Carpenters Arms, Bethnal Green  

Firstly, public lavs are as rare as ligneous equine faeces here in the EastEnd, so if you need to use a pub loo, have the courtesy to tell the barstaff first, otherwise they will rightly assume that you are taking undue advantage of their lavatorial facilities. Secondly, it's a great pub with an excellent selection of ciders, real ales and above all Belgian beers, the latter being a relative rarity once you get past Drury Lane and out east. I haven't eaten there yet but plan to do so one day. It attracts a lively and mixed crowd, specially on Sundays, when the street markets are in full swing and there's a fruit-salad of colourful characters milling around. I tried the place one Friday and had to leave after standing in a dog-leg corridor with a toilet one side and a public payphone the other. I might as well have camped out on the white line down the centre of Oxford St. that night. Otherwise, the staff are friendly enough and the place is always very clean and light, which makes a change around these sombre parts. It's slightly up-market by EastEnd standards, but that means you don't get puddles of sticky beer on the floortiles and no loud drunks. A nice change from the pubs on the Bethnal Green Rd.

As my moniker suggests, I am a mystery shopper conducting customer service evaluations for clients. Our 'welcome' @ The Carpenters Arms this afternoon consisted of a stream of verbal abuse from a close cropped male from behind the safety of the bar. Such was the ferocity of his tirade that my accompanying daughter promptly burst into tears. Our 'crime'? To have the audacity to use the ladies lavatory prior to asking for a bar menu or drink. Hardly the warm East End welcome we had been expecting and little wonder that the bar was deserted apart from two elderly gentlemen on a fine and sunny Spring afternoon, when the place could have been buzzing with people eating, drinking and filling the till. However, with the aggressive and unwarranted bar staff on patrol I cannot see this happening. Needless to say, we did not buy a drink, nor order a meal and my report detailing our shocking and distressing experience will be forwarded to the client.

Dropped into this pub the other day and found it very pleasant; friendly bar staff and customers and good beer. A tight fit, though, as it was so busy.