a new interior. Modern bare boarded, walls of both bare brick and panels painted pale grey. Furniture is conventional and high; there were eight TVs showing sport at volume and at every inescapable angle. Despite not being that busy, after a reasonable wait and failure to be served, we went in search of something else, safe in the knowledge that wherever we ended up, it was bound to be better than this place which is no longer a pub, but a sports bar. Ales: Sharp's Doom Bar, Hammerton's N1 and Truman's Firestarter.

Official site of Fox on the Green - www.foxonthegreenislington.co.uk

Official site of Fox on the Green - www.foxonthegreenislington.co.uk

Fairly large Slug & Lettuce with outside seating area overlooking the green. Only one real ale one when I visited but that was undrinkable and was replaced by a keg Meantime beer. The pub is made worse by the loud music blaring out all the time.