Pub, N1

Regrettably no real ale of any strength and nothing else to keep me in here. Would not return.

This is a deceptively large former O’Neill’s pub, now operating as a trendy bar with a changing ‘street food’ menu. You enter into a narrow front section with a mix of high tables and stools, some comfy armchairs and low padded benches, all under large front windows with a neon sign bearing the pub’s quirky new name blazing away. The floor here is unmade concrete, perhaps because they didn’t want to retain the distinctive O’Neill’s floor tiles that would presumably have been here previously, but it makes the space look a bit tatty and unfinished. The walls have been painted purple and there are some large, ‘out-there’ artworks on show, whilst the window sills have been stacked with a huge collection of board games. Further on, you pass a Rolling Stones pinball table to one side and table football to the other, making your way through an even narrower space with banquette seating down one side and a pictorial pub quiz on one wall. Eventually the servery appears to the left with some of the aforementioned O’Neill’s tiling around the bar area. The room unexpectedly opens up a great deal back here, with rows of high tables and stools opposite the bar and comfy benches on raised platforms further to the right. The décor is pretty eclectic and includes lots of photos and a series of comic book art prints. The reason for the pub appearing so narrow to the front is that there is a patio garden area to the front right of the pub, unseen on entry but apparent once you’ve reached the bar area. Some standard garden furniture has been arranged out here under large graffiti-style murals. The pub’s hip, slightly Bohemian vibe lends itself to the craft beer end of the market, but this didn’t seem to be the focus here, with the keg range comprising fairly mainstream options such as Vedett and Meantime Pale Ale. Four handpulls offered two Orchard Pig ciders alongside Oakham Citra and Sunny Republic Red Bus IPA. The Red Bus IPA was in pretty good shape and we were able to take advantage of the Monday night £1 discount on all beers, which made the pint good value for the area. We also stopped for a bite to eat from the Mexican themed street food menu (burgers, chicken and hot dogs are also permanently available). I found the food pretty tasty but it wasn’t cheap and the portion sizes might be considered a little stingy. The street food section of the menu seems to change fairly regularly and signs were already up noting that the next menu would be Korean themed. I found this place quite enjoyable and thought it was a pretty versatile venue in which you could enjoy a quiet pint on your own as much as a few pints with a large group. For us, it worked out well as somewhere to grab an early evening bite to eat with a decent pint to match and I’d certainly consider stopping off again in passing.

Large bright pub typical of the rest of the chain.Sky sports on the big screen.Two handpumps with Pride and Doombar.I tried the new bottled Guinness -Porter which was good.

Larger than it lloks from the street, with a 'L'-shaped bar accessed either by the front door or via a side alleyway. Some decorative tiling along part of bar, but little else of interest inside. Two wooden patio tables out front, with three more down in a small courtyard smoking area. No real ale available, so it was a quick pint of Smithwick's (£3.65) and I was off...