The Victoria, Highgate, N6

This is an extremely attractive pub from the outside, with its floral displays and what looks like original tiling still in place. It looks very bijou in fact. Inside it’s very much larger than it looks from the outside. It’s bare-boarded of course, as is just about every pub in this part of the world, with normal tables and chairs, but I did spot a couple of sofas with a low table at the back by the lavatories. The appearance of a lounge bar is reinforced by the hexagonal pedestal table as the centrepiece of the room, with a large floral display in its centre. The walls are all painted the obligatory dull grey. There’s no pub grub to be had here either – a typical main course is “chicken roulade with mushroom duxelle mash, spinach and red wine jus” – at £12.50. Any pub that has a menu item containing the word “jus” must be a gastropub in my opinion. Fair enough if you want a gastropub, and this one is as good as, and probably better, then many I’ve been in. There was no loud music – just some soft blues, which seems to be a Highgate trait, and I didn’t spot any fruit machines or any of their mechanical compatriots either. There were three ales on – Timothy Taylor Landlord, Doom Bar, and Woodforde’s Norfolk Wherry. The latter came in at a reasonably wallet-friendly price of £2.80 a pint, which is good going for a gastropub. I don’t normally like gastropubs, but for some reason I quite liked this one (decent ale at decent prices might be a factor!) and would be happy to pay a return visit.

The first thing that caught my eye when approaching this pleasant looking pub was the sign on the board outside advertising the ‘Credit Brunch', which consists of breakfast and a pint for £7.95, and I though here we go it's another pub that‘s up its own backside. Upon entering I was presented with the gastro pub that I was expecting, except for the fact that I found it very inviting and I'm averse to the general gastro genre. The barman/manager was very affable and the choice of Ordinary, Landlord and Harvey's Best had me licking my lips as the couple of pubs I had been in previously had no ale. I tried the Harveys and the Landlord and thought that they were on good form. There were no standard lagers, but the choice of premium was good enough. I spotted a projector screen discreetly rolled up above the front windows and the Arsenal v ManUre game was being advertised on a chalk board by the entrance, but this was only being shown as it was on ITV as the pub has no Sky. There is a dartboard in the corner of the pub, but the bar seems to interfere with the oche and if someone was sitting there you'd have no chance in getting a game. There is a small beer garden out the front of the pub, but it was closed off during my visit as some carpenters were doing some work to it. If I could change a couple of things it would be to get rid of the lounge music and the overpowering smell of food, but other than these things I really liked it in here and I would go back again.