Cafe Koko, NW1

One of the more earthy drinking venues in the area, the Hope & Anchor can be found tucked away behind Koko (formerly the Camden Palace) at the Mornington Crescent end of town. The front section sticks out into the pavement and appears to be a later addition. The pub does retain several classic pub features, notably the external glazed tiling (and the decorative tiling by the front door), a few remnants of patterned wndows in the doorways themselves, a glazed sunlight and some ornate ceilingwork. Internally, it is quite basic and quite tatty with bare worn floorboards and ad hoc décor and furnishings. To the left of the bar is a raised section containing a darts area and to the right, a separate room with pool table. Behind the bar itself is a wonderful personalized mirror bearing the names of the moniker of the London Distillery & North Western Brewery Both the staff and customers I have found a bit linguistically basic for want of a better term but it generally seems friendly enough although it has always lacked any real atmosphere beyond a few small cliqey groups on my visits. The only ale is Courage Best and the quality is a bit hit or miss although at £3 it is quite reasonably priced for the area. A brace of TV’s over the doorways and one in the pool room as well as a big screen provide a vehicle for sporting events whilst the juke box can spout out anything from Dean Martin to the Pogues depending on which part of its eclectic customer base is present. It’s an OK pub if you like them rough and ready and for a meeting place or as part of a crawl it will do a job but it’s not really a place to get over-excited about even if it is one of the more traditional boozers in the area.

This is a grotty pub with standard lagers and an ale offering of Courage Best. There is a dart board and a pool table up the back of the pub on the way to the toilets. There are also three TVs and a projector screen for the sports. The barmaid was very friendly and the governor was very jovial as were his cronies (read in to this what you may). There are better pubs in the area.