The Island, Kensal Rise, NW10

Official site of The Island - theislandnw10.com

Official site of The Island - theislandnw10.com

There were three handpumps here – when I arrived one was clipped for the ubiquitous GK IPA (£2.05 a half – not cheap); one unclipped; and a third with a clip reversed. However, once I got got my half of IPA and sat down, the barmaid pulled through one of the other pumps which she then clipped for Portobello VPA. More bad timing on my part. Among the usual lagers I spotted Camden Helles, and Goose Island IPA with its distinctive goose head tap. There were single sheet (seemingly printed on brown wrapping paper) menus, as well as a little tin containing cutlery, on all the tables. Sandwiches are £6.50 or £7 containing such things as “fish finger, tartare sauce, and pea puree”. The main courses seem reasonably priced (£6.50 - £8) and contained many things that I had heard of – the Angus beef cottage pie and greens is £7.50. The pub itself is nothing special. It looks a relatively new build – 60s perhaps? Inside in the main bar there are a couple of tall tables/tall stools, one or two armchairs, and some normal tables and chairs and small stools. A few stairs on the left take you up to a mezzanine floor which looked as if it might be for diners. I saw a sign to a snug downstairs (not investigated), and there’s also a fair bit of seating outside at the front in a patio area surrounding the pub. A large flatscreen TV and some unnecessarily loud pop music completes the scene. This is a straightforward modernish pub. It’s not worth going out of your way to find, but is nice enough at the front if it’s warm enough to sit outside, and if you’re lucky enough to visit when they’ve got something other than GK IPA on.