The Assembly House is like a few of the other boozers along Kentish Town Road and up to Highgate, namely very old. The lovely follying Victorian building isn't, but you've been able to booze on this site since, well Dick Whittington may have quenched his returning thirst on this site... possibly. I should really do at least a little bit of research. Nah!
Big, loud, brash contrived and show-offy but tasteful at the same time on the outside, it's much the same on the inside. And it is very loud on the inside. I always feel a bit exposed and agoraphobic inside. Big pubs like this get me a bit disorientated. But I managed to find my way to the bar.
A pleasing choice, I went for 1/2 a Lees for a taste of Macunia, for £1.70. This choice seemed to confuse or confuse the barmaid as she pulled a funny face, as if Lees was causing her some awful rigmarole and she was thinking "Oh no... not another Lees!". Or maybe I glanced at her for at the wrong millisecond.
The interior is very smart, very trendy, very fancy. And therefore will look awful, tatty and dated in 10 years time. Lots of bare wood - fancy people like bare wood. Fake flock wallpaper, which I assume only fancy-schmancy people would like. I like the big old mirrors and the lovely ceiling. With ceilings like this, I think they look amazing when they've painted the embossed bits (I'm sure there's a proper word for them... but hey - research!?) a different colour. A bit of faff, but the results are amazing.
That's pretty much all I like really. Except the trains carry commuters back off to the home counties rumbling underneath. I like it when trains rattle buildings, it's quite reassuring in an odd way.
The Assembly House is very nice to look at, but not quite so nice to be in. But as it is very, very nice to look at, take that how you like it.
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