The Hop & Berry

Great find! We planned on going to a different pub that was full, so we found this one instead. It was much quieter — I think it’s slightly off the main drag — but that was ideal for our purposes. There were still other people there, so there was atmosphere, but it was no problem to get a table in a good position.
They do beers from London breweries. I had Republika (a lager), which I hadn’t had before and enjoyed, while my boyfriend had Crate (a cider) and my friend had Donald Flump (a marshmallow stout… no, not sure what that is). We were all pleased with them, and as we were in happy hour (4 – 7 every day), each pint was £4. I think normally they’d have been around £4.50+.
I just really enjoyed the vibe — that it was relaxed and easy to spend time in. Not a totally traditional looking pub, but it has some cool features.
Looks like they have put some effort into events, with things on most nights of the week (such as board game evenings, quiz night, open mic, featured breweries, etc) — would be fun to see how some of those were.
Also worth noting that we were there for a few hours, brought our own boardgames and were playing them, and never felt pressured to buy more drinks or food or move on or anything. Some places aren’t that hospitable. We ended up having 2 rounds there, and I suspect we will be back, even though none of us live directly in the area.

The hubby and I popped into the Hop & Berry on the last known day of summer. You know the one, Saturday, two weekends ago when the entire population of London smashed themselves onto various green spaces throughout the city? The one where it was 84 degrees which is hot for London but I have no idea what that temperature equates to in Celsius because I’ve only lived in London for four years and have yet to grasp the concept of 0 degree means freezing and 100 degrees means boiling.
Anyway, we decided to bike around Islington and stop in at pubs here and there and the Hop & Berry was one stop of many. We were able to snag a picnic table out front for two reasons. First, it was in the shade and on a nice day like that, no one wanted to be in the shade. Second, there were literally only seven people at the Hop & Berry, so all three parties got their own picnic table.
I can’t say that the outdoor seating was exactly inviting or charming or even quiet. The Hop & Berry is located on a busy street so I felt like I was sitting in a cloud of exhaust for an hour whilst we drank our brewskis. I could have done without the traffic, exhaust and people constantly walking by but whatever. It was warm and it was a Saturday, so I had more patience than I’d had any other day that week.
Beer selection is above average for a pub. Specials are listed on a chalkboard hung on the wall to the right as you enter the pub. The toilets were acceptable and service was nice though with any pub, service declines rapidly the busier the establishment exists. I suspect service at the Hop & Berry is no different.
Would I return to the H&B? Yes but I wouldn’t sit outside unless it was warm and the sun was shining directly at the picnic tables.