The White Lion

Mirandola

I remember looking at a room round here in '99 and being very glad to get out. I was a provincial little scaredy cat though.

Ali

Went to check out the new Weatherspoons  at the top of the hill in Muswell Hill.<div><br></div><div>Don a good job of the conversion and have got an amazing amount of usable space. </div><div><br></div><div>London Pride, Doombar around £2.50 a pint, it has got an open kitchen, outside space and fire in an unusual position.</div><div><br></div><div>Mixed " middle aged middle  class" clientèle along with quite a  few younger folks.</div><div><br></div><div>Very very different from WLM.  I wonder wheer the ex locals regulars are now going?</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br><div><br></div><div><br></div></div>

Arkady

<font face="Arial, Verdana"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal;">A history of Wetherspoon's in London - I think there might be one or two errors here!</span></font><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><br></div><div><font face="Arial, Verdana"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px; line-height: normal;">http://londonist.com/2016/02/meet-mr-wetherspoon-the-man-who-made-150-london-pubs</span></font><br></div>;

Arkady

Reopens 4th of March.

krappyrubsnif

Stool booked

NorthNineteen

So no longer 2nd March?<br><br>Poked my head in the other day, amazing how big the space feels now they taken down a few walls<br>

Arkady

There's a big sign outside saying the 4th. I wonder whether they might soft-open earlier. Friday is a brave time to open.

NorthNineteen

Good point!<br>

CityOfSin

They must be working flat out to get it all finished.<div><br></div><div>Arkady - Soft openings are more for restaurants surely? Though I imagine they'll be doing some sort of discount on food in the first few weeks - they'd be daft not to.</div><div><br></div><div>Anyone worked out where the old WLM crowd have gone to? Park Tavern seems a little busier.</div>

Ali

<p>Spotted some of the old regulars  in the Devonshire in Crouch End a couple of Fridays ago.</p><p>I wonder what the beer pricing is going to be?</p>

south_to_north

@ali I think it's fair to say it'll be pricier than wetherspoons :P

CityOfSin

I imagine they'll have done their research and it will be in line with places like The Stapleton, The World's End - i.e. Pretty standard for Zone 2 but pricey enough for people to whinge about...

Ali

Stapleton  beer seems  to be £4.20 a pint and £3.50 for GreenKing IPA

south_to_north

Shame really..... Having so many pubs in close proximity essentially catering to the same clientele means they're just going to leach eachother's custom. If I were the manager of the Stapleton especially I would be worried by this.... The world's end and the old dairy will be fine I imagine.

NorthNineteen

Or if they go down the craft route then will impact Hopsmiths.  WB Yeats is another one that may be wary.<br><br>There really are so many similar pubs.  Good for a pub crawl<br>

CityOfSin

Don't pubs cater for the same clientele generally? I'd say the pubs in the area attract a pretty mixed crowd and the prices reflect that.

krappyrubsnif

@N19 Are you offering to design the definitive N4 pub crawl?

south_to_north

I think the old dairy, the faltering fullback, the twelve pins, the hopsmiths and the park tavern all appeal to slightly different crowds. I've been to all, but I frequent some more than others depending on what I'm feeling. Would just be good if the new white lion were to provide a distinctive enough experience compared to the old dairy, the world's end and the Stapleton - which seem like they're aiming for the same feel and are in very close proximity. A Sam smith's kind of pub, traditional and unpretentious, would be great. I'm not going to whinge about it though. We are really lucky to such a good selection of pubs in the area.

south_to_north

Either that.... Or a pub that does really exceptional food. Something like the St. John's tavern near archway would be amazing - but that place is a rare gem.

NorthNineteen

The food is supposed to be good at the Wheatsheef (another Urban pub) so hopefully.  I agree someone with good food would be ideal, Old Dairy is always a little disappointing.<br>

Sutent

There is no where to have a boogy in Stroud Green that is open late since Chapter 1 closed down. That would offer something different

south_to_north

@stutent Silver bullet can be good for that - depending if you like the music on the night....

NorthNineteen

I had a mostly fun evening a few weeks ago in Silver Bullet, interestin group of people.  The live hiphop was excellent.<br>

Papa

I think I paid £5.60 for a pint in the Old Dairy the other day.<div>Contactless, so couldn't check. Just walked away thinking 'did I just do that?'</div>

NorthNineteen

I notice Urban Pubs are also taking over The Gate in Higbury and the Royal Oak in Harlesden (they have the amazing Justin Robertson djing at the opening party)<br>

gardener-joe

...

quince

Was it Beavertown Neck Oil?  That seems to be the most 'reassuringly expensive' beer around at the moment.  Think I paid at least £6 for a pint at the (v nice) Charles Lamb in Angel recently.<div><br></div><div><br></div>

Arkady

That's my favourite beer by some margin at the moment.

south_to_north

Jesus.... 6 quid a pint is excessive, and has little to do with the beer itself. At the Bedford it's under a fiver, and at blighty coffee you can buy 450ml for 3 quid!

south_to_north

@gardener-joe Not to let this get too academic and arsey - as we are only talking about pubs after all - but that implies that the service offered by each pub is homogenous - which at the moment they are not. If however the new white lion is like a clone of the old dairy (which was done up by the same company after all) then we could see an impact on prices, or they will just choose to stock different beers (I worked at a pub for a couple of years and often the latter was the desired approach)