Having known this historic pub for more than two decades, it is with some relief that we can report it is finally back and though perhaps not entirely as we would have hoped for, at least it hasn't become a dreaded office/studio/apartment conversion.

Photos of Smithfield's meat market workers on the walls notwithstanding, this pub has made a move upmarket, definitely more pinstripe and far less bloodstained apron, and it no longer has the multicultural feel we loved about the old place. However, there's a range of interesting beers on the six hand-pumps and, as is the norm nowadays, the menu's gone gastro (no longer the fry-ups and meat-and-two-veg of old) - the menu and prices reflect this change.

The new owners, Malmaison, have kept the pub largely intact. The exterior is listed and inside the snugs of old are still there and there's been a general tidy up of the old place - the most obvious change being the zinc-topped bar.

The friendly staff work hard to keep you happy, and the addition of six bedrooms must keep them on their toes. All-in-all it's a good effort, especially if you're looking for another well-run gastropub and it's already proving to be very popular, but for us it's much of a muchness.

Smithfield is a unique and historic locale that's celebrated its diverse appeal over many centuries. If we get many more developments like this, we'll lose that uniqueness - you might as well be in midtown Manchester, Edinburgh or Glasgow - not the historic heart of an old city, where close by there's a 12th century priory church, a Victorian meat market and the site of William Wallace's execution.

CLIENTELE: office, market workers
NEAREST STATION: Barbican station
FEATURES: function room available, outdoor seating, separate restaurant