Difficult one this - can't fault the ales, all seem well kept (some exceptionally well kept, others just good), and having 8 on tap should be applauded. And I don't mind the decor or the fact that it looks like it hasn't been cleaned in the last 30 years..all adds to the character

BUT...

Wow, they really don't make you feel welcome. I'm not expecting a night with their daughter, but a simple "Hello" and a slight smile wouldn't be out of the question surely? And call me old fashioned, but when I use "please" and "thank you", it's only polite to follow suit - simple manners cost nothing. They certainly get the Basil Fawlty Award for Outstanding Customer Service...

This is a pub you will either love or hate and I love it. Yes, it is small old-fashioned and poky, so if that is not what yu want, don't go there! Me, I am looking for interesting and unusual real ales to try and second to the Market Porter, this is the best place to find one or two. They look after their beers really well and yoou can tell the really good ones - the locals down them very quickly and they don't stay there for very long!

I went in on Saturday night for the first time in spite of having moved into the area 13 years ago. I now feel like an idiot for not having been in sooner. The music was simply superb. The acoustics somehow let you hear the band perfectly in spite of lots of conversations going on in the packed pub around you. And the band was fantastic. The range of beers is just excellent, very well kept. The pub clearly enjoys the loyalty of a substantial cohort of long-standing regulars. They were easy to spot, just as we must have been as new faces. But there's a good mix with other obvious new faces as well as groups of students who look like they've become shorter-term regulars. Everyone in the place was friendly (with one exception I'll come to in a moment). One older regular, offered his stool to one of the girls I was with, which he didn't need to do but made us feel really welcome.

The place got really rather packed at a number of points during the evening with people having to squeeze past to get to the loo (the bar takes up a big chunk of space in the middle of the room making this inevitable). This wasn't a problem, though, just some friendly dosey-do-ing as people occasionally rippled by. Until, that is, I got a really aggressive shove in the back. One of the girls with me gave me a bemused look and shrugged her shoulders (mr Shove had apparently given her the evils on his way by) next thing we knew he'd turned back to bark at her 'i'm a regular, know what I mean!'. This was totally uncalled as no one but him had done anything rude or disrespectful. He was just a bit drunk and very angry. Having been to the loo, he came back, this time to have his way blocked by some young guys that had just arrived. He stood there giving them major evils but they, thankfully didn't notice. She tried to be nice as he passed back through but he just gave another aggressive response. Guess there's always one! It really was one though. Everyone else was great.

I visited Wenlock Arms with a couple of friends as I had been aware of it for a number of years but never managed to actually get there. We arrived at the end of the lunchtime period. What a disappointment. Carpet filthy, toilets filthy, smokey atmosphere and to cap it all a welcome from the barmaid/landlady that wouldn't have been out of place in a Siberian Gulag.



We were there for the beer and tried a number of them, all of which were in perfect condition. Just a pity the same couldn't be said for the rest of the experience.

The Wenlock Arms is a great starting point for a night out, or on a pub crawl from Angel down to Spitalfields. With a wide selection of beers and a great atmosphere – my friends and I end up at The Wenlock Arms at some point most weekends!

Wenlock Arms is a wicked place, with an amazingly friendly atmosphere and a lovely little park right next to it to play a bit of football or cricket. Wenlock Arms is relly wicked for a nice quite drink, and some nice cool chill out music too.