Never been in, but here is a review from "the internet"

http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/18/1801/Blackstock/Finsbury_Park I was in the last week,and it was as bad as ever.It has never been done up.They have 2 tables outside but you cant sit at them as there were a large group of men eating takaways and drinking Tennents Super beer out of their cans.Inside is not much better.The carpets try to eat your shoes,and the toilets try to choke you to death with the bad smells,thats if you can get in them after waiting for the barman to open the door.I nearly messed myself waiting.

It's a tough market for pubs round here because we're spoiled with good ones - to suit most tastes. A review this bad isn't going to draw many in.

"done up" in this instance seems to be a synonym for "cleaned"

Never been in The Blackstock but we did venture into The Twelve Pins the week before Xmas. Never again.

We called in for a cheeky pint while our table in Dotori became free. There wasn't even any standing room in Dotori and it was pissing down with rain. So, The Twelve Pins suddenly became very appealing.

One pint and one soft drink later we went back and had our usual Dotori feast with two bottles of beer for me. All well and good until the next morning. I felt like Dumbo had shat in my head. I'm blaming the one pint I had in The Twelve Pins. I will not be going back.