Intrepid Fox, Bloomsbury  

When Goth and rocker hangout the Intrepid Fox closed its doors in 2006 (a victim of a calculated M&B pub cull) we thought it was the end for this Soho institution. But then we discovered that it moved - lock, stock and barrel - to a new venue in Tottenham Court Road, having taken over the under-performing Conservatory bar. Ugly as sin from the outside, inside you'd think the place had been there for years. Tunes are of the hard rock variety while piercings and tattoos abound. The trip down to the loo was covered in death metal posters and don't be surprised when they draw a pentangle in your Guinness. We heard ties are a no-no if you want serving, and indeed a couple of besuited types at the bar were very much tie-less. It made us wonder if that meant Angus or Nick wouldn't get a pint, so we donned our best gothic apparel - complete with black tie - and had no problems; it seems it's not necessarily what you wear, but how you wear it. Anyway, if anything, the increase in space has made this a better place to drink than the original and it seems that the Intrepid Fox MK2 has a bright (well, dark) future.

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