The Old Dairy, Crouch Hill, N4

This was one of the 79 Greene King pubs that did not reopen after the Pandemic shutdowns, and it was feared that we had lost this on for good. Fortunately, it reopened in April last year after a bit of an internal makeover. The large multi space internal layout is unchanged but there are a few cosmetic changes and there seems to be a lot more exposed brick from my remembrances and some impressive chandeliers in the main bar area. The TV in the spacious corner section room with its large windows out onto Stroud Green Road and Hanley Road has now been removed, which is a good thing as it provides a decent sized area of the pub away from the TV screens. The other three in the main bar, side room and dining area remain, but are now enclosed in wooden cabinets, which is something else I don’t remember from previous post pandemic visits. Perhaps they were previously but were always open, so I didn’t notice. They were all closed for my early Saturday evening visit but the staff kindly opened one so that we could watch the Saracens v Exeter rugby match. TV’s open on request now seems to be the order of the day which is another good thing in my book. Another change is the bar top that has been remodelled and the number of ale pumps had been reduced from five to four and only three were operational for my recent visit, with GK IPA, TT Landlord and a very pleasant Deuchars IPA. So sadly not the ale focus or choice that the Old Dairy was worth visiting for pre covid , but you can say that about a lot of pubs nowadays, and at least there was a well kept alternative to the insipid Greene King brews. This continued on the three banks of keg taps where, alongside some from the GK stable there was a decent range of craft options from both the usual suspects (Beavertown and Camden) and Northern monk and the Wolfpack Lager, which was appreciated by a Saracens supporter. The food menu seemed to be more aligned to standard pub fayre than gastro dishes and the Steak and Ale pie I went for was the absolute classic pub food accompaniment to go with a decent pint. Very glad to have this one back and on my list of goto pubs for a pie, pint and a game of rugby. No need to alter my previous rating, despite the slightly reduced focus on ale. Its still a very comfortable pub.

Official site of The Old Dairy - www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk

Official site of The Old Dairy - www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk

A very good review from Steve of N21 says it all,this is certainly a large pub with several different sections,and the wait to be seated dining area,although initially infront of the open kitchen,opens out into a formal dining room with it's own street frontage.The section at the apex of the building looks a good place to sup,but it had been hired for a function on my Saturday afternoon visit,and several alcove tables also had reserved signs.The clientele is mainly young professionals and many babies and toddlers were present inside.The high ceilings cause noise to reverberate off the wooden floor,so I wouldn't say that my visit was relaxing,but the pub is functional.You can eat food anywhere (Starters around £5-7,mains £13-18) ,but the lack of demarcation detracts from the pub atmosphere,while surprisingly the restaurant was hardly used. The bar has 5 handpumps with GK IPA and an Old Dairy (Up & Under) as regulars with guests on my trip Signature Brew Wild Winter,Dorset Brewing Keep Calm and Swing Low and Mad Squirrel Hop Fest .It's listed in the GBG ,and that seemed fair enough.It serves it's market well but I found it a bit too hectic for my purposes.

The Old Dairy is a large pub that i presume is housed in an old dairy. Once inside this is a very large pub with lots of different areas,the bar is sited in the middle area,the floor is bare boarded and the seating is a mix of different types. There were four real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Sambrooks Wandle which went down well,the other beers were Sambrooks Lavender Hill,Hackney american Pale Ale and GK IPA. There were lots of TVs showing cricket and decent background music was playing. Not really my sort of pub. Pub visited 4/8/2016