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Detail Pages
The Betjeman Arms, N1
St. Pancras
N1
N1C 4QL
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Mark Davey left this review about The Betjeman Arms
I have drunk in here a few times whilst waiting for a train. It has recently been re-modelled to open it up, the old layout being a bit dark. Last time I was in was september 2016, two decent pints of bitter before hopping on a train went down very well indeed.
If you sit outside on the platform side, the loos are much closer, as you can access them from the platform.
Not sure if the Betjeman is any better than the Parcel Yard at Kings Cross, but it is certainly cheaper than the Great Northern Bar.
On 10th October 2016
- rating: 7
[User has posted 292 recommendations about 276 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about The Betjeman Arms
An upmarket large and impressive station pub, that does hold a certain grandeur. We sat at the main bar, where we found six cask ales on handpump. So we went for the Hammerton Brewery N7 Pale Ale, which was excellent. I quite liked this pub and would return, especially if they're sourcing good Locale beers. I agree with Quinno the loos are a bit of a hike, still it's a good opportunity to view the rest of the pub.
On 16th August 2016
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about The Betjeman Arms
On my way into one of the many entrances of Kings Cross Station I was happy to be enticed up a flight of stairs by an A board that informed me that the Betjeman Arms above was the ‘last pub before Paris’. Unfortunately I was off to Kentish Town rather than Paris, but as I was wearing my white Reebok beer slippers I decided to scale the stairs anyway. At the top of the stairs I found some terrace seating covered by three jumbrellas. This seating area is available for hire and must be vacated by 21:30 due to the proximity of residential flats. After learning from a food menu by the entrance that the cheapest pub main was £11.50 I entered the pub.
The interior has a modern feel with a black and white checked floor. The bar is stocked with premium draught products and I counted six hand pumps. These were drawing Adnam’s Ghost Ship, Truman’s Swift, Stod Fold Brewing Gold, Young’s Wooden Spoon, Twickenham Brewery’s Grandstand and Young’s Ordinary. A board behind the bar advertised bar snacks such as sausage rolls and scotch eggs for £3.50. There was some low background music playing and the only television screen that I saw was showing departure times. However, there is a screen in the ‘club room’ that is available for hire along with a separate dining room.
As station pubs go this place is pretty good and I would have no problem returning.
On 12th October 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5254 recommendations about 5222 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Betjeman Arms
St Pancras station pub, named after the poet who famously spearheaded the successful campaign to save the station from demolition in the 1960’s. Not easy to find, tucked away at the near end of the station on the upper level. Enter via an attractive outside tiled drinking area that overlooks the Eurostar trains and the kissing statue. The bar is to the left as you enter, with a number of drinking areas following the L-shape round, including some function rooms and a games room (bar billiards included) - the layout has changed since some of the earlier reviews below. There’s a sun-trap outside terrace with a decent view of the street if you’re tall enough, plus a an up-close-and-personal view of one of the gothic steeples. Décor items of note include copperplate (or effect) ceiling and a small amount of rail ephemera. A good range of six ales available from around the country. I presumed Sharps Betjemin was Cornish Coaster rebadged (it is), so went for the Stod Fold Gold and Truman's Swift which were in fair shape though pretty expensive (£4.25). A point of note is that they reserve tables well in advance of the party arriving, which is an irritation. Beware the long trip to the gents, you should repeat Captain Oates’ final words to your table before you embark. Overall, it’s pretty decent and seems to have come on since some the less-than-flattering reviews previously.
On 18th April 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5099 recommendations about 5082 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Betjeman Arms
I was rather unimpressed when I first visited this place, but it seems to have got better with time (particularly since the cramped, back-to-front layout - with the half-open kitchen near the door and the bar tucked away at the back - has thankfully been rearranged). There are also a dining room and the Artois Room beyond if you look hard enough, all featuring the sort of gastro-pub furniture and decor you would expect from a Geronimo Inns outlet. However, if the air temperature permits, the best spot is the large 'open air' Grand Terrace bar at the front where you can admire the great span of the 'Barlow shed' station roof. Five of the six handpumps were on this time, offering the 'house' (Sharps) Betjeman Ale and regular Youngs Ordinary plus Truman's Swift (£4.15), Sambrook's Junction and Robinson's Trooper. Not in a very obvious location, so I've never found it overcrowded, and overall it's pretty good for a station pub.
On 8th March 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 8117 recommendations about 8117 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
E TA left this review about The Betjeman Arms
A station bar conversion currently operated by Geronimo Inns. There is no real structure to the floor plan, just a set of conjoined areas with assorted seating, tables and functions, including an outside seating area where the sights and sounds of King's Cross are obscured by an opaque fence. The overall impression is of an impersonal, busy business whose purpose is to make money rather than meet a culinary of libational need. The staff are mainly professional (in a bad way), certainly curt and in one case, supercilious. The barman who served me clearly came from a country where the concept of a full pint is alien. An air of pseudo-literary pretentiousness is introduced through free-standing blackboards sporting aphorisms from the eponymous poet. The food looks contrived, but to be fair it's all freshly cooked in full view of the clientele. They appear to buy their twee enamel tableware from the same wholesaler as The Parcel Yard in the station over the road. There were 3 ales on – I had a pint of London Fields's Hackney Hopster, which was a good pint marred by being served over-chilled. Devoid of all but architectural charm, this business represents poor value for money compared to its nearby rivals.
On 13th June 2014
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3286 recommendations about 3251 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The Betjeman Arms
As described previously, this is something of a rabbit warren of a pub, especially the trek to the gents which is at the end of a corridor through the bar area, back room, and formal dining room. When I was in we stood and sat in the outside area – outside in that it’s outside the main bar but of course still inside the station. The seating out here was fairly comfortable, plus it had the advantage for fizz drinkers in that it had a small bar counter.
Serious drinkers have to go inside for their drinks. They had four ales on – Betjeman Ale, Young’s Bitter, Truman’s Runner (£3.90), and Adnam’s/Camden South Town. As station bars go this one is one of the best. It doesn’t seem to suffer from the crowds of suitcase and trolley wielding travellers that others do, presumably because one can’t get to or from the trains from the concourse here. It (obviously) doesn’t have the traditional pub atmosphere that the best places have, but it’s definitely OK for a swift one.
On 27th April 2014
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
hondo . left this review about The Betjeman Arms
Interior as described below. 5 real ales and food served. The terrace gives you views of the Eurostar trains.
On 18th November 2013
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 2883 recommendations about 2820 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Betjeman Arms
The poet John Betjeman famously campaigned against the demolition of St Pancras station back in the 1960's, so following the high profile move of the Eurostar service to the station in 2007, his efforts were recognised by the unveiling of a stature depicting him seemingly admiring the redeveloped station. Almost as an afterthought, this pub, tucked away at the far end of the station, has been named in his honour. Unlike many bars in London's largest stations, this place isn't run by Fullers, but is instead a Geronimo Inn, so there is a slight sense of heading into the unknown as you enter. Arriving from the upper level, past the aforementioned statue and a nice drinking area giving views of the arriving and departing trains below, you find yourself in a bare boarded room with the servery partly visible towards the rear. Seating here is in the form of banquettes supplemented by standard chairs, with a few screens and walls breaking the space up nicely. The décor is a bit bland, with a few photos on the walls and some barrels and jugs dotted around the place, but there wasn't much connection between the pub and the station, with the usual railway memorabilia conspicuous by its absence, save for a pub sign for 'The Station Master' (a fictional pub?) opposite the bar . A TV screen was showing rolling news coverage with subdued music playing over the top, despite my Saturday evening visit. Turning left at the bar, you move through to a fairly compact dining room with nicely tiled walls and a fair bit of seating including a long butcher's block style table in the middle of the room. A TV screen was spotted in here as well, but it was turned off. Beyond this, you find another, even more formal dining room with long banquettes on the end wall, a nice fireplace to one side and waitresses standing around offering full table service. A corridor with grand window views down to the station below, leads down to the toilets, but it's a bit awkward having to traipse through the dining rooms to get here from the bar.
On the bar, five ales were on the go - Sharp's Equinox IPA and their house beer Betjeman Ale, Youngs Ordinary, Adnams Gunhill and Redemption Trinity. I gave the latter a try and was pleased to find it kept in good condition. the fridges appeared to be stocked with a good bottled beer range including some Belgian classics, ideal for anyone doing a bit of last minute research before hopping on the train to Brussels. I didn't fancy anything to eat, but I did take a quick glance at the menu, which I seem to recall offered typical British pub classics at prices that were not quite as frightening as I'd expected.
For me, this was a pretty good stab at a station bar and whilst not quite living up to those at the likes of nearby Kings Cross or Euston, is still worth a look for a decent pint of ale before jumping on a train. Just remember to give yourself enough time to walk the entire length of the station to the platforms.
On 16th November 2013
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about The Betjeman Arms
Have to say, as Station concourse bars go I found this to be one of the better ones. Perhaps that was helped by the fact that it was a glorious sunny lunchtime and I was able to sit out front under one of the big Jumbrellas on the elevated section out the front above the Euston road.
Yes, it is a bit gastro pub design internally and I certainly won’t be paying what they wanted for Fish, beer battered chips and mushy peas, but if you haven’t time to visit one of the superior proper pubs on the other side of the Euston road for a decent last pint of Real Ale before heading off to France then this place was perfectly acceptable.
Beer choice was reasonable with Sambrooks Wandle, Adnams Broadside and two from Sharps including the Betjeman Ale and the Wandel was perfectly fine, although did have to ask the bar man to top it up..
On 13th June 2011
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2111 recommendations about 1992 pubs]