North Pole, Islingtonback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
My 11th and final pub of the day. Unfortunately I arrived at closing time on a Sunday evening. But nevertheless, I did manage to fit a couple of ciders in. This was my 2nd favourite pub of the day. Triple fff Jabberwocky, M Malt Harvest Ale & Harbour H Session IPA were the ales. Sandford Orchards Bumbleberry & Pear Shaped, Kentish Pip Cider & Blaengawney Hallets Oak Aged Cider were all on. I sampled the latter two, which were very pleasant indeed. They had run out of Orchard Pig Juggler (a mulled cider). Otherwise I would have had one for the road. This pub is well worth a detour to seek out.
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The best pub in the area, The North Pole has a great selection of real ales, stouts and cider on draught. Hearty food is served every day, with a decent roast on a Sunday. During weekday evenings it's not too busy - enough people to generate a decent atmosphere, but not too many to make you spill your pint.
There's a small outdoor area out the back, and plenty of comfy chairs inside. Friendly staff, good beer, they've got it all pretty much right here. The bar staff and genuinely interested in the beers they serve and happy to talk you through the options, and provide samplers. They even do a loyalty card where you get your tenth beer free. What more do you want?
The only tiny down side is the occasional preponderance of noisy rugby-playing gentlemen who spill down from Upper Street, but generally speaking they fall over somewhere on Prebend Street and don't make it this far, so a good night can be had at the North Pole.
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Nice pub. Good selection of ales. Not rammed but pleasantly full.
They had a bbq on when we visited. Loyalty cards too. Buy 9 get one free.
Highly recommend.
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Duchyjim sums up the place quite well. I really liked it.
It hAs updated to fit the changing area but not so much as to alienate the people who have always lived there. A good mix.
Great selection of ales at a reasonable price. Cask alesprices are based on alcohol strength. top idea. The ale I had was a mere 3% but was very tasty.
Worth a visit.
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Slightly out of the way, so wasn't too rammed, even on a Saturday night.
Aesthetically, it does feel slightly more gastropub than boozer, but with the decent range of beers on offer - even with some 'conditioning' - I couldn't complain.
Particularly enjoyed offerings from the Arbor, Redemption and FFF breweries, which were around �3.80 a pint from memory.
Menu was reasonably pub-food-ish, around a tenner for a main course. Also bar snacks for �3.50. Portions were decent and the food tasty.
There's a games room downstairs with things like Space Invaders, if you fancy spending your money on other things like booze.
Staff were friendly, knowledgeable about what they were serving and happy to offer tasters too.
Would head back if I were in the area, although can't say I find myself at that end of Essex Road very often.
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A welcome addition to the sudden splurge of decent pubs in this area of London - also see the recently re-opened Earl of Essex in Danbury St. More Gastropub than pub but a good clutch of decent beers were on cask and keg and the seating is comfortable - it's a pleasant place to while away an afternoon. There's an open kitchen in the main area of the pub and alcoves to skulk in. All in all a decent boozer.
chick - 13 Jul 2012 16:53 |
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