Lord Southampton, NW5

Date of visit: 13th March 2011. If someone with some imagination could reinvent this pub it could be really quite good. As it happens, it's a bit of a dive and is clearly aimed at the local estate crowd. My main complaints are that there's a fruit machine (with accompanying noise), a TV belching junk (Deal Or No Deal on my visit) and the stench wafting over the pub from the loos was too much to bear; I didn't care much for the blue vinyl seats either. I can't really see this pub surviving without a serious makeover. Rated: 3. -------------------------------------- Supposedly dating from 1792 and rebuilt in the mid-19th century, the second of NW5’s Southampton-themed pubs has a CAMRA listed interior of *. It was formerly run by landlady Martha McGrath for around 40 years until 2016, former patrons supposedly including Karl Marx, thespians Peter O'Toole, Bill Nighy and Pete Postlethwaite, radio DJ Chris Moyles and 1980s popstrels Bananarama; if true, that’s really saying something as – apart from Moylesy – I couldn’t really imagine any of that bunch coming here in its former guise, especially Keren Woodward. The place closed around late 2020 and was boarded up, scruffy inside and out; see CAMRA’s photo. Reopened on 26th November, the simple interwar years’ interior has been largely – and beautifully – retained, with a new boarded floor with turquoise tiled infill, original threequarters height natural wood panelling, above which is textured wallpaper then ceiling, in both matt and gloss sage green paint, peripheral settle seating, original bar front and mirrored back, leaded clerestories and old school furniture; lighting comes from muted, translucent white spherical shades and a good Doors/Hendrix soundtrack played during my brief stay, no TVs, customers now mixed age, civilised locals; it’s love in the first degree, presided over by friendly licensees Aimee Brown and Chris Harrington. The same can’t be said of the ale front though, with Pride and the new Hophead v. 3.0, just £4.50 and in good nick. This is – at last – a very nice pub, one of the best not just in NW5 but in the Borough of Camden, but it could do with a more adventurous cask lineup to improve the score. Nevertheless, it’s proof positive that it ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it. And that’s what gets results. Rated: 7.5.

The Lord Southampton is a corner pub that is a short walk from the busy Malden Road. Once inside there is an L shaped room with the bar facing on entry,there is a a wood laminate floor,the seating is scruffy bench seating and small stools,there is a pool table to the rear and darts board on the left side. I was surprised to see one real ale on the bar,which was Doom Bar,this was a decent drink. The pub was packed on my Friday afternoon visit with what some might say a rough looking crowd,but this did not bother me. Background music was playing. The pub is also used as an hostel and locals in the Gipsy Queen said it could be a bit rough inside. Another London pub done so i was well pleased. Pub visited 2/6/2017