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Beer of the Week (w/e 27th April 2025) with Thuck Phat
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Detail Pages
Lord Southampton, NW5
NW5
NW5 4HX
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 5½ of 10) see review guidelines
Moby Duck left this review about Lord Southampton
A corner pub with the exterior featuring some nice blue and green tiling. Inside the room layout is roughly U shaped around the centrally placed bar. The interior decor is basic but boasts some nice fielded paneling, music was playing at a medium level maybe a tad loud for the early afternoon but the musical taste suited mine, Neil Young, JJ Cale, Nick Cave etc. Beer-wise is a bit too mainstream for my liking with the cask choice between London Pride and Landlord with the later being in fair condition, that aside it's a decent enough pub well worth the look and thanks to Tris for the recommendation when we met in Lewes the previous day.
On 14th April 2025
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2151 recommendations about 2118 pubs]
Tris C left this review about Lord Southampton
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.
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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.
On 10th February 2025
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2208 recommendations about 2165 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Alan Winfield left this review about Lord Southampton
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
On 7th August 2017
- rating: 6
[User has posted 6113 recommendations about 6113 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Strongers . left this review about Lord Southampton
This old school boozer is a little off the main drag and overlooked by the Maitland Park council flats so is mainly used by local residents as there is little passing trade.
Even though this is a small pub I suspect that it once had separate bars due to the central positioning of the entrance where there would have been a door on the left and another on the right. The right hand side door is now blocked off and a dartboard has been squeezed in to back onto it. There was no one playing during my visit early last Saturday evening as a projector screen was pulled down by the oche and the few regulars in attendance were watching England play in the 20/20 cricket on Sky Sports. The pub is U-shaped and in the far left hand corner there is a small secluded seating section which has a portable TV up on the wall and a serving hatch that backs onto the bar. The rest of the pub is decorated with pictures of locals during and after long sessions at the bar, fishing paraphernalia including a large fish in a display case above the bar and there is also a trophy cabinet up on the wall full of football awards. To be honest, if the projector screen and internet jukebox were to be removed this pub could easily sit back in the 1970s without looking out of place.
I found the lady behind the bar to be very friendly and my Guinness was well served coming in at a reasonable price. There are a couple of hand pumps in amongst the usual lager suspects and these were both pouring Courage Best on this visit. I also spotted Scrumpy Jack on draught which I cannot recall seeing in any other pubs in this neck of the woods.
There’s not really anything special about this pub, but it makes a reasonable local and I would use it if I lived nearby.
On 15th May 2010
- rating: 5
[User has posted 5965 recommendations about 5931 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about Lord Southampton
This is clearly a locals' estate pub, built between the wars. Even though it's on the CAMRA inventory of London pubs with historic interiors, there's not much very special about the interior. There's a fairly nondescript carpet on the floor; a few stools round the bar; banquette seating covered in blue plastic; and some sports trophies on display. There is an operational dartboard tucked away to the right of the door, with a notice board next to it displaying such useful stuff as a Met Police witness appeal, and a supposedly humorous note to be placed on cars who park too close to your car, mentioning can openers, etc. There was a TV on in one of the corners, showing some rubbish daytime TV programme.
There were two handpumps on the counter, both advertising Courage Best, but neither dispensing beer. I never know why so many pubs don't bother to turn clips round in these circumstances – perhaps they want punters to know what beer they might have had had they visited at some other time? Anyway, I quite liked the pub for its basic unpretentious approach. There were no menus (I didn't see any reference to food so guess they don't do it) or wine lists in evidence. But in the absence of a decent ale I don't suppose that I shall visit again.
On 24th October 2009
- rating: 3
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]