No posts yesterday as I was taking delivery of the bumper Christmas edition of Ullage (or Inflammable Material as SLF would have it) from Newbury Tim. In Hammersmith. Everyone needs an excuse for falling behind on their blog.
The next stop was my last tick in North London, and one of the best micro pubs I’ve been in. Ever. And no, that’s not damning with faint praise.
A very rare excursion into Winchmore Hill, aka Enfield aka Green Dragon Lane.
As always in North London, it was raining. It rarely rains in Manchester, you know.
It takes 0.275 seconds to sweep a micro for clues as to the style. The Dragon is “cosy and welcoming“.
Something for everyone, including people who insist on sitting on beer barrels.
And while some micros can look a little samey and sterile, this was “busy” and lived-in.
“I like a bit of mess !” I said to the owner, a little too enthusiastically.
Truth is, I was willing this one to be good.
“Ooh look, you’re on the front cover of that CAMRA thingy” I said, inviting Mr Dragon (Richard) to tell me he was London Pub of the Year.
Which when you think of the competition in Dulwich and Covent Garden and Borough is some achievement.
So was their beer good ? It really was, the Signature Brew from a few miles east in Leyton being beautifully cool and complex (NBSS 4). I told Richard (our owner) it was good, too.
The absence of notes from the day is telling. Richard was chatty and candid, and seemed to understand my reticence to embrace micros that make a point of telling you what you can’t do. The Dragon felt a real community gem.
It’s even open lunchtime on Christmas Day, just like Proper Pubs should be !
retiredmartin 
Isn’t Richard the guy who did a charity bike ride covering every micro then open in Britain a few years back? Must have given him insight into what makes a good one.
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That’s the fella ! Lovely guy, enjoyed talking to him a lot, but it meant I wasn’t taking notes.
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“One of the best micro pubs I’ve been in” – but it must be good to take the London Pub of the Year title when there are so many marvellous Fullers and Sam Smiths pubs he was competing against.
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And street corner locals selling Doom Bar or Courage Best near Staines.
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Comfy settees are fine in your lounge, or in the foyer cum lounge of a nice hotel, but for sitting drinking beer on?
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I agree.
I will,at a push,rest my cumbersome behind on a bar stool but sitting down on a sette drinking a pint just doesn’t seem right.
Like drinking a pint at home.
The ideal drinking position for me is leaning against a bar.
Preferably in a position to scope out the legs on a winsome barmaid.
Sans the missus,of course.
Funnily enough in my local it’s known as the walk of shame when you bring the aul’ doll in for a drink and head off to sit down at a table as normally you’d occupy your usual place at the bar with the lads.
We don’t take the piss as we’ve all been there.
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So much wrong here I really don’t know where to start. If I saw you in a pub I’d take a photo and caption it “SIT DOWN LECHY MAN”. Each to their own. In this world, anyway.
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“Sans the missus,of course”. We might get on perfectly well but it’s a bit much to expect her to like the same pubs as us.
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The Dragon looks a lovely little pub, Martin and a huge improvement on many of the micro’s you have brought to our computer screens. It reminds me of the micro you and Mrs RM took me to, in Ely last year.
With regard to your final comment, which pub will you and Mrs RM be visiting on Christmas Day lunchtime?
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It’s a good comparison with the Ely micro, Paul (Jolly Drayman ?).
All bets are off for Christmas Day. We’re taking our Matt to Stansted Airport on Boxing Day, so not very far.
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An excellent stiff little fingers plug there…duly noted 😉
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“A welcome sight in the rain”
That explains why there’s so many pubs in Ireland. 🙂
“It’s even open lunchtime on Christmas Day, just like Proper Pubs should be !”
I thought that used to be a thing over there? The gents would go down for a pint whilst the ladies finished the prep for the Christmas dinner about 2pm. 🙂
Cheers
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Less pubs open now on Christmas Day. Unless you’ve pre-ordered the £75 3 course lunch !
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The Beacon at Sedgley opens lunchtime on Christmas Day and it’s so so busy that the bar staff give up on the “halves only” rule for the 8% Snowflake.
I’ve never really understood why they make out Snowflake is a strong beer because if a pub’s Mild is 6% then 8% is about right for the Bitter.
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8% is the new 4.5%.
Which pub will you be in on Christmas Day, Paul. Remember, drinking at home kills pubs.
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I usually don’t get to a pub on Christmas Day. It’s the one day a year I cook a proper meal and I must ensure that the carrots and sprouts are done exactly how my wife and daughter like them. ( I don’t risk doing broccoli )
Then I expect it will be the usual New Years Eve with our neighbour suggesting we go to the nearest pub, possibly her only pub visit of the year, but it was okay last time as the five of us were the last to leave. And now they’ve got Banks’s Amber Bitter on.
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