The Alwyne Castle, Islington - pub details

Two dots after the name made me fear the worst. I believe there is only one full time pub sign painter left in the country and the minimalism displayed to the good people of St Pauls Road will not keep him in Witch Hazel for long. The place is so cool it appears to have dispensed with the word 'Castle' all together. 'If you can't work out it is a pub, you are beneath contempt' this approach says to me. Nevertheless, I ventured inside and was pleasantly surprised. It is quite spacious with a comfortable, if eclectic, selection of furniture (i.e. sofas and tables that in no sense go together). All in the modern idiom, of course. I think there were at least two pumped bitters and what seemed a wide selection of other drinks. The point at which I went to get a second round was when the fashionably modern problem of insufficient numbers of bar staff made me wish I carried a hip flask. Didn't try the food as it appeared expensive and I have no doubt black olives and hand peeled unsalted nuts would have dominated th menu. Also, I was not hungry. Beer was well kept. At the front it has a selection of garden furniture bought during the golden age of MFI in the late eighties and not painted since Margaret Thatcher was hounded from office. From there, you can watch the traffic crawl between Highbury Squareabout and the Dalston poundshops.

Not a bad pub.

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BitterShurn - 1 Jun 2009 17:06

I have been going to this pub for years and although it is easy to pass judgment on the Alwyne in one way or another it also remains true that it is astonishingly rare to come across an establishment that manages its standards with such infallible and enduring accuracy and persistence. With an almost other worldly resistance to the passage of time and the inevitable fluctuations in the nature of local demography the Alwyne has succeeded in maintaining such appalling levels of service for such a long time that this has become a source of fascination for many rather than a force of repulsion. Beyond incompetent, uninterested and effectively absent the staff's arrogance and laziness are almost intoxicating in their ability to induce a sense of pure awe in an experienced patron as well as the unsuspecting guest. . Even though bar staff come and go, the customers change, winter rains are replaced by the sweet scents of spring blossom the Alwyne team’s inability to deliver in this very unchallenging job is as certain as the passage of time itself. But, as in life, the closer we look at the Alwyne Castle the more we realise that it is a far greater source of marvel than it seems at first glance. And, once we get a chance to discuss all this directly with them ,as I once have we, find that the world is even more curious than we could have thought as it becomes apparent that there is genuine interest and ambition for success in the hospitality industry lurking behind that bar, behind those eyes; this performance is brought to us by people who are doing what they want to be doing, what they want to succeed in. The mind is then elevated to new heights by the incomprehensible situation it witnesses and that is why I still go back to the Alwyne, every once in a while, just to remind myself of the fact that the world is simply not here for us to understand. Here's to the Alwyne, whatever its significance might be.

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g_dubs - 15 Mar 2009 19:32

Absolutely love this place. The service is still a little slow though the manager told me he's doing some reordering to speed things up soon. I've been going to this pub for a few years now and its come on leaps and bounds. The decor's improved, the beer selection has increased the food is actually pretty damn good. It also helps that the manager seems to have a penchant for hiring fit bar staff which is always a plus. 10 out of 10 for a classic, quirky north london boozer that seems to be going from strength to strength. Hoorah. Oh and thank God they've redone the bogs. They were seriously disgusting before.

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diorchoose - 20 Feb 2009 16:31

The service at the Alwyne is abominable.

Despite the good selection of beers, and above average food, the negligent, rude or just plain incompetent staff really take the biscuit. The worst bar service I've ever experienced and I've been to a lot of pubs/bars/etc.

One instance was priceless - I asked for a top up on my pint, very politely, after being served two thirds of a pint with a massive head. The barmaid topped it up a little but it still wasn't by any means full. I said, can I have the full pint, please? And she stared at me censoriously and said, what you want more? Classic. What a buffoon.

I used to go here all time, was a glutton for punishment. One day I decided not to put up with it anymore. And I suggest you don't either.

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benjah - 15 Dec 2008 15:05

The food's really improved here in the last year. It's still lovely and laid back and a bit off the beaten track from the Upper Street masses. Building work was going on in the loos this week when I was in so, with any luck, they'll be nicer time I go in..

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Anon72 - 25 Oct 2008 11:49

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