Lord Clyde, Canonbury

Nice pub, decent food & good beer. Unfortunately it seems to have suffered the overspill from The Old Queen�s Head � the Mockey & Cockney �geezers� who enjoy nothing more than a good night�s shouting and the occasional physical interaction with one another, e.g. a punch delivered to the upper part of your friend�s arm. This interaction is often accompanied by the (friendly) use of a derogatory term, e.g. �c**t� or �nonce�, which effectively serves to inspire renewed vigour in the shouting.

If you ever saw yourself as the real-life counterpart to a Guy Richie character, this is the pub for you.

6 Apr 2009 10:43

The Spurstowe Arms, Hackney

This pub has gone severely downhill for two main reasons. Firstly, whilst it�s always served food � which is decent quality but over priced � the old owners were never so pretentious as to cordon off an area for �diners only�. (Remember: you're running a pub, not a restaurant). They maintain this stubbornly even when no one in there is eating.

Secondly, the kind of music they play, and the volume at which it�s played, seem to indicate the owners think they�re running a coke-fuelled bar in the middle of Shoreditch; not a relaxed neighbourhood boozer in a nice part of Hackney. At a guess, I�d say this pub has become a pet project for someone whose dad has far too much money to spend.

23 Mar 2009 16:36