The Faltering Fullback

This place is home to easily one of, if not the most, innovative, memorable and down-right bizarre beer gardens in London. Sound like a bold statement? You'll have to see for yourself, suffice it to say it's been likened to the Ewok Village from Return of the Jedi. The garden is built on and connected to several different levels because the owners weren't granted a lot of outdoor space. Wood decking and wooden staircases make up the structure of the garden, with a separate (but miniscule) bar under the stairs as you come out. Each level has its own selection of picnic benches and bar stools and, underneath ground-level platform, is a widescreen telly where they show all sorts of sporting events (rugby being a favourite).

Inside, the quirks continue with an assortment of objects in the main bar hanging from the ceiling. Bikes, planes, acoustic guitars, even a blow-up cockatoo and a couple of rugby balls dangle precariously overhead, while circular tables and highchairs dominate the floor plan.

Elsewhere there's another bar area where sporting memorabilia hangs from the walls in the forms of signed and framed rugby and football shirts, scarves, and framed rugby cartoons. There's a larger room with a pool table at one end, and several more picnic benches through the rest of it. This is where audiences gather for important matches, as the big wall-mounted telly indicates.

The Faltering Fullback's final ace up its sleeve is its Thai meal selection, available for consumption every day from 18:30 - 22:30. All types of chicken, beef and veggie curries are on the menu, together with noodles, fried seafood and a long list of tasty starters. The prices are exceptional with curries costing around a fiver, starters for about £3 and the 'Specials' section (all the fried seafood etc.) at £7.50. So with the surroundings you're presented with, the aesthetics of a junk shop-cum-museum-cum-alehouse plus a passion for sport, Finsbury Park's Fullback is not to be missed.

They also host quiz nights where they take things very seriously. Check out their website for a list of recent winning teams and see if you and your friends have what it takes to compete.

Opening times: Monday - Thursday: 12:00 - 23:00, Friday & Saturday: 12:00 - 24:00, Sunday: 12:00 - 22:30