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Detail Pages
Earl of Essex, N1
N1
N1 8LE
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about Earl of Essex
The pub dates from 1856, undergoing major renovation work in 2012; the eagle-eyed will spot from photos that an extra two storeys were added and the interior was reordered, with the pub becoming home to its own inhouse brewery and keg only, a rash decision reversed in 2015 with the removal of all the copper plumbing and blessed reinstatement of cask.
Last visited by me in May 2018 and little seems to have changed, the only obvious change is the disappearance of the ugly brew kit. The interior is quite dark, with illumination coming from filament sconces and shallow metal shaded filament bulbs above the bar, aided by tealights to tables. The bar back is very attractive, framed with etched mirrors and topped with a rare backlit Watney’s parapet, featuring their infamous ‘Red Barrel’ motifs, glowing like two large red satanic eyes, flanking the name of the pub. Otherwise, the floor is bare, walls feature dark grey wainscoting then pale grey on up to a white ceiling. Furniture is conventional, with dark grey bare wood banquettes to part of the periphery with some pews; décor comprises trendy eclectic framed prints and dried flowers in bottles. Out back, there’s an attractive garden. What’s not so attractive are the ugly ceiling mounted aircon units, linked by industrial galvanized ducts. Customers are mainly youngish professional types, probably most living locally.
The ale front is extensive, with 14 taps and six pumps, two unused. All are unmarked, with a large ‘cinema’ board to the wall listing wares, style, brewery, ABV and price per pint and half, with real ale in the form of Burning Sky’s Plateau, Five Points Best (£4.90) and Bristol Beer Factory’s Espresso Dubs at £5.40, both on excellent form, served by a very friendly barman then equally friendly barmaid; a real cider was also available. This information is replicated on the pub’s website, allowing for an informed decision prior to visiting.
Due to the reintroduction of real ale, this is a great improvement over my last visit as this is now a great place to sup, certainly the best ale house for quite some distance. With the other two pumps brought online, this could be a minor destination with the score increased accordingly, but either way, I’ll be popping in whenever I’m in the area, which happens to be quite frequently, as this makes for an excellent double with the Island Queen.
On 27th January 2022
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1982 recommendations about 1949 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Ian Mapp left this review about Earl of Essex
Unexpectedly interesting... looked like a regular back street pub but its quite the beer experience.
Central bar has many hand pulls and a board explaining the wares. Around the otherside is a full on brewery kit.
Garden looked nice - which might be handy, as they allow all tables to be reserved.
Beavertown Neck Oil sampled for the first, and probably last time. What's all the fuss?
On 14th November 2018
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1337 recommendations about 1323 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about Earl of Essex
Maybe this is the future of beer.The exterior of this pub has wonderful brown glazed tiles,and the front doors open directly onto the bar,with various handpumps and wall taps all unmarked.Select from the list in large lettering to your left.On my trip there were 13 craft keg beers from many of the leading small scale brewers,2 cask ciders and 3 cask ales namely Tiny Rebel Morning Glory ,Redemption Rock the Kazbek and Big Chief (on top form).Behind the island bar there are some brewing vessels but no sign of production and besides a drinking shelf to the right of the pub,most of the tables and chairs were traditional with more room behind the bar including some bench seating.French doors lead to a beer garden.The pub was packed with young professional who really enjoy beer in all it's forms and I plan to revisit and chance my arm on some of the stronger keg options next time.It's hip and probably a bit too lively for many CAMRA types,but it does showcase beer in all it's glory.Wealth warning ....it's not cheap although a Cloudwater Baltic IPA 7% was "only" £3.50 the half.
On 26th February 2018
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
custodian 42 left this review about Earl of Essex
Excellent selection of real ales and cask on display on a board on the wall. The food menu actually suggests which beer should go with which meal although I didn't eat during my visit. Would definitely return to this place.
On 19th January 2017
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1693 recommendations about 1691 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
hondo . left this review about Earl of Essex
Quite a plain interior but it does retain the central island bar with it's tiled bar gantry. 3 real ales and numerous "craft keg served.
On 20th November 2016
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 2883 recommendations about 2820 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Moby Duck left this review about Earl of Essex
My fourth visit here but have never (until now ) been sober enough to remember it or indeed review it. It is a single room wrapped around a central Island bar, very lively on an early Saturday evening. Plenty of Craft Keg options are available and as Tris mentions below there is a mini cask revival here, three cask beers were available in the shape of Magic Rock Ringmaster,Marble Pint and Big Smoke Mothership plus two cask Ciders I failed to make a note of.I found this pub well worthy of dropping in for a pint or two.
On 18th September 2016
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1871 recommendations about 1844 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about Earl of Essex
There are no cask options here anymore apart from some solitary cider, lots of expensive keg options being listed on a wall mounted board. There is a central island bar, boarded floor, lots of grey paint. Possibly an ironic statement there is some old Watney's signage behind the bar. Trendy artwork, loud and boisterous Islington types, lots more grey paint, trendy artwork. The brew vessel to the rear seems to have no offerings, I had a half of something strong, cold, expensive and tasteless. I won't be troubling them again.
On 4th October 2015
- rating: 4
[User has posted 1707 recommendations about 1681 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Earl Of Essex
Another entrant onto the craft beer scene in London though this one is positively vintage, being just under two years open in its current guise. This one has its own brewery and though the kit can easily be spotted inside, I wasn’t sure how functioning it was. Like its sister pub (the Kings Arms in E2) there’s no marking on the beer clips and you have to read what’s available from a wall-mounted board. Which is fine when it’s quiet but faintly ludicrous when you’ve come in unawares on a busy night, fought your way to the bar and then realised you have no clue as to what’s on and the pesky board is out of view. Being forewarned I checked my options early doors. I went for the Harbour Oatmeal Stout which was OK but not in as good a condition as I’d have expected. Very busy, though I did find the demeanour of some of the patrons rather boorish to say the least. I didn’t really warm to this one though its proximity to the Wenlock means I’ll give it another go sometime.
On 25th February 2014
- rating: 6
[User has posted 5072 recommendations about 5055 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john gray left this review about The Earl Of Essex
Into what was a very nice pub about a year ago they have crammed an ugly brew-kit behind the rear bar.Okay its a brew pub but a tad more thought could have went into the design side.Great range of beers and a few keg beers rarely seen in other craft bars.Earls brewery beers are a bit hit and miss as yet but overall(if you discount the elephant in the room)a good pub.Nice rear beer garden as well.
On 16th September 2013
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1023 recommendations about 1009 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Earl Of Essex
The Earl of Essex is a new brewpub/ craft beer bar just a five minute walk from Angel tube station and close to the Regents canal. The layout is very straightforward, with a single bare boarded room, painted in what I am now terming ‘craft beer grey’, served by a compact island bar. Some spectacularly uncomfortable looking benches run around the perimeter of the room under a number of scrubbed tables, but seating options quickly run out in such a small room, so I found myself perched on a stool at the bar. The walls have been brightened up by some rather quirky artwork including some Soviet style propaganda posters. The reviews below suggest that this place has been through its fair share of reinventions over the years, but the old Watney’s bar back remains, complete with backlit red barrels. There are a couple of benches on the pavement outside and there is also a small patio area at the back of the pub.
Perhaps the most striking feature of the pub is the enormous wooden beer board which takes up a vast section of the left hand wall and very clearly lists the cask and keg offerings and their respective strengths and prices. Reference must be made to this board as all six hand pumps and fourteen keg taps are unclipped, despite a fairly large pump clip collection stuck to either side of the servery. The cask offerings on my visit were Crate Golden, Tiny Rebel Full Nelson, Ilkley Dinner Ale, Arbor Hunny Beer, Devilfish Golden and Sandford’s Devon Mist Cider, all priced at £3.80. The fourteen keg taps included the likes of Camden Hells Lager and Ink Stout, Old Dominion Fest and Moor Nor’Hop alongside a range of ‘craft’ brews from Europe and the US, with prices ranging from £4.00-6.00. Fridges are full of the sort of unusual bottled beers you would expect from such a venture and can be explored through one of the beer menus provided.
This is still a fairly new guise for this pub and so I would hope that some of the teething problems get ironed out over time. I’d be keen to return again at a later date, especially once they have got their own brewery up and running.
On 20th October 2012
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]