Wembley Central - Barrel & Corner

Saturday 1st April 2023

"Take me somewhere I feel out of place.' That was the instruction from Charlie as we attempted to conjure up our weekend plans. And so it was that after he, a man with no discernible interest in football, and I had suffered our way through Manchester City's drubbing of Liverpool we headed north to the home of football with Jack.

Wembley Central has had a chequered history, only settling on its current name in 1948 after four attempts to come up with one most appropriate for the surrounding area. As well National Rail and Overground services, the Bakerloo Line has stopped here since it was last extended in 1917, although services to Wembley Central were briefly withdrawn for two years in the 1980s.

The tube stops on the same platform as the Overground and as you head up the steps towards the entrance hall, a large tiled mural recognises the stop's significance as the gateway to the FA Cup Final. Based on the kit colours on display, Jack and I assumed that match turned into a mosaic was one between Arsenal and Tottenham, however, a quick Google informed us that of the seven all London affairs in the FA Cup Final, not one has been a North London Derby. Thus our guessing continues.

After a short walk west down the Harrow Road, you arrive at Barrel & Corner, the last establishment in a long line of shops and restaurants. This is an Irish Pub. Traditional Irish Music Pub of the Year 2005 no less, though most of the songs playing on a Saturday afternoon were quintessential Dad Rock songs of the 1970s and 80s.

As you enter, the bar is immediately on your right, with a great array of whiskey on display in front of hurling sticks raised aloft. We each ordered a Guinness. Always Guinness. For as long as I can remember, I don't think I have bought a pint in London for under £5 that hasn't been either an insult to beer or in a Brexit supporting large chain which thinks curry on a Wednesday is an appropriate cuisine for pub (I leave you to guess its name). Yet here at Barrel & Corner, to our collective amazement, the Guinness came to a glorious £4.40 a head.

We sat at a round table at the far end of the pub away from the sofas which provided prime viewing of the screens showing Soccer Saturday, Horse Racing and Tipping Point. The whole pub is carpeted in a motif not dissimilar to one of I've seen in my Grandparents' house. After discounting Fleur Delacour as a Harry Potter character, Jack and Charlie remained adamant the pattern was called 'Fleur de something' should I ever want it in my own home.

The hurling theme continued throughout the pub with the wall next to us lined with wooden pendants representing teams from all of Ireland's counties. These sat above three traditional bodhrans which I wrestled with the temptation to hit. Opposite my seat was what I think was a pub garden though today it was only used by a couple of the patrons heading out for a crafty cigarette. Charlie and Jack faced in another direction staring at a wall adorned with street signs for the grounds of a number of English football teams, a dartboard and a fruit machine. Around us on the floor ran a chihuahua called Toto though Charlie's attempts to stroke it were futile and only led to a glaring down from a local. It was time to leave.