Old China Hand, EC1

Long narrow and busy pub.Ping pong table at rear on my last visit..Good bottle beer selection. On cask were beers from Franklins,Gloucester and Belleville.I tried the infamous Wrexham lager on keg which was surprisingly good.

Quite a plain interior with chunky wooden tables and chairs. 4 real ales,"craft keg" and an extensive bottle selection served. Darts and ping pong available.

Official site of Old China Hand - www.noordinarypub.com

Once The Three Crowns, this place describes itself as 'No Ordinary Pub', run by the same family for the last ten years and selling 'Only British Beers, Wine, Spirits and Soft Drinks'. I didn't known that Beerlao was British - I thought it was Laotian. The equally British dim sum has also gone as the pub no longer does any food at all; drinkers are invited to bring their own, providing they buy a drink. The interior is extremely gloomy and stark with dark grey walls with sconce lights and a hammock above the bar, illuminated with fairy lights; the floor is bare boarded. Upstairs is a ping-pong table. Ales: two unused pumps and Frog Island's Amber Daze and Dancing Duck's Nice Weather at a very cheap £2.00 a half, though it was a rather dull ale so perhaps this is explained by the price. There isn't much here, indeed it is no ordinary pub. Perhaps it would be a better place if it were just a little more ordinary.

Official site of Old China Hand - www.noordinarypub.com