Speaking of High Barnet, as I was, it does have one pub gem, and some decent parkland beneath the M25. Sadly its classic sloping pitch at Underhill was vacated a few years ago in favour of a dull modern ground in Edgware. Some people never learn from Yeovil.
The tube at High Barnet is probably its biggest asset, though it has managed to cling on to the Mitre, one of the classic London coaching inns. Occasionally you have to grit your teeth and revisit an old favourite when a town hasn’t had a new GBG pub for years, and the Mitre lures you in with its classic windows and promise of professional drinkers.
Mrs RM immediately found the seat nearest to the furnace and began to complain about lack of Wi-Fi, rather than lack of beermats.
The place was pretty packed by 7pm, and a fair bit of ale was being drunk, by a larger range of customers than you often see in London. It was 1995 when I first came here, and the beer range is as traditional now as it was then. Punk IPA on tap is the only sign we’re in a craft world now.
The chap before me ordered the Landlord, so obviously I followed his lead. The huge head on that pint is probably a giveaway. Mrs RM rated it very highly (NBSS 4) but she may be over-generous.
For a town pub, there was good banter between staff and punters;
“Pint and a half of Abbot”
“In the same glass mate ?”
Chap pretends to ask his friend if that’s OK. “No, two glasses please”
The views out the windows aren’t, perhaps, quite as stellar, but this reminds me a bit of the Holly Bush in Hampstead, though I suspect that’s more food-driven now that Fullers have it.
QUIZ TIME – One of the other pubs in town has the oddest opening hours I’ve seen in ages – which is it and what’s a possible explanation ?
retiredmartin 
For the quiz, I’m going to enter my answer as the White Lion, which opens at 15:00 on Tuesdays. The reason will be that the landlord has his weekly knitting club on a Tuesday lunchtime and the landlady chess practice, hence they can’t open the pub.
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The reason could be right, but the pub is wrong. Just checking my facts,it’s even more bizarre.
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King’s Head then. It presumably closes at lunchtimes due to high demand, most likely from the trouble causers as the nearby secretarial college who have been barred from the magnificent Mitre.
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Brilliant. But 1-2 closure – do they stand outside and then come back in ?
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The Lord Nelson in Barnet is a great old-school Youngs boozer, an archetypal CAMRA “back street local”. I’m surprised it survives, tbh.
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Yes it’s very good, but getting my wife to walk 15 mins off High St wasnt on. Thought there was a McMullen place nearby too in recent GBG.
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I had a good pub crawl round High Barnet and New Barnet on the 8th May 2004.
I did 17 pubs in the area and got 6 McMullens tied houses done,the Lord Nelson was a Greene King tied house those days.
A great shame about Underhill going,you could see it when arriving on the tube and there were two McMullens tied houses close to it.
As you know i avoid chippys in London,so i got a beef bake from Greggs on the high street,it was so hot i put it into my carrier bag and did a pub while it cooled down a bit.
My favourite pub on that crawl was the Olde Monken Holt just to the North of the town centre.
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You’re right, there were two McMullen house next to Underhill. I remember the Monken Holt; didn’t there used to be a Spoons ?
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Yes there was Martin,
It was called The Moon Under Water and was in the middle of the town centre.
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The Mitre – definitely in my top 5 of pre-football pubs.
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I’d agree, shame there’s no football there anymore (unless you walk to the new ground !).
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Much as I enjoy my team’s rise up the leagues, the Conference and League 2 did offer some cracking pubs.
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