The Scottish Stores, Kings Cross, N1

Official site of The Scottish Stores - www.thescottishstores.co.uk

Official site of The Scottish Stores - www.thescottishstores.co.uk

Just writing in to clarify a couple of the points below and, once again, thanks for the feedback & for anyone reading this we DO run a 10% discount scheme for any CAMRA members. Firstly, for Mr Pub SignMan. The formulation for all of the Ripple Steam beers have been tweaked recently & have been received extremely well, in particular the "Gold" which we have been running a lot of recently. I'd also like to assure that with the ale volume we are moving we don't have an issue with beer sitting in cask for too long. For Mr Malden Man. I would very much like to apologise if you were overcharged & knowing my staff as I do, I would certain suggest this was a mistake rather than anything suspicious. For Mr Bucking Fastard. I don't remember your party being in but I would like to comment that I have been a big fan of Big Chief in the past & therefore bought it in as my first purchase from Redemption. Honestly, I have to agree with your comments that it wasn't as good as when I have had previously & haven't purchased it since as a result. I DO take issue with the fact you may think something untoward may have been going on as this is simply not the case at all & it's probably been the first time in my life that i've had a "shifty" insinuation towards me. As a gesture & as i'd like to welcome you back into the pub, please mail me in advance of your next visit and have a pint on us. (iam.collins4@gmail.com). Cheers.

I have to say that our experience was better than that experienced by BF and Maldenman. There were a couple of Ripple beers on and we had a pint of each, and both were on fine form. We mentioned by chance in passing that we were CAMRA members and the barmaid volunteered the fact that we were entitled to a 10% discount. Both Ripple beers started off at £3.80, and came down to £3.42 with the discount. I would expect the other ales to be more expensive than their "house" Ripple beers though. I didn't see any sign of food or menus when we visited at early doors on Thursday around midday. The interior is well described by others, so I don't need to repeat it. It's not surprising that it's on CAMRA's Regional Inventory of pubs with historic interiors. As we were the only customers in there, we had a friendly chat with the guv'nor. With seven ales on, plus a cider on handpump, this is now very much a destination pub. I will certainly be coming back here.

This attractive, Grade II listed pub, dating back to 1901, spent a number of years operating as a stripper's pub called the Flying Scotsman, before re-emerging from behind the obscured front windows as a cosy drink-led traditional pub. This sudden change of direction is good news for drinkers and fans of well-preserved historic pub interiors alike. Despite the place's dubious recent history, the listing has presumably meant that internal changes have been kept to a minimum. The pub has a three room layout, with pleasant dividing walls demarking the limits of each. You enter into the main bar area, where a centrally positioned island servery stands directly opposite. Dark wood flooring runs through the whole pub, with some nice checkerboard tiling around the bar area whilst attractive wood panelling covers much of the walls and partitioning, with decorative touches in abundance and some etched glass also in evidence. Some William Morris wallpaper can be seen in various spots around the bar and this is complimented by matching curtains, giving the room a nice retro feel. There is limited seating in the main bar area, but there are high tables and stools in the open right hand room where the wood panelling has a series of images inserted, each depicting various drinking scenes. Behind the bar there is a small space with more high stool seating and some large floor to ceiling images of a brewer at work, presumably taken at the Ripple Steam Brewery, whose sign hangs nearby and who seem to have a link to the pub. A full circle can be completed by passing the left hand end of the bar to emerge where you entered. Two Ripple Steam beers - Original Best Bitter and Farmhouse Pale - were available along with Butcombe Bitter, Hop Back Winter Lightning, Stod Fold Amber and a real cider. A decent keg range featuring the likes of Gipsy Hill, Shoreditch and Hammerton was also available, with most fonts in the right hand room. I tried the Farmhouse Pale, served to me by a rather blunt barman and not in particularly good condition to be honest. I liked the intimate feel of this pub and was encouraged by a good range of cask and keg beers, but the quality of my pint does raise a few questions. The place was a lot quieter than I'd expected, given it's close proximity to Kings Cross station - perhaps it has yet to shake off its previous reputation, but it was still busy enough to generate a good atmosphere. If they can ensure consistent beer quality and address some of the issues mentioned in previous reviews, this could become the go-to pub for the Kings Cross area. The jury is still out.

An attractive old traditional interior with the island bar serving three distinct areas despite the fact you can walk through. Boarded flooring with a chequer tiled slash area around the counter, the high tables around the perimeter actually make sense in here giving much needed room. Nice wood panelling with inserted drawings of hunting scenes, some etched glass, a carved area above the bar has the pub name and date of 1901. William Morris wallpaper with songbirds and flowers matched by the curtains. Music played but only the bass line was discernible due to the hum of conversation echoing around the hard surfaced interior, no sign of a TV that I could see. As said previously, eight handpumps, six were on this Saturday, Rebellion Big Chief, Ripple Steam Best Bitter, King Brighton Blonde, Clouded Minds Hazel Nutter, Pig and Porter Coffee Stout and Old Rosie cider. One of the reversed was another Ripple brew. Now, despite being a nice pub with a great selection, I have a gripe. I had the Big Chief, I don't know the beer really, it tasted ok. I did however pay with a £20 note and didn't check my change, yes, my fault I accept that. On arriving elsewhere later it was evident that either I was charged £5.50 for my pint or I was short changed, I note another reviewer paid £4.50 the previous day. I know this as I somehow left the house with no cash at all and took 20 from the hole in the wall. Honest mistake, who knows? It leaves a bit of a bad taste.