The Wig and Gown, Highbury

This dark, dank hell-hole is only worth visiting in order to admire the �up-yours pal� attitude of the two female bar-staff, who seem to think they are serving in some upmarket members-only club in the West End instead of a gloomy, empty, lager-joint on the Holloway Road. The comments of �Mr Monkfish�, who is clearly the owner, are just laughable. Yes, some American bars are great, but you have to do something a little better than sticking some pictures of the Mid West on the wall, kicking out the real ales (why, when all the best US bars pride themselves on their range of microbrews?), and upping the prices in order to reproduce that kind of atmosphere. When a place is completely empty every night of the week, with the exception of the barmaids� boyfriends, and a few overpaid footy fans when Arsenal are playing at home, there is a possibility that it is a �hidden gem�. Or there is a possibility that everyone has tried the place once, been outraged by the attitude of the staff, the dullness of the drinks (if you aspire to be a US bar then why is the range of beers the usual Eurofizz?) and the lack of any decent food (again how unlike a good US bar) that they have vowed never to return. I could add a mark for the pinball machine and the rootsy music, but really you wouldn�t want to stay here long enough to play on one or listen to the other.

20 Nov 2006 20:06

The Nags Head, Islington

Sounds like the management have twisted the arms of a few friends to write some nice comments. All I can say is that we were treated unbelieveably rudely, it was nowhere near closing time, and we were by no means the only ones. Maybe things have improved but I won't ever be going back to find out.

16 Nov 2005 17:38

The Nags Head, Islington

This place has the rudest staff even judged by the high standards of offensiveness that maintain in Upper Street. They refused to replace a completely flat Coke because �it�s just coming out that way� and then denied entry to a smartly-dressed group who dared to enter the place at 10.40, because it was �closed� � and this while other punters were being served quite happily. If you are meeting up before or after a visit to the Academy then try the North One, the Angelic or the Agricultural � at least these places seem to want some customers

20 Oct 2005 13:24