Shillibeer's, Holloway  

Shillibeer's is an excellent reuse of the Victorian architecture that was once part of the London General bus garage complex, Shillibeer's (named after the man who introduced horse-drawn omnibuses to London, after 'borrowing' the idea from the Parisians) is a pretty decent bar/restaurant. The choice of beer isn't exceptional, there's only one hand pump (although it is Old Peculiar), but it will do and the wine list isn't bad at all. There is a focus on food and again this is decent enough, but you won't get the Sunday supplements raving about it and it is served most of the day. It's a comfortable enough place, but it's big, with high ceilings and the capacity for hundreds of people, so on quiet days you do feel it's deserted. The clientele is a bit of mixed bag: Shillibeer's is a little out of the way, so you only really get people who are visiting here for a specific reason - eg going to the theatre or an office do (parties catered for up to 280) and the occasional local inhabitant. If you're not in these groups, it's hard to think of a reason to make the trip up here. In Covent Garden this place would go down a storm, but in the wilds of Holloway it's got a difficult job to do.

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