The Stag's Head, Hoxton  

Our last visit to the Stag's Head revealed a pub towards the end of its current life. Devoid of all but a few older regulars, it was a testament to a way of life virtually gone now. However, things have changed somewhat. It is still in many ways a pub of yesteryear. It has an unspoiled tiled Truman's exterior (spot the old off licence window) 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. Meanwhile a pub cat sleeps on a radiator, oblivious to the kerfuffle taking place around it. So, with this backdrop and a slightly careworn, decayed air that is not entirely disagreeable, it has in fact become a pub aimed squarely at a younger crowd. Our visit coincided with a record launch, while film and quiz nights fill the place with a cross section of younger, fashionable Hackney residents throughout the week. The drink selection was average, and the second room seems under-utilised, but this is a pub given a new lease of life, without destroying the best of what was already here. Interestingly, we also caught the tail end of a film shoot in the pub. It was used as a location for a new film and had been kitted out to look like the Grave Maurice in Whitechapel, which once upon a time has an interior as impressive as this, before someone decided to gut the place. It goes to show how rare pub interiors like this are now.

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