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Disappointment of the week with Tris39
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
The Assembly House, Kentish Town, NW5
NW5
NW5 2TG
Pub Type
Metropolitan Pub Co (Greene King)Reviews (Current Rating Average: 5½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Assembly House
Large building but a stripped out interior lacking in character and real ale apart from the dreaded GK IPA.Kegged beers are mainstream dross. It's a Greene King tied house with little to enthuse about,functional at best but why bother with some very good pubs close by.
On 15th January 2022
- rating: 5
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Ian Mapp left this review about The Assembly House
Watched an old Richard Burton Film which had key scenes filmed here - The Villian - and in 1971, this was a spectacular looking pub. Thought I would check it out.
It has changed, but you can see echos of its former glory in the high ceilinged room, with central dome.
A green king pub - the pint of Sambournes Wandle exceeded all expectations.
Lots of competition in the area but a good pub. Visit blogged at http://bit.ly/2wM3nj2
On 11th August 2017
- rating: 7
[User has posted 277 recommendations about 276 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about The Assembly House
A large bright and airy pub this one with enormously high ceilings as described below, and basically two large rooms either side of the central serving area.
This is one that really needs a good crowd in to give it an atmosphere and there was something resembling that on the right hand side as there were a few Christmas dinner parties in. But I took my pint into the left hand section, primarily to watch the footy on the flat screen, and this area was very quiet.
Of the five pumps on the front of the bar three were in operation with two beers from the Woolwich based Hop Stuff brewery (Single Stout and Fusilier), and one with the Dorset brewery Jurassic.
Normally I would avoid drinking anything with a canon on the beer pump but in the absence of a great deal of other choice I went for the Hop Stuff single stout and it was actually quite good.
Not sure it’s the sort of place I would choose to linger long in, but to do it justice I probably should come back of an evening when there is a crowd in.
On 4th January 2016
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2110 recommendations about 1992 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about The Assembly House
Quite busy this one, on our Saturday afternoon visit. The pub had a respectable atmosphere and seems to have attracted the hipster crowd, so maybe this is the new 'in place'. The far end of the bar has a stunning display of etched glass mirrors, and the large Victorian skylight in the far room is definitely worth seeing. There were five handpumps on the bar, with three in use. We went for the Sambrookes Wandle, which I haven't tried for a while.
On 13th February 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john gray left this review about Assembly House
lovely nice bright pub with massive windows on 2 sides. Very nice brilliant cut and etched glass screen at the rear of the pub. Good range of keg beers and 5 beers on Handpump inc Cottage -Duchess,Cotleigh-Snowy and Honey Buzard.Both Cotleigh beers were good.Nice pub.
On 16th January 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1023 recommendations about 1009 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about Assembly House
Recently refurbished (yet again), this is an extraordinarily ornate pub; given its size and enormous skylight, ballroom would probably be a better description. If seated, you're treated to a free bum massage courtesy of vibrations caused by passing underground trains.
Despite arriving at about 9.30 pm, there were five large transparent polythene rubbish bags displaying their contents propped up against the side of the pub. Behind the bar, the floor was filthy: covered in bottle tops, soaking wet with piles of both wet and soggy paper. It was at this point that the metal spirit measures tumbled onto the floor. Picked up, they were returned to their shelf with no attempt made to clean them. Two trays of clean glasses from the dishwasher were placed on the floor as finally a member of staff made a half hearted attempt to clean around them. Eventually I was served and service was friendly.
I popped out for a smoke and to keep the bin bags - which now numbered six - company only to return and find my half drunk pint cleared away. My other belongings were on the table so obviously they must have guessed I was returning, so why take my pint? I went to the new lavatories and it's clear that they haven't learnt from their previous mistakes: the floor was awash with fluid (I'd guess not water) and as with the old loos, covered with soggy paper. Yet another transparent polythene bin bag was present by the basins. It was at this point that the Forum crowd arrived; the ladies loo was unable to accommodate the arrival of so many women at once, so they all piled into the gents - nice.
I don't think this pub gives a toss for its customers; I doubt very much I'll return.
On 23rd June 2013
- rating: 1
[User has posted 1983 recommendations about 1949 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about Assembly House
A second lucky dip en route to the Bull & Gate and a second pub that has apparently had a recent refurbishment. The building is a large, striking street-corner pile with a spire that can be seen from some distance and its location, close to the tube station and the Forum, meaning it picks up a lot of passing trade. The interior has a number of old ornate touches, such as the intricate moulded ceiling and columns. The layout is rather awkward and this was clearly a multi-roomed pub that has been knocked through, meaning that the bar has two serving ‘ends’ just round each corner, making the understaffed bar team rather slow and dithery. A number of standard Greene King beers are available, with a list guest (Caledonian 80 Shilling on my visit, which tasted fine) alongside some premium-brand lagers such as Kirin and Budvar. As mentioned elsewhere, the rumble of passing tube trains can either be good fun or off-putting, depending on your mentality.
Whilst I wouldn’t go out of my way to visit here again, I might well pop in at some point when a gig calls me back to the area.
On 17th July 2011
- rating: 6
[User has posted 5072 recommendations about 5055 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about Assembly House
A substantial building in an imposing corner location, with large windows which have unfortunately lost most of the decorative etched glass panes. The front part of the bar has a high ceiling supported by a number of red columns, with the counter extending round to the back section which is up a couple of steps and has an ornate mirrored wall at the rear. Beyond this, the opened-out layout continues into another room which has a decorative skylight. Three Greene King ales on handpump - IPA, Abbot and the seasonal Fireside (£3.05 and in good condition, although I did have to ask for a top up). The frequent underground rumble is a bit disconcerting, but it is very handy for Kentish Town tube station
On 4th December 2010
- rating: 6
[User has posted 8086 recommendations about 8086 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Will Larter left this review about Assembly House
It looks like the previous reviewer was unlucky with the toilets, which were fine when I was here two nights ago - or maybe they took his criticism to heart?
There was Greene King IPA and Abbot Reserve, which I was surprised to find was only £3.20 (for a 6.5% beer), cheaper than other weaker beers I had in this area. It may be that they are reacting to the low price policy of the Southampton Arms just along the road (Highgate Road, that is).
The Assembly House is a very impressive building, with an airy feel to it, though if you're at all sensitive to being "seen" when drinking, you might not appreciate the goldfish bowl effect of the large and slightly curved windows. The station is a stone's throw away (don't try it!) and the rumble of mainline trains can be felt from time to time.
These small quibbles apart, I found this a very pleasant drinking experience, though I might have felt differently on a busy Friday.
On 24th November 2010
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3733 recommendations about 3470 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
John Bonser left this review about Assembly House
Visited in May 2010
Large imposing roadhouse situated on a busy prominent street corner just outside Kentish Town tube station.
Once inside the pub, we learn that it was a traditional meeting place for ladies and gentlemen who wished to travel north in the safety of a group to avoid highwaymen and brigands. In the 1970's it became a film set in the Richard Burton film "Villain" and it is rumoured that Elizabeth Taylor pulled pints for the cast between shots.
Despite much evident modernisation, the pub still retains some semblance of its obvious earlier Victorian grandeur. There's a fine high moulded ceiling, some Corinthian columns and some internal etched glasswork. However much of the glass is now plain glass and the obvious separate bar layout has been knocked through. The pub is however listed in CAMRA's London Inventory of Heritage Pubs.
Apart from the surviving features, it now has a rather typical bare-boarded interior with some long wooden tables and chairs. There's a clear emphasis on food and wine and, with something of an All Bar One feel to the place, it's clearly pitching for the local professional thirty somethings.
Although it's not badged externally as such, it's a Greene King pub which, on my recent visit, was offering only the standard IPA and Abbott. The IPA - £ 2.75p - was in good condition and perhaps cheaper than I might have expected given earlier postings. There is now a visible price list displayed.
I didn't have any issue with the staff, but scuzzy toilets say a lot about a pub's management - and these here were the worst I've come across in a long while ( graffiti, wet floor, smelly etc ).
This is not a drinker's pub and, taking the experience as a whole, I don't envisage a return visit.
On 21st October 2010
- rating: 4
[User has posted 560 recommendations about 560 pubs]