Nambucca, Holloway, N7

Dating from around the late 18th century, this was originally the Cock; you can see an effigy of one to the corner parapet, this incarnation rebuilt in 1881 along depressing Holloway Road, the current name dating from around 2006 which translates as…your guess is as good as mine. This has for some time been a noted 300-person live music venue – so we are led to believe – with Wikipedia’s entry claiming that this was the starting gate for Marcus Mumford, Laura Marling and the Libertines, not that my musical knowledge extends any further than the late ‘80s, terminating with Kylie Minogue and Rick Astley. Reopened in October 2024 after a two-year hiatus, the interior has nothing of any architectural merit, possibly the result of a fire dating from 2008, the interior being bare boarded, with a raised area to the rear with pool table and dais for minstrels, above which is a glitter ball and lighting array to give people the impression that they’re getting value for money. The bar back is heavily distressed with scaffold shelving, the front exhibiting copper plumbing behind Perspex panels. Furniture is conventional and mixed, including some sea green booth-style velour banquettes. There’s some exposed industrial galvanized steel ductwork, décor in the form of vinyl records glued to walls, lighting from dangly filament thingies. Five silent TVs showed fat men chucking little metal spears at circular targets, none watched by around just 10 older customers – one woman spotted – and all quite pickled at the time of my Wednesday 9.45pm visit; the Arsenal supporters who had just left the Emirates were conspicuous by their absence. Obviously there’s no cask here, with a meagre keg offering including the likes of Yorkshire’s Madrí and the new Carling that is Neck Oil, £3.30 a half, served by an efficient barman. A bit of a depressing place, the less-than-ideal Owl & Hitchhiker is opposite.

Facebook page of Nambucca - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of Nambucca - www.facebook.com