The Dukes Head, Highgate, N6

This can be regarded as a beer lover's paradise, rather than a pub lover's paradise. There are more ales on here than you can shake a stick at, helpfully displayed on a chalkboard behind the counter, including information on price and ABV. I had the Plateau, which came in at £3.80 a pint as I recall. This place was very busy when I was in on Wednesday evening, but nonetheless I could see that it was charmless but functional. It's recommended for the beer alone.

This traditional coaching house was converted into a modern ‘craft’ beer style bar last year, leaving it devoid of some of its character but with a fine range of beer by way of compensation. On this visit, I found a cask range comprising Fyne Ales Jarl, Uley Bitter, Dark Star Sunburst, Liverpool Organic Liverpool Pale Ale, Firebrand Graffiti IPA, Five Points Railway Porter, Siren Half Mast QIPA and Hawkshead Bitter. Two real ciders took up the remaining handpulls whilst a series of taps on the bar back dispensed craft keg beers, mainly from London based breweries such as Hammerton, Kernel, Fourpure and Beavertown. I gave the Jarl a try and thought it was in pretty good shape. A bottled beer range is also available but it seemed a little limited to me, although with the riches available on draught, this isn’t really an issue. You enter the pub into a quarry stone floored front seating area with a decent amount of standard tables and chairs under the large front windows. There is an antler lightshade here, but otherwise the place feels a bit bare and bland, which is a shame but perhaps symptomatic with this kind of bar. The servery appears midway down the right hand side with a simple modern counter and large blackboards on the bar back helpfully listing the entire beer range. A drinking shelf with high stools runs along the opposite wall before the room opens out a bit more to the rear where more standard tables and chairs can be found under a large pub name board, with a dartboard to one side in a closed case. The lighting throughout was very low level, making the place feel a bit gloomy as the daylight started to fade outside. A classic indie soundtrack played throughout my stay and I noticed an interesting ‘bar snacks’ menu detailed at the bar. I thought this was a good place to stop off for a choice of interesting ales, but the place left me a bit cold with its bland décor, making it difficult to settle down, despite the temptation of trying more of their beer. I’d doubtless return here the next time I’m in Highgate, but whether it beds down enough to make a session more appealing, remains to be seen.

One long room bar painted battleship grey. Quiet with few customers but noisy as they were playing darts. Loads of cask beers maybe too many as 2 of the 4 beers I tried were in good nick but the other 2 were tired. Great addition to a very good area to drink in.