Sloe down

Pub 243. The Sloe Bar, 16th December 2013.

A sectioned off corner of Euston Station, tucked right of the way near platfom, the only passing trade must be on the way to the station's 30p a time toilets.
But despite that it was rammed - I actually had to stand up to enjoy my John Smith's Keg-flo.

Like the new All Bar One nearby what attracts people to a place a like this? Even the Britannia is still inside the station so you can keep an eye on your departures, and that place has proper beer.

Perhaps people like the strong whiff of deisel fumes in there, or perhaps the novelty of drinking in the only pub in Camden that doesn't have its own toilets.

But to be fair, for what it is, it isn't that bad.

All Bar Me.

Pub 242. All Bar One (Euston), 16th December 2013.

Hooray - there's a new pub in Camden. Boo - it's an All Bar One.

And on this occasion it was rammed. All the nice pubs near here and everyone's in here. Maybe they're the type of people who actually like All Bar Ones, paying £4+ for a pint, and sitting in a noisy glass box with less charm than a skip full of empties.

What do they see in such a place... and all the time good pubs - or even just plain old 'proper' pubs are closing left, right & centre, and this place is raking it in. I don't know.

Bean and gone

Pub 241. Henry J. Bean's.

Now it's a touristy highly-stylised themed restaurant, it's easy to remember that there was once a touristy highly-stylised themed pub here. Henry J. Bean's was an supposedly American style pub, but as I recall once inside it was about American as an All-Bar-One. In fact, as I recall, it was just like an All-Bar-One. All blond wood and blond lager.

We used to go there after work when I worked nearby, and would either look out for or be accompanied by minor celebs from MTV. I can't really remember - such celebs are wasted on me, as are pubs like this.

It closed maybe 10 years ago now.

The Lion sleeps tonight

Pub no. 240. The Lion.

The Golden Lion, then the King's Cross Social Club (which I'm sure wasn't a social club at all...) and then back to the Lion. But in all that time I never managed to venture in. The last couple of times I went there as Lion it was closed. Once for that most annoying of things that a pub can do - "closed for a private party".

Now I believe it's closed for good. "Closed for private residences" you could say. Too bad.

Great West-End Railway

Pub 239. The Railway, 16th November 2013.

Run by The Original Pub company, the Railway is just like 100s of other pubs in London.

Busy, loud, rugby on, youths starting a Saturday night with a drink, grown-ups finishing their shopping with a drink. Decent ale though, and the unoriginal food you can think of - the "hand-battered cod" they seem rather proud of though. Probably worked out it's not worth investing in a machine to dip their defrosted cod fillets into a tray of factory-produced batter mix.

But round these parts of the Borough you're grateful for what you can get.

Czech mate

Pub 238. The Czech & Slovak Bar 16th November 2013.

 Hiding away behind a big hedge is a pub for our Czechoslovakian brethren. Or Czech & Slovak as we must now call them. I always assumed they didn't get on, but here they all are in a pub specially for them. An odd pub, feeling like a house converted to a hotel and then converted to a social club, but I suppose a 'pub' it is, in practice.

Clearly the only English chap in here, it was none the less very calm, relaxed and friendly - as far as I could tell.  The one nice thing is that although two rooms full of people chatted intently around their tables with funny looking food, and a telly was on, you could hear yourself perfectly. Why? No intrusive jukebox and good old wallpaper and carpet. English landlords take note...

Lilly the drink

Pub 237. The Lillie Langtry, 16th November 2013.

A pub with a flat-roof, even though the roof is perhaps 8 or 10 floors above the pub, but it's still a flat-roofed pub so we know what we're going to get. And we get just that, so like it or lump it. Loud music, plenty of sports, no ale and local locals all having a good time at just after 4pm.

The main problem with a pub like this is that you don't half feel conspicuous taking photos, and my bloody camera-phone reverted to it's often annoying habit of putting the flash on, and the problem with this is with the flash on my camera-phone produces photos that are almost totally black.
I'm sure I caught the eyes of the two chaps behind the bar, so I supped my lager and left.

Some notes of possible interest from the internet:

"Kilburn’s residents will also be pleased to see that while the pub has undergone an amazing transformation, the old pub sign remains – a reminder of the origins of its controversial name.
Originally the Princess of Wales, the pub was renamed the Lillie Langtry in 1969 after the site was redeveloped. In Victorian times, Lillie Langtry was the mistress of the Prince of Wales and, as the NW6-blogger Ben Fordham puts it, it was a case of “down with the nation’s princess and up with the local mistress”.
In 2007, the pub changed its name back to the Cricketers, but the old Lillie Langtry pub sign stayed.
"


So there you go. Definitely called the Lillie Langtry now though.

Smuggled away

Pub 236. The Smuggler's Tavern. 10th October 2013.

Not so much a smuggler's ketch but more like the Marie Celeste today. Nothing suggested the business had closed and it's not like pubs round here to shut during the day.

But why the Smuggler's?? Not much contraband would have been landed here back in the days of the Jamaica Inn. But until the 60s it seems to have been called the Marquis / Lord Cornwallis - much similar to this place on the other side of Bloomsbury. And interestingly the bare-chested chap in the red trousers seems to have a brother, here at another nautical sounding battle cruiser.

 Maybe we'll catch it open one day, but the internets says it wasn't all that great anyways.

***5th June 2014***

I happened to be strolling by today and was pleased to notice that we have a pub that's reopened in the borough!

So it would've been very rude not to pop in to sample their wares. From the outside not much as changed but on the inside it's all very pale blue. Very sea-sidey... you can almost hear the seagulls and smell the landing of today's catch. Or perhaps that was just the "Bap & Pickle Pop Up Restaurant" that seems to be very permanently painted on walls & windows here & there.

Doom Bar and Adman's Explorer on offer, the latter going for £2.10 a half. No wonder people are turning to smuggling!

Anyways, it all seems very nice and calm and quiet on a weekday lunchtime. But any publican that manages to resist the call of redevelopment and reopen his boozer, well... I like the cut of his jib! Best splice the main-brace, the sun's over the yard-arm, ahhhh jim-lad, many tots of grog to all jolly jactars. Etc.

Good Charlotte

Pub 235, The Draft House. 10th October 2013.

I wasn't even sure what this place called at first. I thought it might have been "The Charlotte" or the "Draft House" perhaps? They should have just left it as the Northumberland Arms, given that from the number of cool old photos inside they seem to want to portray a sense of history. But no, it's apparently the "Draft House Charlotte", I think. Catchy uh? Part of chain apparently.

Anyways, it's very stripped back. And pretty hip. The kind of place that thinks it's in New York. Why can't seating be cushioned?!

But the barman was very nice, and the big windows looking out onto a very busy junction make it great for people-gawping.

But the best thing is the beer - they apparently always have one cask ale on £2.75. This week it was the Prima Donna from South London somewhere, and it was very nice. I reckon this makes it the cheapest boozer on the manor. In all of central London... all of London perhaps!? (Not counting special offers, like at the Earl of Camden). Unless you know different...

Marlborough Man

Pub 234. The Marlborough Arms, 10th October 2013.

Tarted up Victorian splendour. Standard pub grub made sound to posh, but I'm sure it's very tasty. And it's one of those places where you can't order food if you haven't got a table number. Computer says no! The Five Points Pale didn't leave me much change out of £4, and was drinkable but not overly lip-smacking. But first pint of the day and I've never had before and over-hopped beers are all the rage these days, so who am I to comment??

I don't really see the need for so many high-tables. And where I was sat, by the window, the effect of the canopy outside flapping in the wind made it seem as if I was sitting under a strobe light.

Nice if unremarkable, but at least the music was quiet. And I learned that Winston Churchill was one of descended from THE Marlboroughs. I wonder if he ever came here? They should have his "I have taken more out of alcohol..." quote up somewhere.

An institution

Pub 233. The IoE Student Bar, 24th September 2013.

An odd one this as it's a students' union bar but as it's open to the public it must be treated as any other bar. I suppose.
Unlike the student bar of my own youth ("The Black Hole", Hudds poly) this one seemed very low on ale. But as it was a very warm day I went for a pint of gassy cooking lager (£2.70), and then spied the bottles of Speckled Hen in the fridge. And the single clipless hand-pump tucked away at the far end of the bar that was serving up Doom Bar. Oh well.
I took my pint outside, and was shortly joined by the group of young students, unsurprisingly. A mix of Americans and Brits. The started discussing the Brits' peculiar taste for warm flat beer, and decided that not even most Brits liked it, as we all prefer lager apparently.

I drank my lager and sloped off.

Slattery will get you anywhere.

Pub no. 232. Slattery's, 19th September 2013.

 The most no-frills pub in Camden possibly? The aroma is one of a warm & welcoming carpet. The big screens have The Chase on. Old man smoking just inside the door - well, it's almost outside and it's raining so that's ok. Friendly landlady - we had a bit of banter over some questions in The Chase.
No ale, so Guinness it is... when in Rome eh??

It could be worse really. And this is the only place I've seen offering Sky 3D, I'm sure they'll be getting rid of such a silly gimmick soon - so catch here while you can!