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 Sylvan Post, London SE23 London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
Southeast London: Other locations – Forest Hill
Contemporary pub (Antic)
24 Dartmouth Road SE23 3XU
T 020 8291 5712 w sylvanpost.com f Sylvan-Post tw sylvanpost
Open 1600 (1200 SSn)-2400. Children very welcome until early evening.
Cask beer 4-5 (Unusual often local guests), Other beer 3 keg, 10 bottles, Also 1 cider, 16 wines.
Food Short but imaginative gastroish menu, Outdoor Tables on street, Wifi. Disabled toilet.
Table football, monthly live music, quiz, functions.
When Forest Hill post office fell victim to cost cutting measures relocating some local services to WH Smith branches in 2008, there were concerns that its old purpose built site on Dartmouth Road would become yet another bookie. But instead it eventually became a pub, reopening in February 2012 as part of the Antic group with a new name that puns on the area’s woody past.
The new owners haven’t had to import too much of their trademark quirkiness here – instead, rather delighfully, reminders of the building’s former use have been incorporated into the redesign. The surfaces on which customers once filled out postal orders and car tax applications are now high tables for vertical drinking, and there are two very snug snugs in the rather forbidding old strongrooms, while framed telegrams decorate the walls.
This is a youthful place with an imaginative craft beer offer, including cask from locals like By the Horns and Redemption or more experimental producers like Arbor Ales or llkley. Kegs from Cotswold, Meantime and Moor are supplemented by bottles from Brookyn, Cooper’s, Schneider, Sierra Nevada and the occasional local offering. A regularly changing menu might include pan fried whole bream or summer vegetable broth. Now the top recommendation for the area, first class, special delivery and all.
National Rail Overground Forest Hill Cycling LCN+ Deptford, Penge, Crystal Palace Walking Green Chain Walk
 J J Moons, Ruislip HA4 (London) London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
West London: Other locations – Ruislip
Contemporary pub (Wetherspoon)
12 Victoria Road, Ruislip HA4 0AA
T 01895 622373 w www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk/home/pubs/j.j.-moons-ruislip-manor
Open 0800-2300 (2400 Fri-Sat). Children welcome until early evening if dining.
Cask beer 9 (Fuller’s, Greene King, Wells & Young’s, 5 sometimes unusual guests) Cask Marque, Other beer Usual Wetherspoon kegs and bottles, Also 2 ciders/perries.
Food Wetherspoon menu, Outdoor Tables on street, Wifi. Disabled toilet.
Usual Wetherspoon promotions and occasional major big screen sport.
In many respects a bog standard local Wetherspoon converted in typical style from a former Woolworth store in 1990, J J Moons raises its head above the crowd through a greater commitment than usual to cask beer that has earned it a local CAMRA Pub of the Year award. London Pride, Abbot, Ruddles County and Courage Best are the regulars, but the other handpumps explore the pubco’s guest list to the full, thanks to a keen manager who, unusually, has been there since the beginning. Good choices from Adnams, Blindman’s, Nethergate, RCH and Roosters were on when I called. There’s also a programme of community events and charity fundraising, and some stained glass and a fireplace to enliven the standard issue furniture and finishes, especially in the more pleasant raised dining area at the back. The pub benefits further from being right opposite the Tube.
Underground Ruislip Manor Walking Links to Celandine Route
 The Bohemia, London N12 London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
North London: Other locations – North Finchley
Contemporary pub (Antic)
862 High Road N12 9QH
T 020 8446 6661 w thebohemia.com tw AnticBohemia
Open 1600 (1200 Sat-Sun)-2300 (2400 Thu, 0100 Fri-Sat, 2230 Sun). Children welcome until early evening.
Cask beer 6 (Sharp’s, 5 changing often local guests), Other beer 3 keg, 12 bottles, Also Specialist whiskies, 18 wines.
Food Short gastroish/pub grub menu, additional fine dining menu planned, Outdoor Front terrace, Wifi. Disabled toilet.
Wed monthly knitting, Sun monthly quiz, occasional live music, board games.
Beyond the North Circular in the furthest northern reaches of the London postal district, beside a main road junction known as Tally Ho Corner from its days as a stop on London’s stagecoach network, stands south London-based pubco Antic’s furthest outpost yet, and it’s one of the best in a high performance bunch. It’s a huge place that has been an O’Neill’s, a furniture shop and a supermarket, but now that Antic’s architects have stripped things back to the high exposed roof beams, it looks like it might once have served as a church or community hall.
A sheltered front terrace leads into a quietish lobby area with school-style tables, beyond which is the extensive main bar space, where a motley collection of tables, sofas and comfy chairs on a mosaic floor basks in the light of windows high on the wall. Work on the place is ongoing since opening in August 2012 and it is set to get even bigger – bookcases stuffed with the pubco’s trademark junk guard a space further back where a more upmarket restaurant section is being created, and the extensive basement is destined to become a performance and DJ venue. Meanwhile the kitchen serves up clipboard menu fare – heritage tomato salad, Brixham crab burger, steaks and the like.
London and nearby breweries like East London, London Fields, Redemption, Sambrook’s and Westerham feature heavily besides Doom Bar on the handpumps, alongside good choices from breweries like Bath and Buxton, all at good value prices. Specialist kegs are familiar names like Blue Moon and Früli, but there’s more interest in the bottle fridge, including Kernel beers, Schneider Weisse and Aventinus and rare sightings of the beers Hepworth brews for Shoreditch bar the Strongroom. They’ve even found bottles that share the pub name – the decent enough Bohemia Regent from the Czech Republic. Handy for well regarded local arts centre artsdepot, and enough to send you into rhapsodies in its own right.
Underground Woodside Park, East Finchley Bus Tally Ho Corner (263 East Finchley, High Barnet) Cycling LCN+ 5 89, link to 6 Walking Link to Dollis Valley Greenway
 The North Pole, London N1 Canonbury and Barnsbury
Contemporary pub (Butcher & Barrel)
188 New North Road N1 7BJ
T 020 7354 5400 w www.thenorthpolepub.co.uk f thenorthpolepub tw thenorthpolepub
Open 1100-2300 (2400 Fri-Sat, 2230 Sun). Children welcome until 1900.
Cask beer 7 (changing usually local and unusual guests), Other beer 12 keg, 30 bottles, Also 3 real ciders/perries, 30+ wines, gourmet soft drinks.
Food Pizzas and meat-focused enhanced pub grub, Outdoor Rear terrace/beer garden, Wifi. No disabled toilet but all on one level.
Tue beer and meat promotion, occasional beer-themed events, pinball, bar billiards, retro video games, board games.
Butcher & Barrel pubs usually offer a few good beers, and the company is also linked to the owners of the marvellous Sussex Arms in Twickenham, but the North Pole is the first in the chain deliberately designed and marketed as a craft beer venue. In a slightly out of the way but now relatively prosperous corner of Islington near the Regent’s Canal, the former North Star was reopened as the North Pole in July 2012 following a lavish and very successful refurbishment – the oddly shaped bar area is now clean, bright and cheerful with light wood and pot plants, and there’s a very attractive wood decked terrace at the back.
Regularly rotating cask beers carefully chosen by cellar manager Shaun come both from local brewers like By the Horns, East London, Redemption and Windsor & Eton and well respected craft suppliers like Buxton, Magic Rock, Oakham, Redwillow and Titanic. Keg offerings also rotate although Innis & Gunn, Harbour, London Fields and Meantime are regulars alongside imports from Anchor (their gorgeous benchmark porter when I called), Flying Dog and Schneider. Ask for samples if you’re unsure. Bottle drinkers will likely find beers from Bristol, Nils Oscar, Nøgne-Ø and Struise, or even Pabst Blue Ribbon if you must. With good if very meat heavy food from the open kitchen, this is a friendly, civilised place that feels a bit more grown up than some venues with similar lists.
National Rail Essex Road Underground Angel, Old Street Bus Baring Street (271 Essex Road, numerous Old Street) Cycling LCN+ 8 16, Regents Canal towpath Walking Links to Jubilee Greenway, New River Path
 The Grafton, London NW5 London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
North London: Kentish Town and Tufnell Park
Contemporary pub (Enterprise)
20 Prince of Wales Road NW5 3LG
w thegraftonnw5.co.uk f thegraftonnw5 tw thegraftonnw5
Open 1200-2300 (0030 Fri-Sat). Children welcome until 1900.
Cask beer 6 (Hogs Back, Timothy Taylor, 4 usually local guests), Other beer 1 keg, 5 bottles.
Food Gastroish pub lunches, Outdoor Tables on street, Wifi. No disabled toilet but flat access.
Fortnightly pub quiz and open mic nights, monthly comedy and clothing exchange.
When they reopened this handsome Victorian pub in the little neighbourhood centre around Kentish Town West Overground in September 2012, the new leaseholders wisely opted to take advantage of landlord Enterprise’s local guest beer delivery scheme. So besides the regular favourites TEA and Landlord, you can expect to find beers from East London, Hackney, Ha’penny (a rarity this far into inner London) and London Fields on the handpumps, alongside the occasional quality interloper from Adnams and the like. Even more local is Camden Town, just a few steps away, whose beers might be found on keg alongside Staropramen. A handful of interesting bottles include BrewDog, Brooklyn and Goose Island.
This is a well refurbished, attractive and friendly place that’s rejected the gastro route in favour of a contemporary twist on a decidedly community focused boozer. Green and white tiling, original pillars and a reclaimed fireplace add pleasing detail to a comfortable single space wrapped around an island bar, background music is restrained and an inventive lunch menu makes use of ingredients from local allotments. The pub is also close to the impressively restored St Pancras Baths.
National Rail Kentish Town Overground Kentish Town West Underground Camden Town, Kentish Town Cycling LCN+ 6A
 Jacks Off License, London N4 London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
North London: Other locations – Crouch Hill
Shop (Independent)
178A Stroud Green Road N4 3RS
T 020 7272 2431
Open 1400-2300 (2400 Fri-Sat).
Cask beer None, Other beer Around 250 bottles, Also Wines, specialist spirits including tequila, rum, whisky.
The slightly shabby Heineken branding on this humble looking street corner off license seriously undersells the contents, as indoors turns out to be an unexpected treasure trove for the beer hunter. Jack’s has been selling specialist beers since the mid-1980s, beginning with a few Belgian beers, and while there are still a few good Belgians in the range – Boon oude geuze, Orval, Westmalle – they’ve since been overtaken by British and US options. Of the former, you’ll find craft favourites like BrewDog, Bristol, Dark Star, Harbour, Ikley, Kernel, Magic Rock, Marble, Meantime and Thornbridge present and correct. Of the latter, there are lesser seen names like Left Hand and Kona besides Brooklyn, Goose Island, Sam Adams and Sierra Nevada. Good German options include unusual beers from Faust besides classic wheats from Franziskaner and Schneider. An unsung local secret that happens to have a bus stop right outside the door.
National Rail Underground Finsbury Park Overground Crouch Hill Bus Albert Road (various Finsbury Park) Cycling Links to LCN+ 7 14 82 Walking Link to Capital Ring
 The Earl of Essex, London N1 London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
Central London: Islington (Angel)
Contemporary pub, specialist (Barworks)
25 Danbury Street N1 8LE
T 020 7424 5828 w www.earlofessex.net tw theearlofessex1
Open 1200 (1500 Mon-Wed)-2330 (0030 Fri-Sat, 2230 Sun). Children welcome.
Cask beer 5 (Earl’s, changing unusual often local guests), Other beer 13 keg, 30+ bottles, Also Real cider, a few specialist spirits.
Food Interesting good value gastroish menu, Wifi. Disabled toilet.
The area around the Angel was badly in need of a serious craft beer pub, and got one with a vengeance when the Earl of Essex reopened in July 2012 after its second refurbishment in a year. Tucked away in the pleasantly terraced back streets east of Upper Street and north of the canal, the pub recalls its past as a neighbourhood local with a vintage bar back topped with a Watney’s lightbox behind an island bar set in a clean and modern grey-green painted space. A further attraction is what feels like a secret walled garden at the back, delightfully verdant, surprisingly large and unsurprisingly popular.
Enterprising and beer friendly London pubco Barworks has a hand in this latest incarnation of the Essex but the beer offer ventures even deeper into specialist territory than the group’s other venues, with a selection that demonstrates manager Bryn has his finger on the pulse, enthusiastically promoted through online Beer of the Day listings. The plan is to install a house brewery making beers with unusual and local ingredients, but in the meantime small and keenly contemporary brewers like Bristol, Devilfish, Gadd’s, Harbour, Moor and Pinup supply the cask, alongside local names like East London and Redemption.
The extensive range of keg taps also regularly changes: Camden Town Hells and Ink are regulars, but otherwise expect to see British craft kegs from Brew Star, Ilkley or Moor, US imports from Left Hand, Odell, Rogue, Sierra Nevada or Stone, international geekery from De Molen or Nøgne-Ø, and the occasional Belgian or German classic. Some of the same names appear on the bottle labels, alongside Clown Shoes, Crate, Dogfish Head, Drake, Element and Mikkeller, including some rarities in big bottles.
An interesting seasonal menu comes complete with beer matching suggestions to dishes like duck leg sandwich, carrot gnocchi with peas and poached egg, or onglet steaks. Another place that will keep enthusiasts happy while also providing an inviting environment for a more general audience, this is definitely one to watch.
Underground Angel Cycling LCN+ 8 16, Regents Canal towpath Walking Jubilee Walkway, New River Path
 The Lamb Beer and Liquor, London N7 London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
North London: Canonbury and Barnsbury
Contemporary pub (Independent)
54 Holloway Road N7 8JL
T 020 7619 9187 w thelambn7.co.uk f thelambn7 tw thelambpub
Open 1600-2400 (0100 Fri-Sat). Children welcome until early evening.
Cask beer 1 (often local, may expand), Other beer 7 keg, 10 bottles, Also Bottled ciders, some wines and specialist spirits.
Food None, but local gourmet pizzas delivered, Outdoor Small rear yard, Wifi.
Tue/Sun Irish music, Wed acoustic music, occasional DJs, big screen Arsenal home games, functions.
On the south end of Holloway Road just a few steps from Highbury Corner and the Garage music venue, the Lamb used to be an ordinary Irish pub of a sort once common in the area until relaunching itself as an unusually characterful contemporary bar in March 2012. Since then owner Michael has been pursuing a personal interest by ramping up the beer offering, declaring its priorities with the strapline “beer and liquor” and running festivals in collaboration with craft beer appreciation group the Campaign for Really Good Beer (CAMRGB).
Currently there’s only one cask pump, usually dispensing a local like Hackney or London Fields, although this may expand. A range of British “craft keg” beers from Black Isle, BrewDog, Camden Town and the like is served alongside good Czech lager, and Camden Town, London Fields and Meantime crop up in the bottle fridge alongside Anchor Steam and Little Creatures.
It’s an atmospheric place with dark wood panelling, a few tucked away booths and a slightly studenty feel. This perhaps isn’t surprising as it’s just down the road from London Metropolitan University, but it’s also close to Arsenal FC’s Emirates Stadium and the legacy of its former incarnation lives on with laid back Irish music sessions.
Pub trivia. The new branding on the handsome tiled exterior draws on Catholic kitsch – perhaps more appropriately than intended as the Lamb as a pub name and sign has its origins in religious symbolism, representing the Lamb of God. Then again, Holloway Road is a former drove route, so there’s a link to more earthly lambs too.
National Rail Highbury & Islington Cycling LCN+ 7, Hornsey and Camden links
 Drinkers Paradise, Castlehaven Road, London NW1 London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
North London: Kentish Town and Tufnell Park
Shop (Independent)
129 Castlehaven Road NW1 8SJ
T 020 7482 6140 w drinkersparadise.co.uk f DrinkersParadise
Open 1100-2300 (2230 Sun)
Cask beer None, Other beer 200-250 bottles, Also Wines, specialist spirits.
A few pleasant surprises for the London beer hunter hide behind unassuming shopfronts on certain local streets, where proprietors of corner off licenses and convenience stores have found they can attract customers far beyond the usual trade in canned industrial lager, branded wine and Rizla papers by building up a bit of specialisation. One example is Drinkers Paradise at Kentish Town West, handy for St Pancras Public Baths, Camden Town brewery and nice new community pub the Grafton. It’s the sort of name applied with epic hubris to many a late night booze and fags outlet, but this modestly sized corner shop lives up to it more than most.
The shop claims to have specialised in beers for more than 20 years, but the range has expanded still further recently in response to demand, sourced through their own research and customer suggestions. Besides comprehensive ranges from lots of well known British names – Adnams, Batemans, Fuller’s, Hogs Back, Marston’s, Shepherd Neame, St Peter’s – you’ll find craft brews from Green Jack and local producer Little Brew, unusual imports like France’s Le Brewery, Italy’s Elav and Sweden’s Nils Oscar, and some good Germans like Allgäuer, Andechs, Hellers Kölsch and Tegernsee, all at reasonable prices. The modestly sized space also crams in hundreds of wines and spirits, with a particular strength in unusual gin and sambuca.
National Rail Kentish Town Overground Kentish Town West Underground Camden Town, Kentish Town Cycling LCN+ 6A
 The Assembly House, London NW5. Pic: Wikimedia Commons. London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
North London: Kentish Town and Tufnell Park
Contemporary pub (Greene King) Regional Heritage Pub
292 Kentish Town Road NW5 2TG
T 020 7485 2031 w www.assemblyhouse.co.uk f AssemblyHouseKentishTown tw assemblyhouse2
Open 1200-2300 (2400 Fri-Sat, 2230 Sun). Children welcome until early evening.
Cask beer 5 (Greene King, up to 4 sometimes unusual guests) Cask Marque, Other beer 2 keg, 2 bottles, Also 1 real cider, some single malts, cocktails.
Food Extensive enhanced pub grub menu, Outdoor 1 table on street, Wifi. Disabled toilet.
Sun jazz, Barcraft, occasional big screen sport, functions.
New national brewery Greene King must have noticed it faces something of a credibility gap with younger and more adventurous drinkers, and is attempting to deal with it in corners of its pub estate by soft pedalling on its core brands. For example the brewer has been careful to retain the separate identities and guest beer policies of the Capital and Realpubs chains since it took them over. The Assembly House is a pub in GK’s mainstream estate, but since reopening after a lavish refurbishment in June 2011, it’s been curiously coy about displaying the branding on site or online, and seems to have phased out the beers other than a sole handpump dedicated to Greene King IPA.
The other pumps are occupied by beers from established independents like Brain’s and Everards and more unusual visitors like Celt Experience or Mordue from distributors including Beer Rocks, with up to 20 different beers served each month. GK’s own “craft” lager is on keg alongside Staropramen and Blue Moon, and Budvar and Leffe are in the fridge. They’re served up by youthful, enthusiastic and relatively knowledgeable staff under the direction of manager John, who confirms he enjoys one of the least restrictive ordering policies of all GK managed pubs.
This is good news as there have long been other reasons to visit this bulky old landmark pub, not least its proximity to Kentish Town Tube and the Forum music venue. Built in 1898 in Flemish Renaissance style with an imposing corner tourelle commanding the view of Kentish Town Road, it was palatial in its day, and still retains a number of heritage features, most impressively a whole wall full of sumptuous engraved mirrored panels illuminated by a huge skylight in the back bar, a former billiard room. There’s also an original bar back and textured ceiling, set off well by the recent refurb which adds reclaimed furniture and a front bar with a more contemporary feel. The lengthy menu has a few individual touches – parmesan crumbled chicken, tempting salads – along with the usual GK beef and Abbot Ale pie-style fare.
Insider tip. Don’t be surprised to encounter one of the intermittent Barcraft nights, when fans cheer and cry over fantasy video gaming tournaments – a sort of big screen sport for computer geeks. Check the website for more details.
National Rail Underground Kentish Town Cycling Links to LCN+ 6 6A
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Cask  This pioneering new book explains what makes cask beer so special, and explores its past, present and future. Order now from CAMRA Books. Read more here.
London’s Best Beer  The fully updated 3rd edition of my essential award-winning guide to London’s vibrant beer scene is available now from CAMRA Books. Read more here.
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