In the ongoing adventures of the Top 25 London Pubs explorers, our intrepid team trekked north to the Southampton Arms in Highgate. An unassuming venue from the outside (the pub name is almost invisible in faded and flaking paint, the slogan "ALE CIDER MEAT" catching the eye), it's also basic and a little shabby inside. Rickety wooden tables and uncomfortable seats crammed into a small floor space before the bar on the long wall, some space outside which was closed off mid-evening (presumably out of respect for the neighbours), and the "smoking area" on the sidewalk out front which allows fumes into the pub.The beer selection is great (more on which below). We weren't expecting to eat here, as it's not that sort of pub; if I had any interest in various cold cuts kept beside the bar, I might have been put off by the bartender chopping the meat, handling it with his bare hands and popping occasional morsels into his mouth as he did so. The pub rather proudly announces that they don't take credit cards, they don't have a telephone, and don't make bookings; this is billed as refreshing simplicity, but is really just poor customer service. The bar staff are similarly lackadaisical in attitude—serving locals out of turn and generally paying very little attention (I waited a couple of minutes at the bar at one point while three (count 'em) bar staff chatted among themselves or with regulars and made no attempt to serve anybody). The men's toilets deserve a special mention: situated outside, the privy is ventilated (read "open to the elements and bloody freezing") rather than cleaned.
