See you at the pub: The Nags Head

When you’re in New York, you’re at Nevada Smith’s. When you’ve got money, you’re at Emirates. But where to go while in London? We’re spoilt for choice when it comes to Arsenal pubs in North London, so we’ll try to take you though some of our experiences in our search for the perfect pub.

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The Nags Head
12 Upper Street
London N1 0PQ
Match attended: Stoke v Arsenal, 27 February 2010

Angel is dead in the heart of Islington, so you’d think that it would be the easiest task in the world to find a pub showing an Arsenal match. Apparently untrue when the England-Ireland Six Nations game overlaps with the start of the football. It took us a while, but fifteen minutes into the start of the match, we settled in this narrow, wood-lined pub in the center of Angel. We all know how traumatizing the match was, but did the location make up for it?

Drink selection: Good. Nearly the same drink selection as the Twelve Pins, with the added bonus of a Riesling-Gewurtztraminer as one of the house wines.

Drink price: Fair. Still cheaper by the gold standard of Nevada Smith’s, but not stunningly so.

Screen size and visibility: Good. A large projection screen was pulled down in the back of the pub, and there were several smaller television screens throughout the pub. The size and layout of the pub meant that most people were squished together at tables, meaning that height, thankfully, wasn’t an issue.

Crowd: Fair. Despite the fact that we were the only patrons in full Arsenal regalia, the crowd erupted during the Ramsey tackle and the two subsequent goals. Heartwarming in a way. Also, an old man came by and complimented me on my shirt, so bonus points for that.

Singing: Nope, none.

Location: Fair. Incredibly centrally located, especially for still being solidly in Arsenal turf, but a bit too far from Emirates for our tastes.

Overall rating: Fair. A charming pub, usually really satisfactory for afternoon freelance work (where I am now, in fact), that provides a better Saturday-evening-out ambiance than a Gooner-til-I-die atmosphere, probably due to its just-a-Tube-ride-away proximity from Highbury. Certainly not the worst option in a city full of non-Arsenal pubs.

See you at the pub: The Coach and Horses

When you’re in New York, you’re at Nevada Smith’s. When you’ve got money, you’re at Emirates. But where to go while in London? We’re spoilt for choice when it comes to Arsenal pubs in North London, so we’ll try to take you though some of our experiences in our search for the perfect pub.

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The Coach and Horses
178 Stoke Newington High Street
London N16 7JL

Match attended: Porto v Arsenal, 17th February 2010

To be fair to the Coach and Horses, this was not a typical match; due to a particular concurrence of work and recently-dumped friends, I found myself alone at a Stoke Newington pub to “get work done” while watching the game. Unsurprisingly work fell by the wayside, but not just due to Arsenal-related distraction…

Drink selection: Good. Though I spent the match teetotal (or to be literal, tea-total--hohoho), past memory serves to show that the drinks options are wide enough.

Drink price: Fair. There’s cheaper, but not by much.

Screen size and visibility: Poor. Sitting at the back couch – the only real option available to a solo viewer — meant that the screen, though medium-sized, was continually blocked by: the Thai waitress, an Arsenal supporter in a black hat, a group of hipster girls, and the chav Tottenham supporters who decided to sit across from me and talk loudly throughout the whole match.

Crowd: Poor. There was a small clutch of Arsenal supporters made noticeable by shouts of victory and defeat, but as a whole the crowd was more concerned with drinking and pulling than watching the match.

Singing: Are you kidding?

Location: Good. Close to home, but that clearly doesn’t say much.

Overall rating: Poor. Though usually a great pub for writing or catching up with friends, Arsenal-watching is clearly not its forte. There are other Stoke Newington options that we’ll be checking out in the future in our quest to find the top Arsenal pubs throughout the capital…keep watching for more!

See you at the pub: The Arsenal Tavern

When you’re in New York, you’re at Nevada Smith’s. When you’ve got money, you’re at Emirates. But where to go while in Highbury? We’re spoilt for choice when it comes to Arsenal pubs in North London, so we’ll try to take you though some of our experiences in our search for the perfect pub.


The Arsenal Tavern
175 Blackstock Road
London N4 2JS
Match attended: Bolton v Arsenal, 17th January 2010

When we arrived, there were a few older gentlemen watching the Aston Villa v West Ham match that preceded the main event (all of whom were supporting the Villains, as one should!) There was one out-of-tune man who occasionally launched into random singing, but as the pub filled up with pensioners and families, the atmosphere was primarily one of genteel applause (and the occasional “fuck.”)

Drink selection: Poor. The only cider on tap was Strongbow, and the other beers were all of the generic type: Guinness, Stella, and so on.

Drink price: Good. Two pints were only 5.80, which, if you’re doing math at home, brings you to about the cost of one pint with tip in New York.

Screen size and visibility: Good. A relatively large projection screen took up one wall, with smaller televisions around the pub. The shape of the pub—one large square—made viewing easy, with sightlines available from all tables.

Crowd: Okay. Mostly older gents, with almost no women (excluding the most adorable little girl in the pinstriped away kit—ahh!) who applauded and shouted, but never too loudly.

Singing: Poor. Not even a single off-key “Arsenal FC” was heard.

Location: Good. Ten minutes from the Finsbury Park Tube, not far from either the Gunners or the Twelve Pins.

Overall rating: Okay. Good for watching the match in a more serious way, and good for cheap drinking, but could use with a bit of excitable young blood beyond the toddlers.