Old Red Lion, Underhill, Barnet

Looks like this pubs now closed down. I guess since the football ground closed moved there just is not the passing trade any more to keep both pubs open as there's another Mc Mullen's just other side the railway bridge in a more busy area near cinema & shops.

This is a sizeable two bar pub, close to Barnet FC. Only the lounge bar was open during my Monday afternoon visit, a large L-shaped carpeted room with comfortable seating but otherwise rather bland. Fixtures and fittings are fairly modern and functional, the old gnarled beams and posts are reclaimed from elsewhere and are simply decorative. Mainly banquettes and stools but there are a couple of those high tables in the middle of the room, decor includes displayed plates, jugs hanging from a beam and the usual framed local prints. There were a few more bits and bobs on another shelf over the bar. There is a high level TV which was showing some game show compared by Noel Edmonds! McMullens beers, three on, County (£3.30), AK and IPA. The beer was ok if the measure a bit short. Foodwise I didn't spot a standard menu but a chalkboard offered a selection of unlikely tapas in so far as none of the dishes could remotely be considered as being traditional Iberian fare, BBQ wings, potato wedges, skinny fries, tempura prawns being examples. Five dishes for £10. I found this to be a fairly underwhelming featureless pub, but one that no doubt serves a useful purpose to the community and particularly on a match day.

Old Red Lion pages at the McMullens site - www.mcmullens.co.uk

Situated just down the hill from High Barnet Tube Station is The Old Red Lion, a large prominent roadhouse type pub with a gabled black and white Tudor exterior. The main bar is a large carpeted and comfortable lounge with a number of adjoining areas, nooks and crannies. Fake wooden beams, framed caricature prints of famous sportsmen and a brass footrail etc all help contribute to a pleasant, but rather standard pub interior. A much smaller separate public bar was not open during my recent Sunday lunchtime visit, but is available for private hire. The pub clearly does a lot of work for charity and was advertising a Help for Heroes Charity Night in a week or so’s time on 4 March. Disappointingly, given the close proximity of Barnet F C Football Ground, I didn’t see any related football memorabilia, although a number of flyers on a shelf reminded me that “Our Local Football Club Needs Your Support” and exhorted me to attend the forthcoming home match against Lincoln City. It’s a McMullens pub which was serving AK and Country on my visit. The AK - £ 2.60p – was pretty good. This is a reasonable pub and I’d be happy to call in again if passing

Old Red Lion pages at the McMullens site - www.mcmullens.co.uk

I had my worst pint of lager of the year so far in here yesterday. I didn't actually finish it as the head was yellow and it tasted like the lines hadn't been cleaned for weeks. I thought that it may have been that the barman/manager changed the barrel half way through pouring my pint, but it wasn't as the misses had a crap pint as well. The inside of the pub is nice and they were showing the snooker final on the TV, but it is next to a very busy main road so it was very noisy sitting outside lapping up the sun. The barman/manager was friendly enough, but I could tell that he takes no lip from the punters, which is probably good as there seemed to be a few unsavoury characters about. Overall I wasn't impressed with this pub.

Nice sized away fans pub, just a short walk from the Underhill turnstiles. Serving McMullen's AK and Country Bitter, sadly in plastic glasses prior to kick-off, although we were given proper glasses during our return visit after the match, which suggested the AK was kept in reasonable condition. The pub seemed to be in a good state, with a clean and well kept interior and fairly plush, if dated furniture - not always the case with football pubs. Staff were well drilled in terms of dealing with the crowds at the bar, as you would expect from such an establishment. Hard to know if this place would be worth a visit on a normal afternoon or evening though.