The Scottish Stores, Kings Cross, N1

Called in mid afternoon , pub not too busy. Pub interior neat and tidy. Bar person helpful , three hand pulls to choose from. I went for Dreams of Barry Fornication from the South Wales Vog Brewery, so I assume "Barry" was the town not a person,although I could be wrong . . . . Worth a visit if you are in the area.

A fairly large group of us had arranged to meet up here for midday opening. However, at 12:10, the barmaid still hadn't bothered to open up. She had sat on a stool at the bar until midday and then decided to potter around for a while, despite clearly knowing that ourselves and another group were waiting to come in. We had actually been there before midday, but after a 15-minute wait, we gave up and walked up to the road to the King Charles I which had apparently opened on time and was already full with customers who had been served efficiently. After a pint in there, we returned to meet up with a late arrival. But to be honest, we'd have been better off staying in the King Charles I. The Scottish Stores has shedded its seedy reputation as a strippers' pub and now has quite a traditional feel to it with a circular island bar surrounded by narrow areas of seating. A larger room adjoins the main bar and presumably serves as overflow seating. Toilets are downstairs. 3 cask ales were on. The house beer "Scottish Stores" is brewed by Wantsum. A second beer was Fortitude, also from Wantsum, with the third being Portobello Sauce on the Side. Craft beers seemed to be mainly from Siren. Quite a few of us tried the Christmas in Cali. A generous CAMRA discount of £1 per pint is offered and the pub now finds itself in the latest Good Beer Guide. The delayed opening was slightly irritating. But I'll look on this as a minor indiscretion and err on the side of optimism with a 6/10, whilst still wishing we'd stayed in the King Charles I!

Extended bar, mainly craft based but some real ales, though not totally perfect. Has the feel of a work in progress

Much improved pub which has been well restored with the original panelling and fittings augmented by matching replacements to give a welcoming and nicely lived-in pub feel. The enthusiastic bar manager is committed to cask ale and rotates beers from about 8 breweries, with this visit finding two each from Wantsum and By The Horns.

I came here several times in 2015/16/17 but always when with company or towards the end of a crawl, when I struggle to remember enough to write a review; I do remember on my last visit getting into a fairly drunken conversation at the bar as to why I was wearing a Luton Town scarf and hat but catching a train to Sheffield. As has been mentioned, the beer then was cheap and plentiful, and you would struggle to find elbow room at the bar or a seat at a table. There are now bar hangers again, so the first problem remains to some extent, but there was plenty of room once I had been served - in fact I had the whole of the room on the right to myself at 8pm. There's plenty of room for more beers on the bar, too - just two beers on whereas four would have been more usual five years ago. I remember getting Camra discount here before, bringing the price per pint below £4 as Quinno noted in his review on 2016, but I paid £2.70 for a half on this occasion. (Not a complaint, just an observation. And I never ask for a discount these days anyway.) My Riverbed Red from New River brewery was in very good condition. This is one of a number of decent pubs close to Kings Cross station (King Charles I, The Fellow and McGlynns would be others) that are well worth a visit either before catching a train or after stepping off one.

What a transformation! Last time I was in here it was a seedy strip bar. Not a place for the faint hearted! It is now a decent pub well described below with excellent service. I had a cracking pint of Hammerton N7 (in fact I had 2 it was that good!) Pick of the pubs near Kings Cross for me.