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location:
address:
55 Orsman Road London, N1 5RA
phone:
020 7739 6741
nearest stations:
Essex Road 
(1.2Km) - zone 2
Old Street 
(1.2Km) - zone 1
Dalston Kingsland
(1.3Km)
Shoreditch High Street (opens 2010) 
(1.4Km) - zone 2
bus routes:
67, 149, 242, 243, 394 
how to find it:
Not really near to any tube (although that will change when the East London line extension opens), the pub is on a road just off the main Kingsland Road (served by several frequent bus routes) between Liverpool Street/Shoreditch and Dalston, just south of the Grand Union Canal and near a Turkish Mosque with a very tall minaret.
click for directions to The Stag's Head from wherever you areclick here for a larger map
nearby attraction(s):
Geffrye Museum (580m)
The Stag's Head is in many regards a pub of yesteryear . It has an unspoiled tiled Truman's exterior, there are a couple of real ales available on hand pumps, and friendly staff (in what appears to be a family-run pub), and drinks are offered at very reasonable prices. The furnishings clearly have been in place a while - there are some quite splendid high-backed wooden benches the likes of which we haven't seen for ages, and a darts board (with electronic chalkboard), jukebox and pool table provide traditional pub entertainment, while a pub cat prowls around territorially. So, with all this (and a slightly careworn, decayed air that is not entirely disagreeable), where are the punters? Heavens only knows - we were there at peak drinking time one mid-Friday evening, and one bar was empty, while the other one had a handful of (cheerful, sometimes singing) regulars. Somehow the emptiness brought on a sense of gloom as much as nostalgia. Perhaps the slightly out-of-the way location in a rapidly changing neighbourhood is to blame. It's a pity, as we'd like to award the pub a higher rating, so let's hope management succeed in rolling out the barrel and bringing in some cheer.
04/04/2008
real ales
pool table
darts
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