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Built into the arches of Waterloo bridge and somewhat hidden in the crevices of cavernous walls is Azzuro, an Italian bar with romantic restaurant with towering bright walls and a heavy transparent glass front. Inside the venue has a few select small tables with oddities like plants strewn in corners at a fireplace.

Towards the back of the venue the small bar sits under a second storey look quite parched with its poor selection of drinks. Two taps dry up within an hour on this Tuesday evening. Further to the back and to the left is an upmarket restaurant but we sit close to the front of the bar and watch pedestrians steam by to catch trains.

Overall a rather overpriced bar but with a lovely atmospheric feel and some continent sourced food. Expect gay couples and schools of foreign teenagers hungry for a bite from the station and realise the character of the plac

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Advertised as a cocktails and lounge bar outside we are told “they are not ready yet” 9although later I find out that this is actually two venues rolled into one and we are seated in the restaurant area. Old people argue in the corner to slow Spanish music while others drink tea. The service is painfully slow, it takes our waiter takes half an hour to serve us and they are eager to snatch back the menus from us quite promptly. The decor is respectable, very bright inside and more like a kitchen showroom than a bar, with a deli counter at the back. It seems to be more staff than residence filling the places as waiters chefs and old folk stand about nattering, blocking walkways and raising the volume. Fake fruits and wines sit in the window as tacky additives. I think what enticed us inside was the seating out front, which apparently was not served by the staff.

Drinking our drinks we notice the waiters watch us too closely and we feel uncomfortable, the smell of olives in the air is one of the few nice touches. I remain unimpressed with no ice for my bottled cider and everything is too expensive- at around 425 a pint. Apparently the venue is part of the Samuel smiths brewery. We leave with the natter of foreign tongues behind us, oh and the rose is misadvertised as blush

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A rather grand pub just a very brisk walk away from Kentish Town tube station, a location that one might assume was just home to small Irish pubs. In fact the Assembly house has very high ceilings with its hall like interior, bright with long windows through which the light is pouring. Inside the venue is only about a third full and its midday on a Saturday so I half expect it to be more full when i walk past later that evening, in fact it isn’t, if anything at around 10pm on a Saturday night it looks just as empty, with a number of old sagging - well used couches and sofas.

The bar and the venue as a whole is large though and if it were any less bright it might be considered Gothic with an ornate ceiling at the back and decorative work on the glass over the bar. The clientele are heading into their 40’s and seem happy as can be, their smiles flashing reflectively in the mirror at the back of the pub. The drinks are well priced and it has that family-run feel about it.

Overall the assembly house is a lot more grand inside than it looks from outside, but few recognise it for its mighty pub feel as younger crowds in the surrounding area head to fancier pubs like the Grand Union, a shame, such a wasted space

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Hidden away on a very narrow street just a short walk from Tottenham Court road station is the rather dangerous looking spanish bar. Inside a pierced tattooed couple cheerily serve a handful of regulars. pints come in at 350 each but theres almost no where to stand or sit. There’s an old vinyl jukebox as the centrepiece playing rock tunes and the occasional pop ballard. There’s also a bar downstairs looking the same as upstairs but with the foul odour of the toilets - some of the worst i’ve seen. (nstead punters remain outside and drink happily in the road, with taxis narrowing sliding behind their behinds as thy teeter on the edge of a tiny pavement.

Overall the spanish bar as a unique character which is fully endorsed by its regulars but its really too small and smelly to lure inside anyone that feels completely happy paying these prices for beer

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A fresh Gastro-pub just before Enfield town, sitting next to a small village parish, one or two old style cobbled narrow lanes with the eye sore of a bus garage opposite. With fair notice from our party before entering we encounter a heavy male population inside, and although there is no advertising on this part, threesomes and foursomes of middle aged men in controversual attire suggests it’s gay. Narrow bottles of alcohol in optics hang behind the bar, in front of a mirror, looking like a poor drinks selection until eyes fall to the fridges which appear well equipped to handle a rush that never comes. Several TVs showing strange MTV style cartoons flicker and buzz with poor reception, all the while boasting a good sound system. The bar is littered with advertising about snacks, an oversized nut dispenser obstructs my view of the kitchen which serves a closed restaurant upstairs. Curiously the venue doesn’t smell like a bar, just the light fresh air received by lungs before entering the dusty streets of enfield. Inside there are only a handful of tables and a narrow walkway so we opt for drinking out front.

Overall the bar respects average prices, with good food but sitting down outside, cheap b&q garden conversation erupts as we become uncomfortable, our chatter interrupted as a man carries a small bald kitten into the pub, we exchange worried glances and take our leave

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