The Crown & Castle, E8

Although covered in scaffolding,this street corner boozer was full of life on a Friday evening.The interior is open plan and quite small,dominated by an attractive U shaped bar extending into the pub and with exposed brickwork and well lit.There is bench seating in light brown leather,some dining type tables dotted about,some small high tables and bar stools.The muzak was enjoyable if a tad loud.At least the flatscreens were off. The handpumps were unclipped ,the keg selection includes a lot of craft offering from decent brewers from which I chose Two Tribes Campfire,a hazy IPA making a decent half. With no ale this would never be a destination pub for me,but for a quick bit of craft keg I thought it was decent and maybe your best option in the immediate area.

This is a large open plan on a very busy intersection next to Dalston Junction Station. An entrance porch leads you into the single spacious room, with bare floorboards throughout, overlaid with a chequered design, a patterned tile ceiling and a mix of two-tone tongue and groove panels and exposed crumbling brick walls. Hard bench seating with nice cushions run around the perimeter, supplemented by chairs which also serve a small number of tables opposite the bar. To the rear left is a single table with low stools under some huge ugly pipes, the purpose of which is unclear. The bar is to the rear, slightly off centre, fronted by a square counter with a dark painted wood panel front, a metal top and a very short section of exposed brick wall around which the bar back is formed - presumably this is a former partitioning wall for a multiple bar setup. Behind the bar is a dark recess with metal frame shelving and cool backlighting which makes for an effective bottle display area. A large screen to the left of the servery was turned off, with 70s tunes playing quietly in the background instead. Windows down two sides allow a good amount of light in, despite the presence of some extensive venetian blinds, and have lots of potted plants on their sills. Decor is almost entirely non existent - one large plain mirror in an elaborate frame is the only feature of any note to break the monotony. Sadly, the pub doesn’t offer a cask beer option, but they did have no fewer than 15 keg lines with beer from Camden, Beavertown and some US and European breweries. I tried the Old Street Brewery Infinite Bliss at £5.80 a pint and thought it was quite a tasty brew. A very upbeat barman busied himself throughout my stay whilst his polar-opposite, a distracted barmaid, dithered about, doing a whole load of nothing. This place gets bonus points for its very handy location and decent selection of craft beers, but that’s about all. The open-plan interior is soulless and impersonal, the beer is expensive with no cask option and the service appears to be pretty hit and miss. Even if you’re tight for time before jumping on the Overground, there are other better options just a short distance from here.

Official site of The Crown & Castle - thecrownandcastle.co.uk

Official site of The Crown & Castle - thecrownandcastle.co.uk