Sir Richard Steele has curious look

This pub's a big old rangy place that is very possibly the template for all those London pubs furnished with curios and knickknacks (or what could easily be described as 'junk' by some).

Even without the toy carts and animal heads looming down over you, there's also a large old-master style fresco on the ceiling to take in, with some of the notable regulars forever immortalised in paint.

Aside from the decoration this is still a noteworthy pub with Thai food on offer, a beer garden for the summer and a piano in the corner for any impromptu sing-a-longs; perhaps fittingly, the sheet music for quite a variety of music hall tunes hangs on the wall. This one offers up a more traditional pub experience than the more loungey bars nearby, and its temperament, clientele and furnishings add up to one of North London's more idiosyncratic boozers.

CLIENTELE: young and old locals
NEAREST STATION: Chalk Farm station
FEATURES: live music, outdoor seating, comedy nights

Sir Richard Steele
97 Haverstock Hill, NW3 4RL