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Beer of the Week (w/e 27th April 2025) with Thuck Phat
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
Drayton Park, N5
N5
N5 1ND
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 4½ of 10) see review guidelines
David Walton left this review about Drayton Park
Have never been to this pub previously in spite of living in the area in the 90’s. Aware of it but preferred other venues nearby. Was surprised to see it had re-opened after, as Tris notes, it was steadfastly closed between lockdowns and for the few year since summer 2021. Trekked here to check it out and it felt like a nice airy pub late afternoon when there was no live sport on and just the chatter of a few locals in. Definitely feels like a few forests have been consumed meeting the wood needs of this place. Looks a far cray from some of the older photos on this site. It felt a bit bare to say the least apart from the strange choice of ceiling lights (on today above the bar only, and so not needed for any functional purpose). There is a pleasant terrace out the back, partially covered to be useful on rainy days.
Beer wise, as noted below no cask. Three sets of 6 beer taps, with lagers galore (Camden Hells, Grolsch, Asahi, Peroni), Guinness, a cider from Orchards, Meantime Prime Pale and something called Hoxton Fresh from the Great Beyond Beer Co. Quite a few of the taps double up the offered beverages. I opted for the last named and it was a pleasant quaff on a muggy late afternoon.
This will probably remain my sole visit here. Not enough on the beer front to tempt me from better beer and more characterful pubs nearby. I am sure given its proximity to the Emirates it will undoubtedly do well and so easy to see that it became a long closed pub that managed to re-open. That is good in itself.
On 24th July 2024
- rating: 5
[User has posted 631 recommendations about 631 pubs]
Tris C left this review about Drayton Park
The Drayton Park Hotel as was, dates from the late 19th century and until recently, displayed a fine fluorescent Courage sign to the north side, sadly now lost.
The place had remained closed since LockDown I, reopening a few days ago with a deep red colour scheme to the frontage and new Windsor lanterns beneath the fascia, the name picked out in gold, the interior visible on Facebook, where the pub has confused itself with the Drayton Arms in Earls Court, SW5.
Beyond the new plate glass picture windows, the interior is entirely brand new, rendering the previous descriptions redundant. The floor is modern pale boarded, the bar a fake old take with more pale wood and mirrors to the rear, similar (without mirrors) to the front. The walls are clad with natural wood field panelling, the coffered ceiling woody with two recessed aircon units, then some bare brick. There’s no décor aside from a bucket of flowers, with lighting coming from brass ‘n’ glass chandeliers, then Art Nouveau Tiffany-style sconces, Art Nouveau-style downlighters with similar to an internally lit structural column, all to a Dire Straits and Mungo Jerry soundtrack; furniture is traditional with some tall tables, uncleared and a bit sticky.
Aside from some older more traditional locals, the crowd was generally young and enthusiastic to say the least, many standing on the windowsill (see photo), mass hysteria breaking out when the final whistle blew, England beating the Netherlands 2:1, viewed in the shadow of the Emirates’ Clock End, across the Danny Fiszman bridge.
There’s no cask, just a fizz lineup with two keg offerings from Camden and one from Meantime, Pale at £3.00 a half, served by an indifferent barman.
Like a cheap hotel bar, this isn’t a great place; the Woodbine and Bank of Friendship can sleep easy at night.
Rated 3.5.
On 15th July 2024
- rating: 3
[User has posted 2208 recommendations about 2165 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about Drayton Park
This is another very basic pub that is probably best avoided when Arsenal are playing at home. It's clearly a locals' pub as there was a group of them around the bar counter in the room on the left. It's carpeted throughout; there are TVs around the place; the room on the right has a pool table, and there's still a bit of old Courage signage on the bar back.
There's no real ale, and no sign of food late afternoon on a Wednesday. I can't see any real reason to want to make a return visit, but I'm very pleased to see that this pub's still here for the locals to enjoy.
On 28th January 2020
- rating: 4
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
hondo . left this review about Drayton Park
Very very handy for the fitba (away fans pub). 2 roomed 2 bar pub. Standard draught selection.
On 26th September 2017
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 2933 recommendations about 2866 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Drayton Park
This is one of the designated away fans pubs for teams coming to play at the Emirates, with the walkway to the away end of the stadium being located just over the road. As you would expect, the pub was absolutely packed on a recent match day and arguably a little understaffed at the bar, with queues reaching almost all the way back to the entrance at one point. The pub has a two bar layout, with the servery along the back wall, and each bar is roughly the mirror image of the other. Virtually all of the seating had been removed to allow for maximum vertical drinking space (or maybe the pub has no furniture), with just a few low stools and fixed seats left around the perimeter of the two rooms. The bar has a simple counter with a nice gantry and plain bar back which I had plenty of time to study as I stood in what felt like a never ending queue. It was difficult to gauge what the place might be like on a normal evening, but I did spot juke boxes in both rooms, so maybe they do get things going here a bit on a regular night. I’d expected to see plenty of Arsenal memorabilia on the walls, but to my surprise there was almost nothing of the sort on show. A door to the rear left leads out to a small paved garden area which offered some much needed overspill.
There was no ale on the bar, with keg taps offering typical lager options alongside John Smiths Extra Cold, Guinness and Strongbow. I had a couple of pints of John Smiths which were pretty unmemorable and certainly not worth the long wait at the bar. The staff were working furiously to try and get through all the customers waiting at the bar and beyond, but were fighting a losing battle and really could have done with a couple more pairs of hands.
This is a fairly basic pub of the sort you often find around football stadiums. I enjoyed a bit of pre-match banter in here, which made the queuing more tolerable, but there was nothing that made me think the place would be worth returning to.
On 20th January 2016
- rating: 4
[User has posted 3350 recommendations about 3350 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Strongers . left this review about Drayton Park
This is a basic two bar pub located directly opposite the entrance to the Emirates Stadium so it is extremely busy on match days with Arsenal and away fans alike. The front ‘public’ bar has a pool table as the main feature and a dartboard in the corner that looked heavily used. The back bar has some more seating and a TV up in the corner for showing football on Sky Sports. There is no real ale here, but I was served a decent pint of Guinness from the very friendly governor who was engaged in some banter with the few locals in attendance on my Saturday evening visit. There is a jukebox that was playing some Tom Jones hits and I imagine that this place hasn’t changed in many years, except for getting busier with football fans since the Gunners moved home.
I wouldn’t go out of my way to drink here again, but I would be happy to have this pub as my local.
On 17th August 2010
- rating: 6
[User has posted 5965 recommendations about 5931 pubs]