The Bree Louise, NW1

A very handy traditional boozer that has been opened out into one large room with the bar along one elevation but split into two sections. One has the usual hand pulls and keg beers whilst the other section has the barrels of real ale racked up. A good selection of ales are always available with one of our favourites Downton chocolate Orange Stout often on gravity. Always been served with a top notch pint on our numerous visits but it can get very busy in the evening but can normally find a place to sit or stand unless we are passing though with bags on our travels in which case there just isn't room in here for them. They do tend to reserve tables in here which is a pet hate of mine but the landlord does keep an eye on 'no show' reservations and soon let's others sit there.

Visited in May 2010 Situated in a side street little more than a stone's throw from Euston Station, the Bree Louise can rightly be described as one of London's best known specialist real ale pubs. Externally, it's a rather unremarkable back street pub and the interior is also distinctly uninspiring with tables and chairs packed closely together in a rather featureless single room. Leaded frosted windows and a carpet do help contribute towards a reasonably traditional and comfortable ambience, however. The serving area is split into two separate sections either side of a pillar - on one side there's 5 handpumps and, on the other, a further 11 ales are served on gravity direct from the barrel. There's flags on the ceiling - ostensibly of the Six Nations rugby teams, although I only actually recollect seeing five and I was unable to decide if it was France or Italy that was missing. Also notable is an old framed photo of The Euston Arch, now sadly no longer with us. There's a TV screen, but, otherwise it's a quiet pub. Perhaps unusually for a pub with a distinct real ale emphasis and which appears to have a more mature customer base, there was an excess of signs telling me that I was on CCTV. Perhaps the proximity to a main line station counts against it. The pub describes itself as "A Pie, Ale and Cider Emporium" in its leatherbound menu and the pies that I saw arriving on the next table looked appetising and substantial. On the real ale front, on my lunchtime visit, beers on from the pump were Sambrooks Junction , Wandle, Redemption Urban Dusk and a beer from Batemans. Beers on gravity included Triple FFF Alton Pride, together with beers from Itchen, Dark Star and Nethergate. A blackboard lists the beers on at any particular time and, notably, there's a similar blackboard on the pub wall outside. Both the beers that I had - Sambrooks Junction and Redemption Urban Dusk - were in good condition. The pub is a CAMRA Good Beer Guide regular and is currently CAMRA North London Pub of the Year for 2009/10. I've had several visits in here previously where beer quality has been disappointing - particularly those on gravity - but, on balance, I think this pub is well worth seeking out. Finally, do remember to bring your CAMRA membership card with you if you've got one and claim your 50p per pint discount.

17 ales and 10 ciders were on when I visited on a Tuesday lunchtime. A friendly pub, not overly busy, and light enough so you can see what you are doing. Handy for the station; I shall be back!!

16 Real Ales and 8 cask Ciders were on the other evening, 5 Ales on pump and 11 on gravity and the ciders were from polypins on the bar area. I tried the Dark Star Over the Moon and Downtons Nelsons Delight and Dark Delight, all very good. And the wife had a couple of the Ciders. I can’t remember what they were, except for the fact that they were both over 6.0% as it wasn’t long before it looked like she’d swallowed a coat hanger. Nothing to add to all the previous reviews below and if you haven’t got it by now, it’s like a permanent mini beer festival in decent pub surroundings. Marvellous

Randomness Guide to London - Bree Louise entry