24th June 2007
Love it, lack of dog-ness and militant bartenders included.
On the merit of idoru's review, I went here last night and completely fell in love with it.
It's a true neighbourhood bar, set away from the hustle and bustle of Angel. Shockingly I've never been to a bar like this, but I am not English and do not have a "local" or a pub around the corner from the house I grew up in, so to speak. But after being here last night, I wish I lived within walking distance of this charming little pub.
The picnic tables outside are wonderful and surprisingly enough there is a rather intimate atmosphere to the outdoor seating. We were asked a number of times to finish our drinks inside due to the "noise" - even though there were only 2 of us and we were speaking rather quietly. But to be fair, it is a neighbourhood bar and I don't want the owners getting into trouble with the council for noise violations!
The menu is utterly mouth-watering, but unfortunately we arrived too late (9 pm = last orders for food) so we had to content ourselves with a bar snack, which was lovely; a vegetable tart.
Exceptional selection of beer and a nice little wine list, the prices are extremely reasonable, and the menu looks delicious... the only thing that was missing was the resident dog, but one of the staff kindly brought the dog over after her nap so that I could say hello to her. She's absolutely adorable and really friendly.
There were fresh lilies (!!!!) in the bathrooms, which were spotless, and although this was a incongruous sight (considering it's a pub), the baby stroller stored in the bathroom was quite nice to chance upon as it signifies a children-friendly and family-run establishment.
Truly a great pub, probably the best I've been to yet.