The Alpaca, Islington, N1

The curious mixture of modern signage and traditional green tiling on the facade is reflected inside by furniture and decor which is a bit part-this and a bit part-that. There is also a row of wooden benches outside on the pavement. A old fashioned three-room layout is partially intact, but the whole place was a bit of a scrum when I visited as there was an Arsenal home game on the large screen and other TVs. Mind you, the staff were pretty efficient and it didn't take long to get served. Beartown IPA and Red Tail Pale Ale from Red Squirrel Brewery (£3.50) available, with the third handpump in the process of being changed over. Overall, the atmosphere seemed pretty good so I would happily visit again.

Randomness Guide to London - New Rose entry

Randomness Guide to London - New Rose entry

The New Rose is one of the many former rough and ready boozers lining Essex Road which has been given a makeover in recent years and as such has avoided potential closure due to lack of interest. And whilst it retains the original green tiled Victorian exterior, the current New Rose internal look and decor will not be to every ones taste, being modern plain style of wooden flooring and lots of exposed brick, and a moody lighting scheme generated by subdued up lighting and candles. It’s now basically one internal U shaped space but almost subdivided into three distinct sections. Plenty of space to stand up the bar and the seating round the edges is comfortable. The Food menu seems to focus on Pizza’s but can’t comment on these as I’ve only really visited here for a quick early evening beer. And in that respect there is a decent drinks choice, with the usual array of pretentious foreign lagers that you would expect this close to Islington and three real ale hand pumps on the bar. These tend to be different from the run of the mill London choices, being usually from regional Breweries and included Moorhouse Black Cat and Keltek Brewery King on my most recent visit earlier this week. A different touch is that the Ales are always served in dimpled mugs, as opposed to the more usual straight glasses. Strangely, and for reasons lost on me, this seems to be a big draw for the trendy student types around The Essex road. These are also catered for by DJ sessions which are held over the weekend evenings and my Gooner mates tell me that this is also a decent place to watch the footy when the big screen gets pulled down. All in all I think the New Rose gets the more modern touch just about right without becoming overly pretentious