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The Golden Lion, Camden Town, NW1
NW1
NW1 0TH
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6 of 10) see review guidelines
Will Larter left this review about The Golden Lion
A large corner pub that is listed in Camra's heritage pubs list. There are several doors, labelled with their original functions (off sales, private bar, saloon) but the one I chose opened into one large space and I assume the others would either have done the same or are now no longer actual doors. There were three hand pumps on the bar, but just one beer: Sambrooks Junction, which was fine (NBSS 3). I was told they were awaiting delivery of beers for the other two. My notes made no mention of any heritage features, which the heritage pubs website says are mostly to do with the Victorian bar back. Maybe I need to come back when in less of a hurry to catch a train.
Date of visit: 1st March 2023
On 15th January 2024
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3745 recommendations about 3482 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blue Scrumpy left this review about The Golden Lion
Update 1/3/22:
Little has changed since my last review. It was slightly busier on my latest Sunday evening visit and Landlord has replaced Hophead. Craft beers were London Fields Hackney Hipster & Hammerton Panama Creature. The landlord warned me off the Hackney Hipster as London Fields have ceased brewing and he was unsure of the beer quality. I did sample it and agreed that it was past its best, whilst also having the Panama Creature.
The landlord was also orchestrating a pub quiz, with just 2 teams competing!
Original Review 11/7/21:
Corner pub that has made it into the 2021 Good Beer Guide. The single room is quite light and airy, but it was quiet with just the barmaid and ourselves on our Monday lunchtime visit.
Dark Star Hophead & Butcombe Original were the real ales. I couldn't find any evidence of any real cider. Fairly average kind of boozer for the area.
On 1st March 2022
- rating: 5
[User has posted 2452 recommendations about 2451 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Golden Lion
A good looking former Charrington's house,the external door names hint at a previous internal layout before the inevitable open plan current layout.The unused apex doors would have led to a Private Bar,while along the Pratt Street side there was an off sales door and seperate entrances for a public bar and saloon. No doubt internal dividers were removed .The bar back ,although traditional ,may date only from the opening out.
The furniture is traditional,there is a darts board and flatscreen (off) at one end and food is served.
Opening hours are limited (possibly due to Covid,check before visiting)and during the week closing at 9pm.Judging by the punters inside it's a white working class mono culture,with no signs of any hipster influence.Bar stools run the length of the bar.The stair lift to the basement lavs might also be well used by the customer base.
Besides very mainstream keg beers and lager,the three handpumps were only offering Butcombe Original (in good nick but I can't score this dull brew any higher than NBSS 3,very CAMRA friendly pricing at £3.60).Another clip was reversed.
It's in the 2022 GBG,but could you really spend all night supping Butcombe Original ? And does this pub showcase the best of real ale ? The local CAMRA branch should give up slots if this is the best they can find.
Fine for a swift one,a bit dull otherwise.
On 8th January 2022
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Ian Mapp left this review about The Golden Lion
off the beaten track in Camden a bit, but worth seeking out for its sympathetic make over. Has possibly the nicest toilets in London. Especially for those in down a tight stair case.
GBG 2021 entry with 2 real ales on. An unusual (for the area) Butcombe Orginal was chosen. First class.
Friendly landlady.
On 29th July 2021
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1338 recommendations about 1324 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Golden Lion
This large, attractive former Charrington's pub in the back streets between St Pancras and Camden was recently subject to a long campaign to save it from the clutches of a property developer, so when recently in the area, it only seemed right to pop in to see what the struggle was for. The pub has a two bar layout which has been opened into a single long room by the removal of a partitioning wall, although the separate entrance doors remain (denoting Private and Saloon bars), as does a partitioning arch mid way along the servery. The Private Bar end of the pub is mostly taken up by a pool table, but a bit of space remains for a few tables and chairs to run along the front wall, opposite the bar. This seating runs through into the Saloon Bar side, where the bare boarded room opens out quite a bit once past the end of the bar, allowing plenty of room for vertical drinking or for a game of darts. There is also an upright piano and it seems that sing-a-longs are a fairly regular feature. Large windows run along two sides of the building, screened by some notably ugly venetian blinds and there is also an unsightly bricked up fireplace at one end of the pub. Décor includes floral wallpaper and gaudy chandeliers, but there is still plenty of period detail throughout, most notably around the servery with its impressive Charrington's bar back which includes some fine shelving, an etched glass 'Private' door, a neon 'Murphy's Bar' sign in honour of the landlord's family and an ancient cash register. Music played throughout my visit and a muted TV screen was showing some sort of awful looking reality TV show.
Beer-wise, most customers seemed happy drinking well known brands of lager but St Austell Tribute (£3.50) was also available on handpull, with a Sharp's Doom Bar clip reversed. The Tribute was unfortunately past its best, perhaps due to poor turnover, but the service was prompt and very friendly.
Not every pub can be a top ale-house and it seems that this unassuming place is content to keep its locals happy- something it seemed to be doing very well judging by a decent turn out on a random, mid-week Winter's evening. I found the place welcoming, well kept and with a few bits of interest dotted around and am glad to see it continuing to serve the community as intended.
On 5th January 2016
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Golden Lion
Imposing four-storey ex-Charrington pub, retaining some interesting features both on the façade and inside (e.g. the main bar back). Part opened out, but retains two bars. Basic furniture, supplemented by some wooden benches to one side of the building. Pool table at one end of the bar, with a dartboard and upright piano at the other. Weekly karaoke nights advertised. There are a pair of handpumps on each part of the counter, some of which are thankfully back in use since my previous visit a couple of years ago, with Doom Bar (£3.50) on and reversed clips for Tribute also noted. Quite a local landmark, so worth a visit if in the area (particularly now they've got some real beer on again).
On 8th November 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 8117 recommendations about 8117 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The Golden Lion
A board outside advertised Doom Bar and St Austell Tribute for £3.50 a pint, but only Tribute was on although it would in any case have been my preference of the two. At £2 a half it was a bit too much above half the price of a pint for my liking. There was no sign of any food, when I was in on Wednesday afternoon, but behind the bar I spotted a microwave and a hot food unit stacked with empty plates.
The pub still has evidence of where the different rooms would have been, mainly by the signage on the various doors, but also inside by the bit of glazed screenwork behind the counter, and the change in quality of the bar counter. The area at the back would clearly have been the saloon lounge, and contains a nice marble fireplace and the pub's best feature of an ancient bar back. The area at the front has a pool table as well as a TV above the corner door. Furnishings are exclusively normal tables and chairs.
This pub looks magnificant from the outside, and at one time probably magnificent inside as well, but the inside's now very plain and simple. Nothing wrong that of course. It's a stroll from the busy centre of Camden Town so doesn't seem to be infested by the oddities I saw there. It's worth dropping in to have a butcher's at the bar back if you're into that sort of thing, but I'm not a local and wouldn't see it as somewhere to spend any length of time.
On 24th August 2015
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Philip Carter left this review about The Golden Lion
Great traditional pub, well liked by locals and celebrities, was used on the last episode of 'One Foot In The Grave'. If you are in the area, visit now, because the building has been sold to a developer and it is under threat of demolition. Remember to sign the petition. Friendly staff and great Guinness.
On 30th June 2012
- rating: 8
[User has posted 757 recommendations about 720 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about The Golden Lion
This pub has certainly seen better days (it looks untouched since the '80s) and, given a makeover, could be quite splendid. The barmaid was welcoming and the clientelle (mainly elderly and Irish from what I could make out) were jovial enough.
Sadly this is just the sort of pub I can see going to the wall in the not too distant future, which would be a shame.
On 29th March 2011
- rating: 4
[User has posted 1985 recommendations about 1951 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about The Golden Lion
I walked into here and was greeted by the very friendly landlady just as one of the locals selected Mull of Kintyre on the jukebox. I thought that I had stepped back in time, especially after spotting the old ‘Open all Hours' type tills behind the bar. There is a pool table and a dartboard in this long thin bar, not that anyone was playing. The toilets could do with a bit of a scrub as I was very glad to exit them after having a very quick leak.
There are four old hand pumps in this pub, one of which was displaying a clip for Toby cask, but alas they do not sell any real ale. I'm not sure what the clip is there for, but there is a standard draught selection and my pint of Guinness was spot on.
This is a decent enough pub if you like your old Irish boozers, which I do so I would go back again if passing.
On 8th July 2009
- rating: 6
[User has posted 5251 recommendations about 5219 pubs]