Doyle’s Tavern

Just what London needs - another pub with delusions of authenticity. Doyle's Tavern sits there on Caledonian Road, directly across from Pentonville Prison, like some kind of boozy consolation prize for those who've just visited their incarcerated relatives. And yet, against my better judgment and every cynical bone in my body, I find myself reluctantly charmed by the place.

Let's address the elephant in the room - this is a London pub that's actually managed to stay afloat for over 30 years under the same family. In our age of corporate buyouts and gastropub makeovers, that's about as rare as finding a reasonable rent in Zone 1. The Doyle family has somehow managed to preserve what makes a proper pub proper, without succumbing to the temptation to install Edison bulbs and start serving deconstructed fish and chips on slate tiles.

The interior is refreshingly unpretentious, with a horseshoe-shaped bar that wraps around like a warm, boozy hug. Yes, there's the obligatory signed Arsenal shirt on the wall (it's North London, what did you expect?), but it's from the 1971 double-winning team, so I'll begrudgingly allow it. The original Charrington's back bar remains intact - a pleasant surprise in a city where "original features" usually means "we kept one brick and built a Pret around it."

Here's where things get interesting: Doyle's Tavern in London has managed to maintain that increasingly endangered species - a genuine pool table. Not shoved in some dimly lit corner as an afterthought, mind you, but given proper space and respect. There are even dartboards that actually get used for, wait for it, playing darts. Not as Instagram backdrops. Revolutionary, I know.

The beer selection won't win any craft brewing awards, but that's entirely beside the point. Sometimes you just want a properly pulled pint of Pravha for under a fiver, not a triple-hopped experimental IPA that costs as much as your monthly phone bill. The staff actually seem to enjoy their jobs (a concept so foreign in London hospitality that it initially made me suspicious), and they pour with the kind of efficiency that comes from experience rather than a weekend training course in "beverage artistry."

The courtyard beer garden is another pleasant surprise. It's not trying to be the hanging gardens of Babylon - just a sunny spot where you can enjoy your pint without having to dodge cyclists or inhale bus fumes. In summer, it apparently "blooms," which I initially assumed was pub-speak for "we put out some plastic flowers," but no - actual, living plants. In London. Miraculous.

Entertainment here is refreshingly straightforward. Live bands, DJ sets, and disco-karaoke on weekends. No silent discos, no craft gin tastings, no mindfulness workshops - just honest-to-goodness pub entertainment that doesn't require an app download or a PhD in mixology to enjoy. They show all the football matches too, though watching Arsenal here might require a stronger constitution than their standard lager offerings.

The location, opposite Her Majesty's least desirable hotel, might raise eyebrows, but it's actually part of the charm. This stretch of the Caledonian Road - "The Cally" to locals who've earned the right to use such diminutives - used to host twenty pubs. Now there are seven. That Doyle's Tavern has survived while others fell speaks volumes about its quality, though I'm loath to admit it.

Let's be clear - if you're seeking London's next hot spot for artisanal sourdough pizzas or Instagram-worthy cocktails served in vintage teapots, you're in the wrong place. But if you're after an increasingly rare specimen - a proper London pub with proper London prices and proper London people - then Doyle's Tavern deserves your custom. It's five minutes from Caledonian Road tube station, though after a few pints you might find it takes considerably longer to walk back.

I hate to say it, but places like this need to survive. In a city racing to reinvent itself every fortnight, Doyle's Tavern in London stands as a testament to getting it right the first time and simply maintaining standards. Go there. Have a pint. Play some pool. Just don't tell them I sent you - I have a reputation to maintain.