The Argyle

We drink here a lot.
The Argyle might look like a pub and smell like a pub, but features a floor plan not unlike a beachfront bar: it’s got street level tables which I’d imagine to be prime real estate in the warmer months, and an upper terrace with a dead head view on Leather Lane. Diners can grub here or go subterranean.
The bar staff is friendly and service prompt. Also nice to have Farringdon and Chancery Lane stations just minutes away.

As far as local watering holes go, I could do a lot worse. Three floors, table tennis in the cellar, 2 for 1 cocktails on Fridays during happy hour. The staff is friendly to boot! Great for an after work drink or match of table tennis.

A nice place that obviously did a good trade judging by all the people that we there. Fortunately for this trip I was with some work colleagues who had hired out the basement bar. A nice space with a good selection or drinks and a good buffet meal to keep us all satisfied as we made our way through the works tab.
The next morning was less of a triumph.

Absolutely love it. Comfy but nice atmosphere. Real ale on tap. Good music, not too loud. Cool laidback crowd. I’ll be back! ;)

I was here for an event — they hire out the basement bar at decent rates, and it’s not a bad place to hold an event, it seems — and starving. The menu was what I expected — thank feck there wasn’t a list of local seasonal ingredients or thai food — but burgers, bangers, and fish & chips, all at slightly inflated pub-​grubby prices.
Fish was good — not super greasy, light batter, though thin wee pieces — big for fish fingers, but not for fish & chips. Chips were out of a bag, from the freezer. Peas did come but were deflated and sad, lacking mint. Decent enough, but was a tenner.
Beer… Well, this is clearly an establishment seeking high turnover at decent prices — they’ve got to trade on the after-​work crowd, and it shows. They did have a decent selection of guest ales, though, which went down not too bad, though I did have to ask for my pint to be topped up. Twice.
Should easily be a four-​star bar, if they only had slightly better service.

We sat upstairs on the small outside terrance, the atmosphere was pleasant and the pub quickly packed up with lunchtime workers looking for a pub lunch. The terrace looks out over the bottom of Leatherlane Market and it’s a bustling street, so great for people watching.
I ordered the Haddock and chips, which I thought was pretty standard, although a big plus here, it wasn’t very oily and I didn’t feel overly full after eating. I didn’t like that my diet coke was poured from a bottle (it was quite flat!) but the food came out quickly and the bartender was absolutely lovely. My friend had the scampi, which she was was very fresh and another friend had the papardelle with goats cheese and rocket which she enjoyed.
I’d definitely come back here because of the great atmosphere and terrace, a hot summer evening here, white wine in hand, after work would be perfect.