The Camden Club, Chalk Farm, NW1

Facebook page of The Camden Club - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of The Camden Club - www.facebook.com

Official site of The Camden Club - thecamdenclub.co.uk

Official site of The Camden Club - thecamdenclub.co.uk

This is a tiny, single room Belgian beer bar located just opposite the Camden Roundhouse, a short walk from the markets and Chalk Farm tube station. There is an adjoining restaurant, but I didn't explore that as part of this visit. The bar has a red concrete floor, dark wood panelled walls which bear the names of various Belgian beer brands and an unusual mosaic tile ceiling. Seating is restricted in such a compact space, but there is enough room for several small, square tables with matching padded square low stools and pouffes. The folding French doors at the front create a café bar feel when opened out and allow expansion out into a small roped off pavement seating area. The servery runs along the rear wall and has a neon 'Belgo Bar' sign next to it and a strange counter with chains hanging down the front of it, screening the kegs that are stored underneath. A large TV screen on the right hand wall was showing muted coverage of a cycling race whilst some decent music played quietly in the background. A corridor to the right of the bar takes you past a huge Delirium Tremens mural, to the single, shared toilet cubicle. Each table had a decent flip-chart style beer menu which gave plenty of useful information about their full range and I noted that everyone seemed to get their beer served in the correctly branded glass. It's no great surprise that there is no real ale here, with the focus instead being on the enormous range of Belgian bottles and a core range of six or so Belgian classics on keg, although a few more are available from the restaurant so make sure you check the menus for the full draught range. I opted for a half of the reliable Brugse Zot Briun, which set me back a rather upsetting £3.00 for a half, but was nevertheless very enjoyable. This isn't really the sort of bar you'd want to settle down in for any period of time, not least because of the prohibitive prices, but for fans of Belgian beers it serves a purpose. I'm not sure I'd return just for the beer, but I might consider another visit to check out the restaurant side.