The Open Guide to London: the free London guide - Differences between Version 7 and Version 6 of Albion, N1 1HW

Version 7 Version 6
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[http://www.thealbion.net/Menu/menu.htm View the menu online] (although it seems to have the steaks section missing)
[http://www.thealbion.net/menu.htm View the menu online] (although it seems to have the steaks section missing)
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== Line 49 == == Line 51 ==
category='Pub Food,Pubs,Steak'
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category='Pub Food,Pubs'
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host='213.152.57.251'

  • 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)

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”

An anonymous contributor writes: I went to this pub last Sunday (22nd June 2003) with memories of the nice beer garden. The beer garden is nice. However, the food and the service is appalling. The food is essentially wholesale, catering-style ready meals that are heated to order - tasteless, synthetic, revolting (check out the menu on the website - http://www.thealbion.net/Menu/menu.htm - look like freshly prepared food to you?). The service at the bar was unfriendly and incompetent and the waiters seemed happy to let everyone's used dishes sit on the table for 45 minutes until we decided to take them back to the kitchen for them.

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



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