Courage Best & Directors; Greene King Abbot & Old Speckled Hen; guest beer, real cider
A busy Wetherspoon pub which is a beacon for real ale in the area. A former North London Branch Pub of the Season and regular GBG entry. About 5 mins from the station. Lots of good value restaurants nearby as an alternative to the Spoons fare. It offers a children's menu (last orders 17.00) and family food area, included in the large non-smoking area.
Cricklewood falls part into North London Branch and part into Enfield and Barnet. So while The Beaten Docket offers real ale to North London, other outlets have been less helpful to Barnet folk. All that changes now with the recent introduction of cask beer in the pub that was immortalised in the song McAlpines Fusiliers by Dominic Behan. A hugely imposing, landmark Grade II listed Victorian pub built by the Cannon brewery in 1889, it is now owned by Irish entrepreneur Tom Moran's Moran Hotels. This has seen the pub undergo a massive refurbishment with plentiful use of wood, on floor and wall, mirrors, new lighting, and the usual comfy chairs. In this it very much reflects the changes taking place in the area and the diminution in membership of those said Fusiliers. Following this, a 116 room hotel has been built on an adjacent site and linked to the pub through an impressive glass and steel atrium. This area leads into what might be termed the "hotel side bar", albeit open to all, where handpumps have just appeared. The availability of the beer is though not so well advertised in the "pub side bars". One assumes the handpumps have been installed in just one bar as the area where demand might be deemed greater but lets all encourage this new outlet - a pub once again selling the real stuff. Full details can be found at www.crownmoranhotel.co.uk.
One of three former Taylor Walker outlets which used to dominate the local pub scene. Following a period of closure, it has re-opened as a pub-cum-Caribbean-restaurant. It is owned and operated by DJ’s Caribbean Limited trading as Heritage Inn. Save for some minor redecoration, the interior has been retained as it was at the time of closure, including the two-bar layout. Obviously, keg-only. Most likely owned and operated by the same people as the former Heritage Inn down the road, which is now owned by McGowans.
As the pub sign shows, previously the St James's Gate and before that Hole in the Wall. Formerly this was a bank. One of McGowan's Irish bars (see www.irishbars.co.uk) which has recently seen the light and installed real ale, IPA at £1.49 in June 09.
Formerly Heritage Inn, St James Gate, Hole in the Wall, Finbars
One of McGowan's Irish bars (see www.irishbars.co.uk) which has recently installed handpumps to sell real ale, the IPA at a very favourable price (£1.49 June 09). Diagonally opposite Willesden Green tube.
The local Conservative Association coffers likely did well out of this conversion of a part of their premises opposite Willesden Green tube. The front terrace (with gas heaters) proved a busy spot in summer and there's a restaurant at the back. .
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