King Charles I, Kings Cross, N1

The King Charles I is a tiny little no frills boozer that has seen better days. During my Monday afternoon visit there was some background music playing off the jukebox and the handful of middle aged men present were glancing at BBC news that was muted, but subtitle, on a flat screen TV. Being quiet I was able to sit at the bar in this pub where there is more standing room than seating space. The opening times for this pub are midday except on Sundays when the doors do not open until 15:00. Premium draught products were available from the bar that also supports four hand pumps. One of these was unused leaving Hanlon’s Nice Tackle, Truman’s Bold as Brass and Cottage Brewing Company’s Golden Ale as the cask options. Food is not available here. I found the service to be very friendly and I would pop back in if passing, but this isn’t the sort of place I would take the wife.

A dark wooden interior that's a bit rough round the edges but nothing wrong with that. 4 real ales served.

Very interesting pub near Kings Cross Station, dark inside with various curio wall coverings, like masks and animal heads. Small inside it has wood benches and is different from a lot of other standard pub decors. They were having trouble with the beer on my visit & the Bethnal Green bitter went followed by the London Fields, but when a decent pint did appear it was very nice & a chance to try the Brrodie's

Hidden away in a side street a few minutes walk away from the hustle and bustle of Kings Cross / St Pancras station is The King Charles 1st. As we approach the pub, the dark painted exterior mistakenly leads you to assume it may be a gastro pub, but, you’ll be pleased to hear, it isn’t. Rather smaller than you might anticipate from outside, it’s a bare boarded room with a small wooden curved bar counter directly in front of you as you enter. Boarded wood panelled walls give the place something of a rather woody ale house feel. Seating is mainly normal wooden tables and chairs with stools at the bar. A lit fire contributed towards a warm and welcoming atmosphere. It’s decorated with a rather eclectic range of paraphernalia which give the pub a rather crowded and cluttered, but characterful and quirky air. On the walls are a series of African masks. Several stuffed animal heads look down on proceedings, including a ram’s head wearing a Tommy Cooper red fez. Note also the stained glass window featuring a blond haired cherub and an unusual enamelled sign advertising The Leu Family’s Family Iron. Perhaps unusually, given the limited space, room is found for a bar billiards table just inside the door. Space is tight and, whilst sitting at the bar whilst a game was in progress, I got poked in the ribs several times from the end of the cue, so I took the hint and sat elsewhere. Despite several lamps over the table, the interior is rather dark and this effect is compounded by the dark blinds which, rather oddly, are pulled half down. No food is served but a prominent old sign exhorts us to “bring your own food or order locally and have it delivered”. Oddly, given this, a blackboard lists what could be regarded as a wide selection of available wines. The pub appears to attract students and the like. Based on my visit, homeward bound commuters using the nearby station do not frequent the pub in any significant numbers. Occasional folk music sessions are held and the Phil Grispo orchestra perform once a month. 4 beers were on – 3 from Brodies ( Porter, Bethnal Green Bitter and Shoreditch Sunshine ) – plus Caledonian Flying Scotsman, a beer that seems to be cropping up more frequently nowadays. Perhaps wisely, I gave the Porter ( ABV – 7.8% ) a miss, but the other 2 Brodie beers were in good form. The pub is listed in the CAMRA 2012 Good Beer Guide. I’m putting this one down for an early revisit

This characterful little pub has a fantastic location down a quiet side street just a couple of minutes walk from Kings Cross station. The single room is decorated with all manner of unusual items including numerous antlers, horns and animal heads (some still bearing Christmas decorations) and a collection of African style masks. A bank note collection behind the bar, a row of pumpkins on the mantelpiece and a stained glass window with what looked to be an insert of Elvis in the middle (although I may well be wrong on that) all combine to create a rather quirky feel. In spite of all this, the place somehow retains quite a traditional feel, with dark wood floors and wall panels, a lit fireplace with large ornate mirror above and a good mix of seating. I spotted a large TV screen, although I can't imagine much sport gets shown here, as well as a juke box and a plentiful supply of board games. The pub has ties with Brodie's Brewery and I was looking forward to sampling some of their beers, but unfortunately there were only two on during my Saturday evening visit, and both pretty strong ones at that - Hoxton Special IPA (6.6%) and Dalston Black (7%). The remaining hand pumps had Butcombe Bitter and Gold. I gave the Hoxton Special a try and thought it was a good, strong IPA. There was only one barman on duty, which was a bit of a surprise on a Saturday evening when the place was heaving, and he found himself having to run down to the cellar on several occasion, creating long queues at the bar, which, to his credit, he dealt with rather admirably. As Quinno mentions, the place is probably best avoided outside peak times (especially if they only put one barman on), but it's now firmly installed as the first place I go when passing through King's Cross.