Historical version 1 of Albion, N1 1HW (view current version)
- 10 Thornhill Road, N1 1HW
- N1 1HW
- thealbion.net
- Address: 10 Thornhill Road, N1 1HW
- Locale: Islington / Barnsbury
- Nearby tube stops: Angel / Highbury and Islington / Caledonian Road
- Bus: 73, 19, etc.. to Angel Tube station or, 153 from Finsbury Park (stops nearby on top of Hemmingford Road) City or 19, 259, 91 from Kings X (stop outside Caledonian Rd. Baths then 10 min walk)
- Website: http://www.thealbion.net/
The Albion
Very popular garden in summer. Strangely like a country pub in the middle of islington. Used to be run by a very grumpy man who barred me once but I think it's been taken over by a faceless brewery now.
This is a very popular hang-out with Islington old-hands, neo-trendies and public school types. Probably quite a safe place to start a fight. However, the garden is quite pleasant in summer and it's a surprisingly good place to meet potential love interests. If you're into wearing tweed and don't want to stand out amid the wood shavings and spittoons of dirty working class pubs, this is a good bet.
Drinks
Hmm. Nice Guinness. Strongbow. Stella. Kronenburg. Best Bitter. Boddingtons. ... didn't pay attention to others. Not cheap, but not horrific. Strongbow was £2.43 a pint in April 2003.
Food
One grubstreeter says that the food is “terrible”, but Kake was actually quite impressed with the steak, which was ordered blue (ie, extra-rare) and actually arrived exactly as ordered. Someone at Simon's birthday drinks said that the sausages were pretty good but the mash was “Smash-like”
View the menu online (although it seems to have the steaks section missing)
Layout
Level access to the front bar. Fairly standard wooden pub chairs and tables, horror carpets, brassy bar, pictures of olde islington on the walls but in one grubstreeter's opinion “generally lacking any kind of atmosphere”. Kake thinks it's not bad at all though.
Through to the back there is a kind of living-room-like room with armchairs and round tables, and a kind of dining-room-like room with two long tables, good for large groups.
The toilets haven't been vandalised enough yet. The ladies' has real taps and a sufficiency of cubicles, hurrah.
Large beer garden with about 20 tables, small beer garden in front.
Lots of seating. Quiet most of the time but sometimes violently crowded.
Nearby Attractions
Good dark dead end opposite if you feel like urinating on a new Jag, basketball court down the road where you can buy bad draw from 14 year old bike thieves. The delights of the Angel.
Pubs nearby
Where to eat nearby afterwards
Anywhere in the Angel
Menelik Ethiopian Restaurant, N1 1EF
[Kigi Turkish Cafe, N1 1BB]?