Good Intent, Upper Holloway, N19

This pub has four picnic tables out the front and a covered smoking area halfway down the side that has some more seating for when it is raining, like it was on my visit a couple of Sunday afternoons ago. The bar is located at the front of the pub and it is hard to appreciate how far back this pub stretches from the photos. Private functions are heavily advertised throughout the pub and there was one being set up whilst I was there. There were tinfoil covered plates and dishes laid out on some tables and a disco was being set up by a middle aged gentlemen who was playing some quiet Irish music whilst he tested the equipment. I think that people are still welcome in the front of the pub and allowed to wander to the gents at the far end of the pub when a function is in progress, but how welcome one would feel sitting in someone’s party that they don’t know I’m not sure. The advertised football wasn’t being shown on the plasma, but an X-factor repeat was playing away. There is a dartboard at the front of the pub and a pool table is situated in a raised area in the very far right hand corner. There is no real ale here and only a standard draught selection alongside San Miguel, but I did think that the Guinness was pretty good – even if I did have to stand at the bar for ages whilst the barmaids chatted to each other. Thankfully the landlady was on the ball and even though she was busy setting out food she still shouted to one of her staff to serve me, which they did in a hard done by manner. I came away from this pub with the impression that it is mainly used by the local estate crowd and there aren’t enough of them to keep the place running so the management are utilising the vast amount of space they have to cater for as many functions as possible. I don’t plan a return visit as there are other pubs in the area that are more suited to my tastes.