The Alpaca, Islington, N1

A deciptively large pub with three interlinked rooms, I counted 8 hand pumps in all with beers on from Windsor & Eton and Park plus more I failed to note, Aspalls Cider also featured.It retains a Green tiled exterior,inside the theme was wood and exposed brick. It seemed a half decent watering hole to me.

This traditional corner pub, close to Essex Road station, has expanded into the neighbouring property to create quite a sizeable two bar boozer. The interior wraps its way around a central servery with a basic counter, iron gantry and dark wood bar back. Entering through the original corner door, you find yourself in a small front bar with limited seating options and some eclectic décor, all lit by the huge front windows. You move through into a larger rear bar area with fixed benches and a few standard tables and chairs. A former side porch has been decorated with some nice kitsch posters and artworks plus a colourful piñata. An upright piano stands to the rear right with a huge screen showing Champions League football above, whilst a dark recess to the rear left had been set aside for a beer festival, with the stilage still in situ and a couple of beers still available. There is also a tidy little fireplace over on the left hand side and a wall covered with various polaroid photos of staff and customers. A door at the far end of the servery leads through to the newer left hand bar. Here you'll find a stained glass porch at the front leading into a spacious room with a drinking ledge and high stools to the right and a lovely set of curved banquette booths to the left. Walls are bare brick or painted in dark shades and decorated with more kitsch art and some fabulous gig posters for the likes of Beck, The Flaming Lips and The Breeders. from the ceiling hangs a grand chandelier, an unfurled projector screen and what appeared to be a collection of music festival bracelets. The bar canopy has been used to collect all manner of unrelated oddities and the pub's general music theme was further enhanced by a decent soundtrack that played throughout my stay. The pub has worked to expand their ale selection in recent years, so there was a good choice when I arrived, comprising Revolutions Clash London Porter, Abbeydale Deception, Southwark Best, plus the last two festival ales and a real cider. I tried the Porter which was outstanding and served by a very pleasant and welcoming barmaid. This is a bit of a pub of two halves - with the more traditional side being dominated by the football and beer festival and the newer side offering a comfier and more relaxed option. I found the beer and service here were very good and it wouldn't take much convincing for me to head back for another visit.

This pub has clearly expanded into adjoining premises on the left at some stage, which has produced a separate bar, with its own door to the street, and where I would guess the live entertainment takes place. This room is joined to the original corner bar(s) via an archway to the rear of the central island servery. The original bar area has a bit of screening in the middle which would once have completely divided the room in two, and there is some nice wood panelling on the walls. Furnishings are traditional normal tables and chairs, and the flooring is some very distressed old black line. All manner of decor can be found about the place, as can be seen from the internal photographs I've uploaded. There was a decent selection of ales, with the ELB pair of Foundation and Nightwatchman, Southwark Brewery London Pale Ale, and Box Steam Brewery Golden Bolt all on, as well as Thatcher's Cheddar Valley Cider on draught. This is a decent selection by any standards, and both the Foundation and Nightwatchman were sampled by our group and found to be in excellent condition. I didn't see any sign of food on Wednesday afternoon. We liked this pub a lot. This was our favourite pub of the day. It felt as if we were in a real pub, although being Islington there were sprigs of flowers and candles on the tables. We could have done without the rap and other overly loud music, but I for one would be happy to visit again.

A pub that looks modern on the outside but inside it seems to be much older and again has that "Islington" look. There were 3 real ales on with the Fredrisks & Clarence pale ale being in great form. Beer OK but did not feel comfortable in the pub.