The Chandos Arms, Colindale, NW9

Visited 22/04/25 No cask, three unused handpumps. Basic keg offering of Bones Lager, Neck Oil and Gamma Ray from Beavertown, Heineken, Moretti, Amstel, Cruz, K1664, Guinness and Inch's cider. Bar counter is against the back wall in the front area of this venue. The venue is (tartan) carpeted apart from a tiled area along the bar counter and small boarded square in front of the gents! Seating in this area is via some tall tables, some semi-circular booth tables and a sofa and some bucket chairs in front of the firegrate to the left of the entrance. In the front corner to the right of the entrance is a corner fabric banquette and more regular tables on the tartan carpet, with a large mirror with a sign above proudly declaring that "Nobody gets out sober". With the pumping music totally out of place here and especially for the time of the day I 100% I will leave here sober! There is an interesting skylight above the central part of the floor space on the way to the outside seating to the right of this side of the pub, which was quite small and picnic benches on wooden decking. The area beyond the front part of the pub was a similarly bare boarded area with the tiling in front of the extension of the front bar counter. Mish mash of seating, small stage area, upright piano against the far wall, pool table, dart board, modern art on the walls and you get the clear idea this is a maelstrom of a pub experience. Indeed, the original fire grate against the back wall in this area to the left of the small stage is about as aesthetically pleasing as you get here. Other than type my notes and sup my half of Neck Oil, I was really looking forward to a humdrum North London Spoons experience after this mindfcuk experience. I would need to be heavily induced to make a return visit here.

In a restrained brewers’ Tudor style, this pub would seem to date back to only 1937, probably built to serve the period housing. It has been under the stewardship of the Dallas Pub Company (who?) since April 2023 when the previous licensees – including Emily Ovenden? – departed after nine years. There’s a two-room format, the left-hand side being largely made over to a pool table and dartboard; trendy prints adorn the walls. The main room is carpeted, the bar back simple, the front possibly original but there’s really nothing in the way of heritage. Walls are painted in contemporary pastel shades. Furniture is mixed, with some semicircular booths, décor taking the form of trendy prints then some black and white photos of the area from yesteryear; there’s a grandfather clock too. Two TVs showed silent sport, one above an extensive short order menu. There was a deafeningly loud – though in the main very good – live band playing at the time of my Saturday 9.30pm visit, with numbers from the likes of Hendrix or Black Sabbath, then Donna Summer’s I Feel Love somewhat incongruously belted out by a bloke in a T-shirt, sans Moroder backing track. Customers were mixed-age locals, many foot tapping to the music, though with a sizeable conclave in the pool room, perhaps either uninterested in live music or tinnitus sufferers. Now with three unused pumps, it was a half of Gamma Ray, £3.30 served by a charming barmaid, communication effected via mime due to the deafening music. This is an ok pub that would get an improved score with a decent cask beer. With the live music and proximity to the tube, it’s easily the best of the three remaining ‘real’ pubs in NW9, especially when compared to the Green Man.

Official site of The Chandos Arms - www.chandosarms.co.uk

Official site of The Chandos Arms - www.chandosarms.co.uk