Welcome back to Vittles Pub Guide week! Earlier this week, we published the first instalment: Jimmy McIntosh’s fully updated guide to central London’s best pubs. Since then, we’ve had guides to West London and South London and East London. Today, we head north. And finally, tomorrow morning we’ll share what Jimmy believes are the 10 best pubs in London! Cheers to Jimmy and to you all for reading.
All entries by Jimmy McIntosh, unless otherwise stated. Artwork by Dan Biddulph. Click here for a reminder of ‘the rules’.
Across all London boroughs, Camden and Islington have the most pubs per capita. Because of this, they are understandably well-represented here – but there’s still plenty of great establishments on the northern reaches of the capital.
The Floirin
The Irish have been a fixture of County Holloway since the 1850s, when a generation moved over to work on London’s railways as navvies. Even more came following the Second World War, and they brought with them a propensity for easygoing, craic-filled public houses. The Floirin might be the finest example of this: a simple, no-frills single room with an abundance of screens and vibes. There’s little by way of Irish memorabilia here – no fake, weathered road signs or nonsensical aphorisms – and it’s all the richer for it. It’s a proper Irish pub, not a themed Disneyland iteration, and in Una Gallagher, the pub possesses the capital’s greatest landlady, someone who without fail will strike up a conversation with you and make sure you’re okay. Needless to say, the Guinness here is exemplary.
The Crown
This tree-lined stretch of Holloway Road is a bit of a forgotten no-man’s land: largely residential or dilapidated save for a scooter repair shop and a couple of fast food restaurants. And then there’s The Crown. From the outside, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s a bit intimidating. An opaque, squat boozer sits at the side of this two-mile-long road, half-hidden by an imposing plane tree. But be brave, head in and you’ll find a superb Irish-adjacent pub brimming with life and laughter. It’s an inn best enjoyed on a winter’s Sunday, when you can nestle into its inviting banquettes for the early kick-off and remain there as the sun goes down and the darts coverage begins. The best pubs put a block on the outside world and make it so that nothing else matters but the here and now. The Crown is one such establishment.
The Traders Inn
Church Street Market off Edgware Road is one of the last great old-school working markets in London. At the end of a gruelling shift, the stallholders all come here to The Traders Inn, a characterful, attractive early Victorian pub that does the simple things well. It’s a place I’ve used many times over the years – including one year having my birthday there – and it still remains a real treat to sit out front and watch the world of Lisson Grove go by. The area, much like Somers Town, is a bit of a curiosity this close to the centre of town. But it’s also an area that’s changing rapidly. The Lord High Admiral, a stunning flat-roofed establishment, was demolished the other year, while not long before that we lost The Exeter Arms, The Marquis of Anglesey and The Brazen Head. Come and see The Traders while you still can.
The Famous Royal Oak
I first visited The Famous Royal Oak in Muswell Hill at the beginning of 2020, on a first date, and for the rest of that year it was to become a symbol to me of the Before Times. I spent a large portion of that first lockdown marooned in a flat nearby. Every afternoon, I’d walk down to the pub and pine for a pint. At night I’d dream of its fleur-de-lis ceiling and red William Morris carpet. I’d plot my first drink at its wood-panelled bar; how I’d move over to the side section of the pub and plonk a pound coin down on the pool table. When lockdown finally lifted, the first thing I did was go back. It was exactly as I had remembered: a proper, cosy local; the interior is half-fisherman’s shack, half-Victorian gin palace. Every time I go back to Muswell Hill I have to pay it a visit, and every time I do I thank the pint gods that I’m able to actually go in.
