Mes amis,
I have nothing but admiration for my British friends, who, unlike my own people, value their monarch. I must confess, though, that during the Royal Wedding festivities their hysteria proved too much. I found myself siding with that tiny minority of the population who have become weary of Germans masquerading as royalty, and began to think that if I hadn’t been born the whitest of White Russian émigrés, I probably would have made a good bolshevik.
How lucky, then, that on the day in question my old chum Vic Godard invited me to get away from it all and see him and his chamber orchestra perform some classic pieces in the plush surroundings of the Lexington.
Located in the suburbs near King’s Cross, this music pub is the perfect hide-away for the staunch Republican – it is as un-British as Foghorn Leghorn in Stetson and spurs. Downstairs, the designers of the aptly named saloon bar have borrowed heavily from the cat-houses of the Old South but, sadly, stopped short of providing the belles.
The Lexington’s extensive drinks menu cites Abraham Lincoln’s famous tribute to beer brewing, surely his finest sentiment after the abolition of slavery (how disappointing, mes amis, that 150 years on his nation hasn’t quite got to grips with either notion). Be that as it may, the presence of 14 American ‘ales’ is more than compensated for by a fine selection of over 40 Bourbons, some (like the Weller 19-year-old at £55 a shot) so rare that even your favourite Romanoff had to take note (and double-check his credit status).
A short but distinguished cocktail list sticks to stateside favourites such as the Mint Julep and Old Fashioned (not available at busy times due to its truly old-fashioned 12-minute preparation time). Their above-average quality and alcohol content quickly wiped the £8 price tag from the slate of my memory.
The real revelation, however, is the upstairs music venue whose gritty honesty harks back to London’s musical heyday when combos like Department S and Subway Sect plucked their harmonies in front of an enraptured audience – as, indeed, they did on that memorable occasion (Fuck The Royal Wedding – A Night of Treason).
Similar musical titbits can be sampled on a weekly basis, alongside a fine-sounding discotheque downstairs. Further highlights are Sunday’s ‘Hangover Lounge’ (an essential service that should be available on the NHS) and a ‘Rough Trade’ pop quiz on Tuesdays. Add a spectacular 2.00am closing time on weekdays (extending to a sight-blurring 4.00am at weekends) and this extraordinary pub has gathered enough qualities to truly soften my feelings towards our old cold-war playmates.
I, for one, am sure to become a Lexington regular.
Yours as ever
Max Obolensky
The Lexington 96-98 Pentonville Road London, N1 9JB Tel: 020 7837 5371 Nearest Underground: King’s Cross St Pancras, Angel Opening times: Mon – Thu 3pm – 2am, Fri & Sat 3pm – 4am, Sun 1pm – 12 midnight.
