Stop by the Lodge

A little over a decade ago, I was one of many who applauded the arrival of All Bar One on the high street. They were the multiple retailers' riposte to the growing worlds of gastropubs and style bars. I make no apologies for what now looks like misplaced enthusiasm for the mundane - you have to remember that they were new, innovative and - gulp - a refreshing change.

By the mid- to late-Nineties, I suggested to Bass - the then owners of All Bar One - that they really should be considering an All Bar Two, or some other such progression of the genre. I think they giggled at my audacity. Anyway, despite their popularity in business districts, one by one All Bar Ones began to disappear from residential areas. I hate it when I'm right.

Keston Lodge - a name that sounds like it belongs to a service station on the M25 - has taken the place of one of Islington's two All Bar Ones and opened just before Christmas. New owner Dan Crouch has attempted to move the place away from its ABO past, and spray-paint graffiti - so Seventies - on the floor-to-ceiling concertina windows is the external sign of these changes.

Set over two floors, the raw, industrial interior of the ground floor has been softened by the inclusion of caramelcoloured leather sofas and chairs. The upstairs bar seems to be trying to work as a restaurant - many tables sported 'reserved' signs (tables were still vacant more than an hour after the hour booked), yet punters still had to run up and down the stairs to order drinks.

And therein lies the problem: the place is woefully understaffed and by people who look as though they wish they were elsewhere. This aside, the atmosphere (on each of my two visits) was one of an exuberant, student union bar where grown-up (but not that grown-up) folk might have been holding their annual reunion. DJs on weekend evenings keep the atmosphere pumping, and there is evidence from flyers that live bands occasionally perform here. Late weekend licences are promised.

The drinks aren't up to much. Pedestrian draught lagers in the form of Stella Artois, Staropramen, Carling and Grolsch are offered, and the bottled selection includes the extremely palatable Budweiser Budvar. A short wine list serves its purpose, and there is a cocktail list that should appeal to an untrained palate.

The bars on Upper Street aren't renowned for culinary excellence, but if it's no-nonsense, plain and simple, school dinner-style food you're after, Keston Lodge has some interesting plates. The weekend brunch menu has the delights of Eggs Benedict (£5.50), or a yummy full English breakfast for just £7.50. The rest of the week's offerings include fabulous square pies with chips or mash, peas and gravy for £7.

I will happily go back the next time I find the need to visit Islington. Keston Lodge might be an All Bar One in all bar name, but it is a fun venue with hints of opportunity. It is trying, and marginally succeeding, to be a cut above the other humdrum venues on the Miserable Mile - otherwise known as Upper Street.

Keston Lodge
131 Upper Street, N1 1QP