The Cobden Arms, Mornington Crescent, NW1

Official site of The Cobden - www.cobdenarmsandthai.com

Official site of The Cobden - www.cobdenarmsandthai.com

This is a relatively modern shop conversion named after the 19th century statesman Richard Cobden, whose statue is diagonally opposite. In effect this is a down at heel estate pub in all but location which seems to attract an older crowd and has a slight Irish flavour. A split level interior, furniture is conventional, the pub is bare boarded and music was muted. There were several TVs showing sport with the sound down; the landlord reminded me of a short version of Lurch from The Addams Family. The lavatories are scummy and sport graffiti. Ales: Sharp's Doom Bar and Atlantic at £2.20 a half which is very steep for this part of Camden, let alone this type of pub. This sort of place simply isn't my thing so there's no chance of a return visit.

This is a popular high street bar that looks like a shop conversion. It certainly no longer seems to be Irish themed as it clearly was when the previous reviewer visited. The main room as you enter has the bar counter alongside the right hand wall. It's bare boarded and furnished mainly with normal tables and chairs, with a few tall stools at a ledge around a central pillar. Up a few steps at the back is a carpeted area with more standard furnishings. Decor on the walls is miscellaneous prints, including a black and white montage of Hollywood greats. There were a couple of TVs on, one showing Sky Sports, and the other an ancient episode of The High Chaparral. Both were muted in favour of some pop music which I reckon made the showing of The High Chaparral even more pointless than it otherwise would have been. There were a couple of ales on - Sharp's Doom Bar and Atlantic (£2.05 a half). The tables didn't have menus on them (though they did have sprigs of flowers), but at the far end of the bar counter is a now rarely seen glass fronted heated food servery, with available food written on a chalkboard behind it. Sarnies are around £4 or so, with chips an extra £1.30, and with jacket potatoes at around £4.80 or so. Although not priced on the chalkboard, the food servery contained what looked like a large homemade pie of some kind. This pub was quite a bit better than its minimalist signage and black painted frontage suggests. It's a useful place to have around when one needs to escape from the rain, but it's a bit gloomy (the weather didn't help there) and doesn't really have much in the way of pub character. But the food seemed OK and at reasonable prices, and it did have a couple of real ales on.

Just up the road from Mornington Crescent tube station and handily positioned for gig goers attending the neighbouring Koko venue, this is a decent sized, split level Irish themed pub. You enter into a large bare boarded room with the servery down the right hand wall and a chunky mirrored pillar in the middle of the room, breaking things up a bit. The servery is fairly basic, with a few old tankards on display and a reasonably large collection of sporting trophies. At the far end of the counter, there is a chill cabinet full of wine and a hot food counter which looked empty. The room has the classic red and cream colour scheme with a dado rail separating the two colours. A couple of TV screens could be spotted, one of which was showing muted coverage of the Commonwealth Games whilst a rock soundtrack played quietly in the background. At the rear of the room there are two raised seating areas, accessed by four or five steps. Standard chair and bench seating fill these fairly bland areas. There are a few bits of Irish memorabilia throughout the pub, although I didn't think the theme was that prominent. Ale probably isn't the pub's raison d'etre but they did at least have two options available on this visit - Sharp's Doom Bar and St Austell Tribute. The Tribute was actually in pretty good condition and despite several other pubs being packed prior to a gig at Koko, this place was very quiet, allowing me a pick of the seating. It was quite nice supping a well kept pint in peace in this busy part of town and the place has something about it that makes it a good option to be able to call upon, but the limited ale range would probably make me think twice about using the place more frequently.

Situated at the Mornington Crescent end of Camden High Street, this place is away from more touristy Market and Lock area and is frequented more by shoppers, office workers and early arrivals for Koko a few doors down although in my experience, the place is generally quite empty regardless of who is around. Since my previous visit the pub has been shorn of its “Arms” and is now simply called the Cobden although it still remains a bit of a contrived plastic place that can be pretty soulless although, to be fair, there isn’t anything that is particularly unappealing or offputting about the place. The interior consists of the main bar with typical furnishings made slightly wine bar’ish with potted plants and nightlights on the tables. A couple of flat screens in the main bar offer the suual run of sporting events although any commentary required will compete with the background piped music. To the rear are a couple of raised sections with a more intimate but equally bland feel. Whilst it doesn’t really portray itself as an Irish bar, various Guinness themed pictures and illuminated signs seem to be prominent. A large mirrored pillar in the centre of the main bar seems to be used more for noticeboard purposes with posters detailing the upcoming sporting events and listing the latest seasonal pool from which the guest beers are drawn. I find the latter slightly pretentious since this is hardly a pub with a serious ale agenda with just 2 pumps containing Doom Bar and Ruddles County on my most recent visit. It is at least an improvement on my only previous trip when the choice and quality was far inferior to what it is now. Prices are a bit steep with the Doom Bar clocking up £3.30 although the Thai food seemed to be pretty reasonable with a good selection of dishes at around £5-7. Overall it’s a bit dim and lacking any character but is a relatively safe and harmless choice away from the general Camden vibe and there are certainly far worse places around the neighbourhood. A couple of extra hand pumps and an increased choice of ales would certainly raise it a notch.