The Betjeman Arms, N1

On my way into one of the many entrances of Kings Cross Station I was happy to be enticed up a flight of stairs by an A board that informed me that the Betjeman Arms above was the ‘last pub before Paris’. Unfortunately I was off to Kentish Town rather than Paris, but as I was wearing my white Reebok beer slippers I decided to scale the stairs anyway. At the top of the stairs I found some terrace seating covered by three jumbrellas. This seating area is available for hire and must be vacated by 21:30 due to the proximity of residential flats. After learning from a food menu by the entrance that the cheapest pub main was £11.50 I entered the pub. The interior has a modern feel with a black and white checked floor. The bar is stocked with premium draught products and I counted six hand pumps. These were drawing Adnam’s Ghost Ship, Truman’s Swift, Stod Fold Brewing Gold, Young’s Wooden Spoon, Twickenham Brewery’s Grandstand and Young’s Ordinary. A board behind the bar advertised bar snacks such as sausage rolls and scotch eggs for £3.50. There was some low background music playing and the only television screen that I saw was showing departure times. However, there is a screen in the ‘club room’ that is available for hire along with a separate dining room. As station pubs go this place is pretty good and I would have no problem returning.