Urban Pubs & Bars have spent £500k on a refurbishment and the pub reopened on 17/07/25. We wonder if any of that was spent on an efficent cask beer dispense but we are not that confident.

From Propel - "Urban Pubs & Bars, the London pub operator founded by Malc Heap and Nick Pring and backed by Davidson Kempner and Global Mutual, is adding a site in Highbury, North London, to its growing estate. Propel understands that the Chris Hill-led business has acquired Highbury Barn Tavern, a premium neighbourhood pub, that is a five-minutes walk from Highbury Fields and a ten-minute walk from the Emirates Stadium. It is the group’s fourth acquisition this year so far and takes the company’s estate to 55 sites across London."

Originally a farm (this building?), becoming a tea garden in the 1850s and then a pub in 1861. Was Greenalls, S&N Retail, and finally a Spirit "City Pub" before being bought by a small pub company.

Positioning itself as a community focused pub and clearly gets very busy on Arsenal match days when plastic drinking vessels may be used. The exterior has some fine tiling which extends in a most unusual way into an arch-like structure wrapped around the side of the pedestrian area in the side street where there are benches and people may smoke. Although it seems integral to the pub it is not owned by them. inside it is essentially one large room wrapped around an L-shaped bar with high tables and stools.