Another afternoon drinking den that I quite like - even though I am surely not the type of clientele this is marketed at! I’m scruffy, don’t own a pair of shoes that aren’t runners and have more holes in my jeans than a goal net. Yet I can happily slip into a cosy leather booth with an ice cold bottle of mixed fruit Kopparberg and know that my money is as good as anyone elses!

Okay so at night it gets all trendy and pretensious in a suits and sandals kind of way, but if you settle in during the afternoon you’ll barely notice when the sun goes down and manage to close your ears to the generic funky grooves in the background.

For a large space, Dakota is a truly beautiful pub. It manages to be cosy and intimate and filled with natural light (very unusual for an Irish pub). The bar is terrifically well stocked and a joy to rest ones elbows on.

This is also the kind of pub that i would be happy to turn up an hour before meeting friends, grab one of the selection of newspapers and magazines and set myself up on a bar stool for a while. It’s just so damn comfortable.

So yes I’ve only taken away a star for the clientele and the DJ - other than that, a blissfully perfect pub!

Dakota has a London feel to it. I liked the way they play a variety of retro music and all the dance classics rather than playing the same r ‘n’ b tunes. It’s fairly easy to find a table here provided you get there before 11 pm. The bar staff are efficient and friendly so the waiting time for a drink isn’t too long. There are always an interesting crowd in here. It’s definitely worth going here at the weekends