THE CHARLES LAMB

One of North London’s most charmingly eccentric freehouses, the Charles Lamb is a London local with a hint of Gallic exuberance that marks it out from the crowd. The owner Camille has family ties to Brittany, and the food menu at her cosy corner pub is a joyous celebration of the Entente Cordiale. Locals flock here after work for hearty British snackables and French treats like pork rillettes with cornichons and toast. Hell, there are even a few Spanish delicacies thrown in for good measure.

Put images of Café Rouge out of your head. You won’t find tricolore beermats or Johnny Halliday on the sound-system, though regulars are happy to join in annual game of boule on Elia St to celebrate Bastille Day. For our money, the mood is more a flashback to the English pubs of the 1950s, with hand-picked posies on the tables and windowsills piled up with old-fashioned board games. Dotted around the walls are eclectic artworks, including a cut-paper depiction of Charles Lamb, the Islington writer and bon viveur who gave his name to the pub and his pen-name to the street outside.

Behind the bar, the Lamb takes full advantage of its freehouse status, serving substantial English real ales and full-flavoured international brews like Californian Sierra Nevada pale ale, Bavarian Konig Ludwig (brewed at the
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang castle) and cloudy Cidre Breton. On warm summer days, patrons drift outside to soak up the afternoon rays from the tables and benches along Elia Street, frequently joined by Mascha, the pub Staffie. It’s one of those pubs where everyone seems to know everyone - the Lamb is as intimate and uncontrived as the beer halls on Upper Street are superficial and townie. Vive la difference!