Kings Head, Crouch End, N8

This is a very good looking pub from the outside. There has been a public house occupying the site near the southern end of the Broadway since 1662 and has been referred to as the 'King's Head' since around 1812. This current Victorian turreted building has been in situ since about the early 1890s. Unfortunately it isn’t that good looking inside nowadays as it has been largely stripped out and Gastrofied. It’s a bit flippant and lazy to refer to them as planks of wood, but the dark pastel colours, stripped back brickwork and distressed wood panelling will not be everyone’s cup of tea and will certainly not appeal to those that prefer a more traditional pub interior. In truth it didn’t appeal to me much either. And unfortunately this was also the case with the beer selection that was available for my visit. Still four ale pumps on the bar with Timothy Taylor Landlord, Sharps Doom Bar and Old Rosie cider on them with one unused. Fortunately the landlord did not run out for me and it was fairly decent. But the saving grace for this place is not actually the pub but the fact that it supports a thriving comedy club in the basement and the space is used for regular live music as well. It gets an extra mark from me for that. If I was to return here then it will probably be to visit the comedy club below.

A mid-16th century pub rebuilt for Taylor Walker in 1892 and visited by me for a comedy evening in the late '90s. I popped by the other night and it appears to have been seriously gastrofied, with what looked like planks fixed to the walls and slightly modern furniture so I decided not to go in; I can't afford to prop up every pub...

A typical London corner pub: there must be a couple of thousand like it. This one has been not just opened out but gutted, with walls hacked back to inferior brickwork, and repurposed rough timber on other walls that are presumably worse than inferior. Only youngsters would think this was cool, so me, my brother and his wife were obviously the oldest people there when we and their extended family came here for a post-funeral drink. Fortunately the beer was ok: Wily Fox Crafty Fox was on, alongside Sharps Doom Bar; then disaster struck and the Fox ran out. Swerving the Doom Bar, I went for Camden Pale, which wasn't too bad. A round of drinks averaging £5 a head was pretty awful, but that's London, isn't it.

Official site of Kings Head - www.thekingsheadcrouchend.co.uk

Official site of Kings Head - www.thekingsheadcrouchend.co.uk

The Kings Head is a grand looking pub that is on the apex of two roads. Once inside there is a smallish oblong shaped room with the bar facing,the floor is bare boarded and the seating is normal tables and chairs to the left,tall tables and chairs in the middle area and bench seating and settees to the front. There were four real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Harvistoun Summer Legend which went down well,the other beers were Salopian Hop Twister,Purity UBU and Doom Bar. Background music was playing and food was being served,the pub was also quite busy on my Thursday afternoon visit. I was happy enough having a drink in this pub. Pub visited 4/8/2016