The Lucas Arms, WC1

Official site of The Lucas Arms - www.lucasarms-london.co.uk

This place is, in effect, a glorified estate pub. Mainly a locals' hang-out with some studenty types and the occasional lost tourist and chirpy Welsh folk from the nearby London Welsh Centre. Carpeted and traditional to a point (it was rebuilt probably in the 1930s). Pub grub served from pictorial menus, e.g. egg and chips with the omnipresent smell of fried food. Little in the way of décor, with chintz tie-back curtains. There's a games machine and TV showing the news with the sound down. Ales: Greene King's IPA, London Glory and Westerham Brewery's British Bulldog at an extremely reasonable £1.90 a half, though this was a very dull ale. Customers seem to enjoy this place but I require something with an overall greater punch. I won't be returning, but I wish it all the best; The Queen's Head is just around the corner.

Official site of The Lucas Arms - www.lucasarms-london.co.uk

Greene King pub with a split level interior. 3 real ales and food served.

The Lucas Arms is a split level Greene King pub with a front seating area that leads to a raised L shaped bar at the rear. During a recent Monday afternoon visit the bar was stocked with standard draught and the three hand pumps were drawing Greene King IPA and Scrum Down alongside Twickenham Brewery’s Naked Ladies. Pub grub is available all day with the majority of mains costing less than £10. A plasma screen in the bar was showing muted rolling BBC News and World Cup Rugby was advertised. I didn’t see any signs for Sky Sports. Upstairs is a function room that I did not visit, but I did note that it hosts Celtic comedy and cinema every last Wednesday of the month… Yippee!!? Out the back is a covered seating area that is mainly for the use of smokers. I found the service to be very friendly and I thought that this was a decent enough pub that I would have no problem popping back into if I find myself in the area again.

Having given up on getting served in the nearby heaving Queen's Head, I decided to pop into this split-level Greene King pub instead. Entering through the Cromwell Street entrance, you find yourself in the main bar with the servery directly opposite. Some U-shaped banquettes formed into booths provide a nice spot to relax under the front windows, with regular tables and chairs to the left and in a darker rear recess past the end of the bar. Two steps lead down into a lounge with padded banquettes around half of the walls and standard tables and chairs filling up the rest of the space. The room is carpeted throughout and there are several old photos on the walls , mostly railway themed, which is apt given the pub's proximity to Kings Cross station. A nice fireplace can be found in one corner and there is what I initially thought was a video juke box in another corner, although I actually think it might have been some sort of advertising screen. Music, mainly in the form of '90's chart hits, played fairly loudly throughout my stay and a TV in the main bar was showing muted BBC1 programming. Some limited bench seating is available outside the front of the pub and there is a small courtyard to the left, whilst signs indicated that a function rom is available upstairs. Just the two Greene King beers were on when I arrived - IPA and Down the Dragon - with Old Speckled Hen having recently been taken off. I asked for a pint of Down the Dragon and the very friendly manager insisted on offering me a taster, warning me that it was a chilli and chocolate beer and might not be to my taste. I was tempted to tell her that it is much more drinkable than Greene King IPA and went ahead with ordering the pint, which was in good nick, if a bit heavy handed with the chilli. The manager remembered what I had ordered and popped over later on to see how I was getting on with it. This is a fairly unremarkable pub that I found was easy enough to settle down in, despite the loud music, but lacked a bit of character. The service was probably the most memorable feature of my visit and despite the limited beer range, I thought the pub was a pretty decent back-up for my original plans.