So after a 3 weeks break over Christmas, my first 100-pub visit in 2011 was the Island Queen is Islington.  That is not to say I didn’t consumerany adult-beverages or visit any boozer establishments over the holidays.  But The Island Queen was the first blog-worthy pub.

I wasn’t intending it to be a pub visit night, or a pub visit week for that matter.  But when Prem called and said we should grab a beer, and said he knew a place I would love, I couldn’t say no.

Like many of the best historic pubs in London, The Island Queen seems to be recently restored and it has a certain period boozer charm.  A few chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, floor-to-ceiling windows up front, and plenty of dark wood gives this place plenty of personality.

I had two pints, the first a decent dark porter called Black Horse Porter from the White Horse brewery.  The taste of this porter is superb, rich roasted malts give real depth and body to the beer whilst there is a nice hint of dark fruits which add a little tartness without making the beer in anyway fruity or overly sweet. There is a long dry finish and a really surprising kick of hops which really makes this porter sin.  The other was Czech beer called Kozel, a fine lager that will go well with masala peanuts (now only if I can find a place that server both).  The two pints ran me about £6, and the walk to The Island Queen was a little wet.  A perfect way to begin the new year for a beer drinker in London!

I figured I should spend a little more time visiting pubs in the local area.  Also, I’m lazy and don’t want to spend £4-5 to travel to a pub in other parts of London.  So these excuses, and the fact that I was walking by it on the way home, compelled me to stop at The Famous Cock.   The pub is on the corner of Holloway Road and Upper St, right by the Highbury & Islington Underground station.   I’ve walked by it several times and always peered in cautiously.  A sign about a beer garden in the back seemed inviting, but it is very obviously a home for football (Arsenal) fans, as the pub is always advertising upcoming games.

It was a rare sunny Wednesday afternoon in London and I was walking back home from Angel and I stopped in at a whim.  The pub was calm, because of the lack of a football game that day and the fact that it was about 330pm in the middle of the week.   Some easy, adult contemporary rock music was playing from the jukebox and the few flat-screen TVs were tuned to Sky Sports.  There was just a single bar man attending to about a dozen people bar tabs, serving food, clearing up, and generally looking over worked!

There selection of beers included a pretty generic British ales and the imports.  I got a pint of Young’s bitter for £3.45, so the places isn’t cheap.   But it is fine local establishment to visit, when nothing exciting is going on.