The Old Red Lion, EC1

This is such a wonderful pub. Under new management as of August 2013 and doing well for it! A lovely mixture of patrons, including the theatre audience from upstairs and some very kind locals downstairs. There's a lot of football shown at this pub also, including many 3pm games on Saturday. They do these football events like live podcasts in the theatre and comedy commentary where comedians talk over the live games. Lovely beer, five ales - all looked after well.

Theatre pub (the theatre in question being upstairs – shows on most nights). A handful of mainstream beers on the go, the most interesting of which (TT Landlord) tasted fine. Interior-wise, it’s a bit of a strange one, really. The partitioned wood panelling and glasswork at the front of the bar is well worth a bit of anyone's time - you don't see much of this any more. However it all kind of stops rather suddenly, leaving a large empty space further on. Someone elsewhere suggested that they had decided to restore it to a partitioned Victorian alehouse and then stopped and changed their mind after doing the front bit – I suspect in actuality that the whole place had the half-height partitions back in the day, but the rear area was ripped out. The pub in general could do with a spruce up, the seat covers weren't great and the place felt generally felt a bit unloved and needed a lick of paint. Atmosphere was a bit lacking on a Friday afternoon, I suppose it’s reliant on the evening crowds for trade. Worth a look for the tick-box value, but the Argyll Arms off Oxford Street is better example of the interior style.