I bet you didn’t know Paul Mezcal loves The Old Queen’s Head. Or maybe you did. Everyone, and their gran, seems to be in on the secret these days. Instead of popping by for a casual drink to spot the Normal People star, I brought along three long-standing friends for the pub’s weekly quiz. The pub itself is an Islington stalwart and it’s part of the same hospitality group as the team who runs Blues Kitchen, so you know a good time at this boozer is more or less inevitable.
The Old Queen's Head pub quiz takes no prisoners.
DesignMyNight Review of The Old Queen's Head Pub Quiz
Every Tuesday the Old Queen’s Head reserves its second floor for ‘London’s most outrageous quiz’. The doors open at 7pm but to settle pre-quiz nerves, we arrived a little early for a round of drinks. I’ve been to the Old Queen’s Head on several occasions and it always impresses. The staff are laid-back but friendly and you best believe the interiors were ‘Instagrammable’ long before the word made its way to the dictionary. Mediterranean-blue tiles plaster the walls and the facade of the bar, Greek busts of important looking men come spiked on white pillars and the unusual decor isn’t restrained to just ground zero. Upstairs, where the quiz is held, you’ll find illuminating lighting fixtures, a disco ball and stained glass windows on the ceiling instead of the walls.
The wings are a messy affair and worth every panicked napkin reach.
We settled into a booth to the left of the stage and pretty quickly, the host came over with blank sheets of paper and a warm hello. One of my friends at the table was wearing a ‘ride’ hairband; the ‘b’ was lost in transit. We were having a mini low-key hen party and it was pretty ironic as the theme for the night was ‘wedding’. If there was ever a thing called fate, I’m sure this would be it.
It’s been a long time since I did a pub quiz and the same rules applied; the number one being no cheating. If you do (or at least if you’re caught), a concoction of the bartender’s choice is yours, to be downed in one. Certainly not worth the risk, unless you’re a glutton for punishment. Every table was full of groups participating, and some entries went above and beyond to get recognised, including the table of men to our left who all came wearing a rather bizarre hat.
Halfway through the quiz, and after some very questionable answers supplied on the picture round (I will never look at Nicholas Cage the same way again), the majority of our two tables were heaving with plates. Bright green padron peppers (£7.50) were sprinkled in flakes of salt, a sticky hill of szechuan chicken wings looked almost seductive (which was reduced to bones in about 20 minutes - £9.15), chunks of fried chicken were presented with pickles and a thick gravy (£13), with fries (£4.75) and mac and cheese (£5.50), for necessary carbohydrate replenishment.
Go big or go home in the interactive round.
After a couple of hours of racking our heads for answers to questions like ‘what percentage of couples have sex on their wedding night’, we swapped our palomas (£11.50) and spicy margaritas (£11.50) for cans of 0% Asahi (£6.60). It’s been a long time since my last pub quiz (probably 5 years), and this one kept us engaged from start to finish. We ended on an interactive round where we had to dress someone from our table as if they were going to a catwalk. For us, this involved covering the bride’s face with a medium-sized brown paper bag and putting a black umbrella cover over her right hand. London Fashion Week has naturally, since been in touch to sign her to a label.
Overall: What We Thought Of The Pub Quiz at The Old Queen's Head
At £6 per person, you can’t argue that the quiz at The Old Queen’s Head is one of the cheaper things to do in London, and for 3 plus hours of entertainment, it’s certainly a bargain. The food is easy on the purse strings (and very tasty) but there’s a certain charm to rocking up to the pub in question, whether it’s for a glass of wine to spot Paul or to battle it out for eternal glory in their weekly quiz. Giving it plenty of welly in the interactive round, we ended up coming 6th place. Not bad for a day’s work. And for anyone wondering, it’s 48% of couples who have sex on their wedding night. I’m sure there’s a joke in there somewhere for our bride-to-be.
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💰 Price: Around £128 for four people with food, drinks and quiz entry. 📍 Address: 44, Essex Road, Angel, N1 8LN. 👌 Perfect for: an affordable mid-week activity. ⭐ Our booking tip: bring someone along who isn't afraid to wear a paper bag on their head if they need to. |
