Shillibeers, 1 Carpenters Mews, Off North Road

The no-man’s-land between Kings Cross and Holloway on the Caledonian Road constitutes a truly desolate area of London. There are no amenities; only grim housing estates and run down business premises punctuated by busy arteries whisking people to places infinitely more interesting. Very few people actually choose to come here. Most head off to Islington to the east or Camden Town to the west to get their thrills. North Road has the highest rate of car crime in the borough and is home to the notorious Market Estate with its armies of psycho teenagers in their familiar tracksuit and Burberry cap uniform. The girls are particularly scary: slicked back pony-tailed Kappa Slappas with pit bull terriers and fake gold jewellery (mmm nice). Shillibeers is quite literally an oasis in amongst this desert of delinquency. It creeps into the website solely on the grounds that it’s the only watering hole within a mile’s radius. It owes its existence to the converted bus factory next door that houses hoards of white-collar workers and students from a technical college looking for daily sustenance. As it is the only centre of life for what seems like miles, it has to meet a variety of needs. First and foremost it is a pub, but at lunchtimes a small adjoining building sells sandwiches, which can be eaten in the pub or taken away. More substantial food is served in the pub itself. On certain nights it stays open until 2am pumping out anything from 70s funk to the latest club anthems. They even hold monthly fetish nights for rubber and PVC ”enthusiasts”. As you might expect, it’s a fairly big place. There are plenty of tables for punters to eat and drink at as well as open areas for drunken cavorting. When you can actually get served at the bar, there’s a good selection of beers, wines and spirits to be had. It’s certainly not like a traditional British pub. I think it feels more American than anything else. The overriding impression is that this is a unique and very peculiar place. It could only exist here.

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