Tapping the Admiral, NW1

Possibly my favourite of the night. Great interior decoration. Interesting ales - I went for a Mister Chubbs from the West Berkshire Brewery. Would come back again - worth seeking out. Some photos at my walking blog - http://bit.ly/21Jz75P

An excellent way to finish of a small crawl of Kentish Town and really isn’t that much of a detour from Kentish Town West overground station but far enough away from Chalk Farm Road and Kentish Town road to mean it has to be searched out by those in the know. But well worth searching out it is with its seven ales and two ciders and very comfortable nautical themed decor and pleasant secluded outside drinking area. I managed to get a table on the far side of the bar and could have stayed here all evening. I was so comfortable I forgot to note the available beers except for the very respectable ELB Foundation Bitter I had. Will definitely return

Quite close to Kentish Town West station, but hidden away in a side street and not the sort of place you would find by chance. Unremarkable façade, but the interior of the 'J'-shaped bar is comfortable with pleasingly traditional furniture and decor. Offers an excellent range of beers and ciders from ten handpumps, including a fine pint of Franklins Smoked Porter. Well worth seeking out.

This is an unspoilt back street boozer of the kind that has largely disappeared in London. It's a small single bar corner pub with wooden floors right next to the North London Line viaduct. The surrounding area is a mix of gentrified terraces and newer council estates. As has been said before, it was once the Trafalgar but I am unable to find which of the Big Six brewers originally owned it. The earliest reference I can find is of it selling GK IPA and Abbot, so it appears to have been a Greene King house for a time and was later part of the Firkin chain, both surprising as it IS off the beaten track. On my visit seven of the eight pumps were in use with Dark Star Hophead, Adnam's Broadside, Redemption Felloship Porter, Twickenham Strange Brew, Windsor & Eton Canberra, London Fields Shoreditch Triangle and another London area brew that I failed to write down. It was quiet on my early afternoon weekday visit but despite this the two beers I tried were in superb condition, the Fellowship and Shoreditch Triangle both at £3.50 (inclusive of the 30p discount). There were leaflets on the tables advertising a Thai lunch for a fiver, which seems very good value. This is a "must visit" pub in my book, especially given that most pubs of this ilk tend to open late on weekday afternoons. Be warned though, although it is geographically very close to Kentish Town West station, there does not seem to be a direct route between there and the pub.

This pub is hidden away down some backstreets near Kentish Town station, in the sort of location you’d never stumble across, so it’s nice to know that the people who frequent it have made a bit of effort to seek it out. The pub has a distorted U shape layout, wrapping itself around a servery, with a wedge shaped right hand side, which affords a good deal more room than your normal U shaped pub. The left hand side has some nice comfortable looking seating options, a few old pictures on the walls and a selection of board games stacked up at the far end. There are a few stools and a drinking ledge at the front of the pub before the room opens out to an area where bench and low stool seating has been arranged along one wall, with some small partitioning screens between the benches creating booth-like sections. Near the front door there was a lit fire and I was very lucky to find a table right next to it, which made me a little reluctant to explore the pub fully. I did however, notice some mightily impressive brewery adverts on the walls, including a huge one for Truman’s above the fireplace. Above the hop-lined servery, the canopy had some words from Blake’s Jerusalem (the poem, not the famous hymn) written on it which had a bit of local resonance: Pancras and Kentish Town repose Among her golden pillars high, Among her golden arches which Shine upon the starry sky. Out the back, I noticed there was a decent sized strip of covered patio, with a fair bit of picnic bench seating. There was a mixed crowd in, ranging from a couple of rough blokes at the bar who got a bit lairy with me for no apparent reason, to an excessively posh group of young women who I ended up sat next to. A fine row of hand pumps offered Adnams Ghost Ship, Southwold Bitter and Oyster Stout, Dark Star Hophead, London Fields Porter (£3.50) Clarence and Fredericks Smoked Red and Twickenham Entire Butts. A left of mainstream keg range included the likes of Meantime London Pale. I gave the Porter a try and it was in fine form and served to me by a very friendly and welcoming barman. This place is easily walkable from Camden and makes an ideal pre-gig venue if you want to get away from the crowds and find somewhere to relax over a well kept pint or two. I was very impressed by this place and I don’t think it will be too long before I find myself back here again.