Earl Haig Hall, Crouch End, N8

This time I managed to visit here when it was open for its proper business - i.e. selling beer - and I'm quite glad I did. They had a couple of Late Knights beers on, and being the first time that I had encountered this micro-brewery's ales I was obliged to have a pint of their Morning Glory, which turned out to be an excellent best bitter style ale. There were four of five ales on in total. There was a menu on all the tables when I visited on a Saturday afternoon, but as I visited several hours into a London Pubs Group crawl I failed to note any details. But I did note the excess of Antic style stuff in here - a propellor and bugle above the bar; a Red Duster on the ceiling; recycled cinema seats; wooden doors doing duty as table tops (complete with diagonal beams uppermost, which could be inconvenient if you're not careful where you put your beer down). Like other Antic pubs this one is different to most pubs one visits. The ale selection was typically good, and I wouldn't mind visiting again.

Visiting The Queens next door I thought it worth walking the few paces down the road to photograph this new addition to the Antic stable. I knew that I was there outside its published opening times, but knowing that their opening times are not always sacrosanct and seeing lights on gave the door a speculative push. It seems that it was in use, as some sort of exercise group was underway. Unfortunately nobody was serving beer. Before beating a retreat I noticed that it was an ex British legion hall (undoubtedly named after the British WWI commander), with a bar counter at the far end of the room, and with some basic tables and chairs. It looks like a drinking barn - in fact as if you were drinking in a British Legion hall, but with a better ale selection and higher prices. It seems as if Antic will adapt just about any premises for pub use, and this place could be put to much worse use.

Official site of Earl Haig Hall - earlhaighall.com

Official site of Earl Haig Hall - earlhaighall.com