The Bohemia

Just what North London needed - another craft beer pub masquerading as a gastropub sensation. The Bohemia in London's increasingly precious North Finchley neighborhood initially struck me as yet another pretender to the "elevated pub fare" throne. You know the type: exposed brick, carefully curated beer lists, and servers who can lecture you about hop profiles for hours. Been there, rolled my eyes at that.

But damn it all if The Bohemia hasn't wormed its way into my cynical heart like some sort of gastropub parasite. I fought it, I really did. On my first visit, I walked in ready to skewer another mediocre London pub trying too hard to be special. The problem? They kept undermining my snark with actual competence.

Let's start with their house-brewed beers, because any fool can install some taps and claim craft credentials. The London Brewing Company (which runs this joint) actually knows what they're doing, much to my professional disappointment. Their rotating selection manages to satisfy both the beard-stroking beer aficionados and normal humans who just want a decent pint. The cask ales are kept properly - something apparently beyond the capabilities of half the pubs in London these days.

The food menu had me preparing my finest eye-rolls, until the dishes actually started arriving. Their Sunday roast (which seems to have achieved minor cult status in the area) features a Yorkshire pudding the size of a small car. Normally, this would be purely for Instagram fodder, except - and it pains me to admit this - it's actually good. Like, properly good. The kind of good that makes you forgive the occasional wait for a table during peak hours.

The space itself refuses to conform to my predetermined criticism. Yes, there's the obligatory exposed brick and industrial lighting, but it's balanced by genuinely comfortable seating and an atmosphere that somehow manages to work for both date night and watching the match. The beer garden out back provides a surprisingly pleasant escape from the High Road's endless parade of buses, while the front terrace offers prime people-watching opportunities (if you enjoy watching estate agents power-walk between appointments).

Service walks that fine line between attentive and hovering, though during peak times you might need to deploy some strategic eye contact to secure your next round. They've mastered the art of the meaningful nod - that universal signal between patron and server that says "yes, another pint please" without requiring an actual conversation.

What's particularly infuriating is how they've managed to create a space that works for multiple purposes. Want to bring your dog? Fine. Meeting clients for a casual lunch? Sure. Planning to camp out with your laptop and nurse a single pint for three hours? They'll judge you silently but let you do it. There's even decent live music some evenings, though the regular playlist could use less acoustic covers of songs that weren't good in their original form.

The pricing sits in that sweet spot where you can't quite complain but still feel obligated to mention it to whoever you're with. "Not bad for London, I suppose," you'll find yourself saying, immediately hating yourself for using that phrase. The food costs what you'd expect from a place that knows it's one of the better options in the area, but stops short of taking the mickey.

Look, I didn't want to like The Bohemia. London has enough gastropubs claiming to revolutionize the humble public house. But if you're in North Finchley and in need of somewhere that consistently delivers good food, proper beer, and an atmosphere that won't make you hate humanity, you'll end up here. And despite my best efforts to maintain my professional cynicism, I keep coming back. Just don't tell them I said anything nice about them - I have a reputation to maintain.