The Spread Eagle, Camden Town, NW1

A long narrowish room boasting five handpumps on the bar, these were offering Youngs Original and Special along with the savior that is St Austell Proper Job, the other two handles were for Cider, Rosies Pig and Rosies Pig Rhubarb. A decent enough place but at the same time nothing special.

A first in here the other night into what is an oasis of normality and calm in Camden Town; an older and more professional crowd in here with a muted blue/grey colour scheme, bare wood panelling and bare boarded interior; furniture is conventional - more Gastro than Goth then. This pub may have been expanded over the years, but it is a purpose-built pub dating from 1858. Ales: a broad Young's line-up, Portobello APA and Fusilier's Hop Stuff which was fine but a bit steep at £2.35 a half. I'd come here again if in the area, but overall I'd rather not be IN the area to start with.

This is a smart, Grade II listed Young's pub, just a short walk from Camden Town tube station, which started life as a row of terraced houses skirting the corner of Parkway and Albert Street before converting to a pub in the early 20th Century. Today it is (according to a sign outside) trying to present itself as Young's version of a craft beer bar (i.e. Youngs beers plus a guest ale or two) and restaurant. Entering from Albert Street, you find yourself in the bare boarded main bar with the servery directly opposite the door. A stainless steel counter and modern tile bar back sit on and behind what quite possibly is the original dark wood counter and bar back. There also appears to be some original panelling retained around this part of the pub, but much of the wall space has now been painted in gastro grey. The place is fairly light thanks to the large, arched windows with their frosted top sections, allowing those sat on the curved padded corner banquette or nearby tables a good people watching position. The décor is fairly restrained, with some interesting art on show as well as an old Kensington Station clock. The pub splits in two once you move to the right of the bar, offering dining type areas which both happened to smell strongly of fish on this visit. Décor is a mix of bare bricks, wood panelling, frosted glass partitioning screens and lots of standard tables and chairs with the odd plush chair dotted around. The front side is slightly exposed thanks to the continuance of the large windows, but whilst the other side offers a bit more privacy, it was considerably gloomier. A trip down to the gents saw a series of reimagined book covers lining the staircase, which I enjoyed perusing. A jazzy soundtrack played throughout my stay but I didn't see any TV screens. Three Young's beers - Ordinary, Special and London Gold - lined up on handpull next to guests of Sharp's Doom Bar and Adnams Ghost Ship. A very energetic, upbeat barman poured me a pretty good pint of the Ghost Ship and enjoyed some good chat with the steady stream of customers coming through the door on a Tuesday evening. I found this place a little too food focussed to settle down for more than a quick pint, although I did quite enjoy propping up the bar and reading through one of the copies of Time Out they had stacked up in the corner. Calling it a craft beer pub is a bit far fetched, but I enjoyed a decent pint here and would happily call here again if I fancied a bite to eat with my beer.