Jamboree, Kings Cross, WC1

Official site of Jamboree - www.jamboreevenue.co.uk

Official site of Jamboree - www.jamboreevenue.co.uk

Down a small side street, close to King Cross station, this is an unusual bar with an unpromising sounding location, set, as it is, in the shell of a former mechanic’s workshop. In many ways, the location gives the place a ‘craft beer bar’ feel, whether intentional or not, with a large, rectangular single room layout composed of such visually unstimulating features as a concrete floor, bare brick walls and a high gabled ceiling with skylight top. The huge, barn like doors, obviously built to accommodate a motor vehicle rather than groups of hipsters, are a notable surviving feature and there are large windows down two sides of the room. The servery runs down most of the right hand wall with a very basic long and low counter and some nice glazed tiling on the bar back which has been adorned with various blackboards listing draught beer options (there are no details on the taps themselves) and a simple menu. Standard tables with plastic bucket seats run in rows from the bar through the centre of the room whilst a couple of low sofas stand to the left. On the rear wall is a huge photo of what appears to be a train pulling into Kings Cross station but elsewhere there is virtually no décor of which to speak. Notably, there were no TV screens to be seen and there was also no music playing, so customers were just left to chat, although the large space made things echo a bit, raising quite a din. There are no cask ales available, so options were limited to a keg range comprising Kozel, Krombacher, Meantime Pale Ale, Guinness and something called Squirrel, which I was told was a Belgian lager. I gave this a try (£4.10), but can’t say it was anything to write home about. I found the bar staff to be a little blunt and I entered to the rather off-putting sight of keg lines being drawn through into industrial sized empty mayonnaise tubs. This is a strange place which I thought on entering would be food-led, but actually seemed to be functioning primarily as a bar during my visit. It doesn’t really seem to be offering anything unique on the beer front and the building, whilst mildly interesting, felt cold and empty. I’m glad in a way that I stopped to check this place out, but there wasn’t much that made me think I’d want to come back.

Funny place this. Previously a derelict Mechanic's workshop, a firm of architects with an office close by have renovated it into one single-room, modern cafe-bar. It does a range of world beers but cocktails are more prominent, at central London prices. Came as part of a work Christmas lunch thing and it was quiet but welcoming. Off Pentonville road, it really is only the sort of place you would find if you were looking for it, as its main access point is through a pretty nondescript alleyway. Worth seeking out I reckon, but in no danger of troubling the editor of the Good Beer Guide any time soon.