The Three Wishes, Winchmore Hill, N21

Visited 23/06/25 There was a single handpump dispensing Tribute but untested by me preferring the safer Guinness option in a venue where I can’t imagine cask is in much demand. Keg options pretty much as you would anticipate of John Smiths, Carlsberg, Holstein Vier, Guinness, original SB, Fosters, Inch's, Cruz, Moretti and Neck Oil. This is the Winchmore Hill or N21 incarnation of this small N London based chain. A shop conversion, long rectangle from the glass front, carpeted with the bar counter on a narrow-boarded skirt with tall stool seating along the right-hand wall mid venue. There is a fabric banquette around the front window starting to the immediate left of the entrance winding round the left-hand wall to a bit beyond the far end of the bar counter. The banquette serves several two and four person tables with attractive fabric upholstered chairs the other side thereof. There is a fire grate on the left-hand wall beyond the end of the long banquette with then some regular tables and chairs along the wall on that left-hand side. Opposite is a drinking ledge with some tall stools. Plenty of TV's showing the cricket on my visit, no volume with a poppy soundtrack playing. Most of the left-hand wall had that colourful bottle rack set up seen in their other branches. A smoking area out the back. Their venues seem to be doing something a la Loungers venues with their ceiling lighting (lots of hanging bare bulbs in places and lots of frilly shades in other places).

A long and thin building,but furnished in a very traditional way ,with a long velour bench along the left side,with dividers creating the feeling of drinking booths.Large mirrors hang above the seating and it has some character.Towards the rear there is a drinking shelf with stools.There are lots of screens (5) but thankfully all on mute with Sky Sports and horse racing featuring on my trip.The attractive bar is surrounded by bar stools ,heavily used by the regulars which included a few geezers.It felt old school,a boozer out of the 70's. There are 5 handpumps but only three drawing the worst that Charles Wells can offer,namely their Courage Best,Directors and Bombardier.With that choice I opted for a half of the malty Direcectors setting me back £1.90. If only the ale selection was better,I might have warmed to this place.However any pub that plays a Clash album over the muzak system can't be all bad.

Only two of the five hand pumps were being used on my visit and they were dispensing London Pride and Courage Best. There was also a selection of standard draught available from the barmaid who did well to crack a smile as it was empty during my visit apart from a couple of old timers sitting near the front window. The pub has Sky and Setanta which is shown on some plasma screens stretching the length of this long thin pub and there is a small storage type area out the back for smoking. This place is ok for a very quiet pint, but I did get a little irritated with the sound being on for the football and the horse racing as my brain started to ache. I wouldn't go out of my way to drink here again, but I would maybe pop in if passing.

Whereas the On Broadway a couple of doors away is set up for the younger demographic the Three Wishes is aligned to their parents and grand parents. A One long bar pubwith a traditional pub type décor and although it went through a major refurb two years ago when it was changed from quite a poor 'spoons I would have thought that Axminster would have lost the pattern for this carpet a long time ago. Although there are still several handpumps from the previous guise the ale choice of Courage Best and London Pride isn't the most inspiring but both have been kept well on the times of my visits. There's usually some form of musical entertainment on a Saturday night and I'm reliably informed by friends of mine who frequent more often that the Elvis Impersonator evening is a good one to go to, if you're into that sort of thing..