Old Fountain, Old Street, EC1

The previous two reviewers describe my visit last night well: cask very much seems to take a backseat now, with just three on offer, all pale and none terribly uplifting, with Kirkstall Pale Ale, fine but bland, one 'tropical' brew from Oakham and something even less memorable. Customers are indeed young, possibly students from where I know not. Not a bad place, but the disappointing cask lineup means it's no longer the go-to destination it once was.

Am ashamed to say this was my first time back in here since the pandemic and fair to say it’s not the Real Ale mecca it once was, but it is still a very decent pub. The two ale pumps on the front bar section now sit forlornly unclipped and you have to go to the back bar section to find the remaining five pumps and a large chalk board detailing the more extensive list of some 14 craft keg options available. There were four ales and a cider on the five pumps for our visit, and these included Kirkstall brewery Three Swords Pale Ale, Iron pier Rosherville Red Ale and JW Lees Stout and I can’t remember the fourth. The pub was reassuringly busy on this Thursday evening and its fair to say that most were of a younger demographic than us and they were much more interested in the craft keg options.

Visited for the first time in quite a few years, and was quite disappointed. I was hoping to find the selection of 8 or 10 beers that I remembered and found only 2 cask beers alongside a selection of craft keg.The Northdown Bitter Seas best bitter was quite acceptable (£5.80 a pint), but the choice of that or Oakham Citra wasn't what I was looking for.

Backstreet pub with entrances from both Baldwin Street and Peerless Street. Entering from Baldwin Street, you find yourself in the lower room, where the bar has 2 or 3 handpulls. Some were clipped on my visit, but service is from the upper bar where thirsty drinkers were queueing 2 or 3 deep on Wednesday evening. Beers are listed on a blackboard next to the bar. There is a good range of both real ales and craft beer, along with a real cider too. Ales were Utopian Bow English IPA, Drop Project Choppy, Sambrook's Drop Kick, Oakham Citra & Thornbridge Lord Marples. The cider was Oliver's Dry, whilst craft beers were Brew York Fizzy Watermelons & Nightmare of Brew York 2022, Brew York/SALT Hopbusters, Hackney Boogie Van, Polly's Floret, a beer from The Kernel (which said check with bar staff to discover which!), Yeastie Boys/Utopian New Zealand IPA, Iron Pier Cast Iron Stout, Siren Suspended In Eldorado & Howling Hops Top Crop. When quiet, it's a nice, relaxing place to visit. This time, it was much busier and I headed upstairs to the roof terrace, where our group had a table booked. Patio heaters make sure you're still kept warm in the winter and there was much more space for us. Still one of the best, if not the best real ale pubs in the City and worth seeking out if you don't know about it.