The Alwyne , Highbury  

For a long time, The Alwyne Castle was a pretty average boozer - mostly serving the nearby estates and Arsenal fans on match days, but it eventually got a makeover and it's been gastrofied for a while now. It was inevitable, we guess, and the mostly young clientele seem to like it that way. You'll recognise it as a fairly typical 21st century conversion: polished wood floor, comfy sofas, gastropub menu. But that said, it has kept the great fireplace and mercifully decided against polished chrome fittings. It's probably a sign of the times that what we'd have thought was paying over the odds for a meal a few years ago now seems a bargain. How things change. The service is friendly enough, albeit sometimes pitifully slow, and there are a couple of ales on tap, along with a good choice of lager. It's a big place, with three large rooms, including a conservatory, but the uncomfortably laid-out furniture can make it feel awkward and getting a bit of space for you and your friends can be trying at times. It is more relaxed earlier in the week, while Saturday night can find it verging on uncomfortably full; and on match days you'll find the pub absolutely heaving and your drink will come in a plastic, not a glass.

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