The Black Labrador’s impossibly charming Old-World atmosphere makes it one of our favorite haunts in town. Ivy-covered buildings and cobblestones line the parking lot, transporting you, for a moment, to an old alley in Oxford. Inside are the cramped tables and low ceilings that are vital to a beautiful, classic British pub atmosphere, and there’s occasional live music at the upstairs jazz club, Cezanne.

But eat elsewhere first. Great British traditions like fish and chips, and steak and kidney pie are massacred here beyond recognition. Add to this grave situation a thoughtless mix of Tex-Mex favorites at a hefty price, and it’s enough to sour the great mood created by the surroundings. Bangers are dry, underseasoned, and won’t spark your libido in the way that pig usually does; the mashed potatoes hint at that soulless taste of the school cafeteria. We don’t even know where to begin with the steak and kidney pie, whose thick brown sauce tastes of nothing but flour. There’s a decent black bean soup, and some pretty good desserts, but we’d rather just drink from the nice selection of British and domestic beers, poured into personalized silver tankards that hang over the bar for frequent customers. The servers wear short plaid skirts and knee-highs, but this appears to somehow have little effect on our enjoyment of the food.