The Fox & Anchor has been around for about 120 years. Located in Clerkenwell, on the edge of the Square Mile, the pub is minutes away from St Pauls Cathedral, the Museum of London, markets, galleries and various clubs and bars.

In the last couple of years the Fox & Anchor was bought, refurbished and reopened by the Malmaison hotel group. Fear not, it hasn’t morphed into yet another trendy bar or brasserie. All the trademarks of this lovely old Victorian boozer still remain. Colourful tiles adorn the porch, panels of etched glass divide sections, a mahogany and brass bar stretches down the left side of the pub and long green leather banquette lines the wall opposite.

Beer wise, the Fox & Anchor is all about real ale. On tap there are six real ales, one lager and one cider. The ales change regularly “Because we’re not part of a brewery we can pick and sell what we want” explained Elliott. Bottled beers include an interesting range of stouts, wheat beers and fruit beers.

At the back of the pub there are three cosy snugs - one for a twosome and the others for groups. In the evenings, candle light make the snugs even snugger.

Having been taken over by a hotel group, the Fox & Anchor now offers board with its booze and food. While the pub interior remains true to its former glory, the six rooms upstairs have a touch of boutique hotel about them. All individually designed combining traditional and modern features.

Our room was called The Charterhouse – named after a nearby former Carthusian monastery built in 1371. A large black and white (slightly spooky) print of a monk sits over the double bed. Ironwork windows hung with thick deep blue curtains overlook the backstreets of Smithfields. Velvet cushions and a chaise longue give the room a sensual feel. A plasma screen (with all Sky channels), DVD player and Bose sound system ticked the entertainment boxes.

I’d liked to have taken the bathroom home with me. It wasn’t huge, but was perfectly designed with a deep roll top bath and monsoon shower, wooden bath bridge with shaving mirror, polished copper trough-shaped sink and gorgeous Miller Harris toiletries.

Dinner was booked for 8pm. The pub was busy and the restaurant fully booked. Walking in, you could immediately sense a great atmosphere. Couples and groups of friends were deeply ensconced in conversation. Candles gave the pub an intimate glow while the background music was subtle and not in your face.

The menu is basically pub grub done really well. My boyfriend ordered ham hock terrine with piccalilli and despite the slightly off-putting name, I had fried skate knobs (with caper mayonnaise). Both were excellent. The terrine was pink, succulent and just fell apart. My skate knobs, a bit like really posh scampi, were presented in a mini fryer. They were delicious - crispy not greasy, flaky and really meaty. The caper mayonnaise was the perfect accompaniment.

The wine list was extensive - I think there were about 85 bottles - ranging from £12.95 Montepulciano’s to £125 Chablis’. We plumped for a very smooth Dinastia Vivanco Rioja Crianza (£19.95).

Our mains: he had steak, chips and béarnaise sauce. I had cod in beer batter, chips and mushy peas. While the cod and steak were cooked to perfection, it was all about the chips for me. Cooked in goose fat, they were crunchy, chunky and completely indulgent. My boyfriend has an ongoing chip-o-meter, he gave them a 10 out of 10, I gave them an 11.

Pudding was a no-go zone. Not because I didn’t want to try the rhubarb crumble or apple and stout fritters, I just couldn’t manage it. All I wanted to do was lie down - and that’s exactly what I did. As we heaved ourselves away from the table to go back to the room, Elliott said “If you want anything else just pop down.” It felt like we were staying at a mates place, albeit a crowded mates place.

While the bed was really comfy, the thumping baseline of a nearby nightclub made it a little harder to fall asleep. I think it was about 3am before it stopped. Despite the club-in-bedroom effect, we both somehow managed to get a fairly full night’s kip.

Breakfast looked amazing. Annoyingly we had to rush back home for football practice (his, not mine). Not sure I would have had a pint with it, but the full English looked like the business.

We will definitely go back to the Fox & Anchor. Either with friends or just the two of us, but next time I’d like to bag one of those cosy snugs.

Rooms cost from £95 per night.