The Catcher in the Rye, Finchley Central, N3

Visited 22/05/25 Cask offering of TT LL, Doom Bar and Tribute. Keg range comprised Moretti, Peroni, Guinness, Amstel, Aspall, Neck Oil, Staro, Asahi. Two entrance door venue on main road not far from Finchley Central station. The right-side front entrance takes you into the bare boarded area with the main bar counter which is on back wall facing entrance with a few tall tables in the bay window frontage opposite the bar counter. To the right of the entrance there are a couple of large booth tables on the right-hand wall. There are a couple of steps down into a small, tiled floor area with a few regular tables and chairs. A couple of TV's in this main bar area were showing the cricket absent commentary instead there was a quite high tempo pop soundtrack being banged out on Heart Radio. The left-side front entrance takes you into an area seemingly more geared to diners set on three levels (modest no of steps between each). The back area is carpeted with regular tables and chairs with a sofa either side of a large fire grate with a TV above again showing the cricket. The middle area is a mixture of bare boards and ceramic tiles with a mixture of seating options and providing access to the main bar, good if you know what you want as no taps or pumps on this side. The front part is bare boarded with some ledges and the best seating being tall tables in the windows. There is a small amount of seating at the front, protected from the pavement and road by a small wall. Pleasant enough pub not one for a session, saying that there is a regular Thursday evening quiz!

The ale choice in here was quite good. There was six on, but included the usual suspects of Doom Bar and London Pride. The other four were Jaipur; Redemption Rock the Kasbek; and the By the Horns pair of Stiff Upper Lip and Hopadelic. The Hopadelic was £2.80 a half!! They do food - the fish & chips is £12. On the left is bar cum restaurant area, containing a small bar counter but with no handpumps. I entered into this room, but moved swiftly up a couple of steps on the right to a small room which contained the bit of bar counter that housed the handpumps. There were a couple of tall tables/tall stools in the window bay. Further to the right is an area with large booths with fixed bench seating. I sat in the small room in the middle, which had on the walls some pretentious looking small photographs in large frames leaving too much white space. Personally I don't see why the photos shouldn't be large enough to be able to see properly, but that's just my opinion. There's a bit of seating outside at the front. The beer's good here, with three ales from London microbreweries, but it's mightily expensive. I doubt whether I'll be in here again.

Official site of Catcher In The Rye - www.bestcitypubs.co.uk

Official site of Catcher In The Rye - www.bestcitypubs.co.uk

Dark grey painted interior with little rooms off the main bar.Quiet pub on my visit.Three cask beers inc Old Speckled Hen and Ohanlons -yellowhammer which was ok.Not for me.