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The Junction Tavern, Kentish Town, NW5
NW5
NW5 1AG
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about The Junction Tavern
At first glance this former Courage pub does indeed look like a restaurant, particularly when viewed from Fortess Road. Not only were all tables laid for dining, but they were all reserved. Viewed from Lady Margaret Road however, and it does look a lot more like a drinkery and an inviting one at that. I can't add much to that below, but this type of well-preserved richly ornate interior is very much up my street. However, what is essentially a side bar has only six tables with an average of four spaces at each and two of these tables were reserved for dining, meaning that the pub isn't averse to depriving drinkers of their tables if demanded by diners. This rather begs the question: would the pub reserve all six of these tables, and if so, where do the drinkers go, having made the effort to get here? One point deducted...On the plus side, the landlord offered a woman who wished to change her baby the use of his office in the absence of such facilities.
Beers? Wye Valley Bitter, St. Austell’s Tribute, Twickenham’s Naked Ladies and TT Landlord at £4.30 a pint which isn’t bad for the area; it was in good nick too.
I'd happily come here again in theory, but the pub's seating policy rather gives the impression that being able to drink here is a question of pot luck. Perhaps it might be an idea to play them at their own game and book a table but not eat.
A return visit a few days later and my pint of Twickenham's Naked Ladies (£4.30) was seriously off. This is my third visit and on my first, the beer was off too. A pub which gets its ale wrong 66% of the time has lost my vote of confidence.
On 7th July 2018
- rating: 4
[User has posted 1985 recommendations about 1951 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Ian Mapp left this review about The Junction Tavern
CAMRA GBG 2017 Entry. Looked through window and could only see dining tables but it is larger than expected, with bar, conservatory and nice garden around the back.
A surprising TT Boltmaker was offer. Genuinely rarely seen outside of Yorkshire.
In good nick.
A decent pub. Visit blogged at http://bit.ly/2wM3nj2
On 11th August 2017
- rating: 8
[User has posted 277 recommendations about 276 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Alan Winfield left this review about The Junction Tavern
The Junction Tavern is a typical looking London corner pub which has black painted frontage.
You have to enter the pub from the side entrance,once inside the pub is split into two halfs,the bar faces inwards and serves the rear room which is for drinkers,this room is bare boarded and has basic wood benches and pew seats plus normal tables and chairs,the front area is seat aside for diners and all tables here are laid out for them,there is also an open kitchen in the front area.
There was a decent choice of real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Reunion Ales Opening Gambit,which was a very nice drink,the other real ales were Taylor Landlord,Ringwood Boondogle,Wye Valley HPA and By the Horns Hop Air Balloon.
I thought this was a very pleasant pub to have a drink in with friendly service.
Pub visited 2/6/2017
On 6th August 2017
- rating: 8
[User has posted 6113 recommendations about 6113 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john gray left this review about The Junction Tavern
Came across this pub by chance after searching for another local pub.I remember this pub from a few years ago and always liked it.Happy memories of past beer fests in here.Great interior and nice beer garden.Nice atmosphere in here tonight.About 4 or 5 cask beers inc Ghost Ship,Tea,Landlord and By the Horns -Hop air balloon.
On 11th March 2017
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1023 recommendations about 1009 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about The Junction Tavern
Cannot improve or add to the review below as my experience was almost identical except for the fact that all the tables in the side bar had reserved signs on them on this Saturday afternoon. I know why pubs do it but to be confronted with “reserved for Jake for 7.30PM “ signs at 2.00PM in the afternoon doesn’t exactly make the casual visitor feel wanted. As Jake’s table was the one in front of the fire I decided to utilise this one to consume my pint of Wye Valley IPA as I had no intention of spending the next 5 hours here. And although the Wye Valley IPA was decent enough I downed it sharpish and headed off to the next port of call for a much more welcome experience in the Pineapple for one not intending to eat .
For the record Adnams Broadside and the seasonal Thwaites Yule love it were also on with Bombadier and Tetley cask reverse clipped on the other two.
Definitely one focussed on the food trade and with the Southampton Arms and the Pineapple either side of this one I can’t see myself making a return visit.
On 3rd January 2016
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2110 recommendations about 1992 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about The Junction Tavern
This is a Victorian street corner pub which now splits the main front and rear rooms into a restaurant and separate drinking room to the rear, this accessed via a door in the side road. Once there would have been an island bar however the restaurant side is now converted to an open kitchen cum servery which probably explains why the dividing bar back looks considerably more recent than the counter. The bar area has a wooden floor and some well preserved and attractive wood panelling with carved detailing interspersed by a series of mirrors. The carved detail is repeated on the square columns either end of the bar and around the fireplace, centrally located opposite the bar. The ceiling has a circular raised pattern with gilded features, ornate glass chandeliers, moulded cornices and frieze and decorative buttresses. The pub has been extended at some time to the rear with another drinking area culminating in a conservatory which leads in turn to a garden with picnic benches. Seating is at standard height, comprising regular style chairs and tables plus a pair of benches.
The beer range is decent, of five handpumps, four were clipped offering Otter Ale, Twickenham Sundancer, Sambrooks Wandle and Exmoor Gold (£3.80). A bit of a local/south west split. The pub's earlier life can be seen courtesy of the Courage cockerel remaining on top of the pub sign.
It would be easy to dismiss this pub as a gastro only joint if glancing in from Fortess Rd however the rear bar is worth a visit for its fine interior and decent selection of ales. The welcome and service were friendly and the beer was good.
On 4th August 2013
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1708 recommendations about 1681 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The Junction Tavern
The Junction now doesn't open until 5.0 PM Monday to Thursday. The disappointment at finding it closed yesterday lunchtime was more that compensated for by being able to squeeze in an extra pint in the Southampton.
On 16th March 2012
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Junction Tavern
This large street corner pub has a striking Victorian exterior, replete with some old Courage branding which has survived the pub's transformation from traditional boozer to full-on gastro pub experience. The interior thankfully retains some of the splendour of the past, with some intricate panelling in the main room, especially around the fireplace. The ceiling is also very nice, with several chandeliers and a relief frieze running around the room under detailed support pillars. There is a modest amount of standard pub seating in this room, but it feels comfortable enough and I enjoyed nursing my pint in here whilst waiting for the rain to ease outside. A half decent soundtrack playing quietly in the background gave the place a bit of life during a quiet period of the day.
The front room however is an entirely different proposition, as it is set up solely for diners and has a large open kitchen along one wall, making it feel much more like a restaurant than a gastro pub. The phone in the main bar was ringing off the hook for much of the time I was there, with people clearly eager to make bookings, so perhaps the food is wonderful. Unfortunately I didn't manage to see a menu, so I can only speculate.
A trip to the toilet before departing revealed a very big room to the rear, which I'd not expected at all. There was loads more seating in here, including some in a conservatory area which led in turn to the beer garden.
There were four beers available: Timothy Taylor Landlord, Deuchars IPA, Sambrooks Wandle and Adnams Broadside. I tried the Landlord which was in pretty average shape - nothing to write home about. There were loads of people behind the bar, so getting served wasn't too much of an issue.
I thought this was an attractive pub and I can't really have any complaints as it served me well as somewhere to duck in to avoid a soaking, but its food led approach will certainly put off anyone hoping for a traditional Victorian street corner pub. Worth a look if you're on a crawl round the area, but there are some far better pubs close by.
On 4th October 2011
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Gill Smith left this review about The Junction Tavern
On entering the Junction we found that the bar area was to the right of the door, and the left side was set for dining. A little dark inside the bar area, but we enjoyed Windsor & bEton Windsor Knot and Sambrook Wandle. Other beers available were Downton Quadhop and Jennings Cumberland.
On 4th September 2011
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1339 recommendations about 1222 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Junction Tavern
My last two visits have found the beer quality to have not quite matched that first visit, so knocking a point off the score to reflect this. Fallen behind the sublime Southampton and the Pineapple in the local pecking order.
September 2010
An impressive Victorian exterior gives way to a dark wood-panelled bar to the right (busy) and a restaurant on the left – which was near-empty. Four ales were on the go (Rebellion Mutiny, Redemption Pale Ale, Twickenham Original and Sambrook Wandle – all £3) and both my Redemption and Twickenham were on particularly good form. Despite hearing mutterings elsewhere about unfriendly service, my barman was fine. Whilst there’s a decent seating arrangement in the bar with a number of mirrors to produce a pleasant illusion of increased space, I ventured to the far end of the bar and turned into the unpromising-looking corridor to find an impressive conservatory and snug, green garden area – a very pleasant place to quaff your drinks, even if the pine wood tables were a little sticky. Despite in being a conservatory on a cool autumn evening, plenty of heat was provided by a gas fire and a barmaid was busying herself dishing out candles for the tables. The toilets were in a good state of repair, as befitted the rest of the place.
A good discovery and on this showing I will be back next time there’s a gig on nearby I'm going to.
On 26th May 2011
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5081 recommendations about 5064 pubs]