The Shaftesbury Tavern, Archway  

The Shaftesbury Tavern had been toddling along for a long time as a standard, unexciting but harmless local's pub before it shut last year. The trouble, we suspected, was the location; somewhere betwixt Archway and Crouch End it wasn't near enough to any major areas to garner enough trade for somewhere so uninspiring. However, it has now been reborn having been taken over by the Remarkable Restaurants group - a team who own a nice gaggle of pubs in east and north London. The turnaround is impressive. Many previously hidden Victorian details have been brought to life; the large rear room has been given some cosy booths and a lovely tiled floor, while the dark wood and bench seating suits a pub like this perfectly. At the bar is an impressive range of ales, along with Czech beer Litovel and the food coming from the kitchen looked great. Service is friendly, if somewhat slow and the clientele was an even mix of ages and creeds. A Monday quiz will hopefully encourage some early week custom (even if it was undersubscribed on our last visit), while the excellent free jukebox might encourage them to come back. Overall, a pub reborn - we wish them success.

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