Remember the Levi’s ad in the pool hall? The one which had The Clash’s “Should I Stay Or Should I Go?” as the soundtrack? Yeah, that one. It conjured up a pretty cool image, right? Unfortunately London’s pool halls have not had the retro revamp (is that an oxymoron?) that bowling is currently enjoying (All Star Lanes, Bloomsbury Bowling) so it’s rare to actually find a place where you can stand around looking like James Dean, kissing your teeth, chewing on a tooth pick, and generally inviting any hustler to take you on without like, really being taken on by someone from the Russian/Turkish mafia. We also inextricably link shooting some pool with having a drink or two, but it is often the lesser red and yellow-balled “pub” pool table (funnily enough) rather than the greater spotted (and striped) genuine American pool table which is found within the confines of the few remaining non-chain traditional pubs in London. 19:20 (Map 6) in Clerkenwell has more of a pool hall feel with media types taking their game a little more seriously at the end of the working day. If you do fancy something a little more louche, there are many a pool and snooker hall to be found on the edges of central London which can offer a grittier atmosphere. Efes (Map 86) used to be a bit of a no-go for middle-class hipster kids until the owners realised that they were sitting on a goldmine what with having a long-standing late licence and being slap bang in the middle of the action. Now the place hosts gigs and is a regular fixture for anyone doing a Kingsland crawl. Oh yeah, and has pool tables.