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Disappointment of the week with Real Ale Ray
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The Fiddlers Elbow, NW5
NW5
NW5 3HS
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Fiddlers Elbow
I agree with the WhatPub description of this now as purely a music venue with paid entry and not really a pub.The opening hours seem only to coincide with acts appearances and it was closed on a Monday afternoon,rather than the What Pub all day opening times.Maybe requires a visit in the evening to find out if it should be on this site or not ?
On 7th March 2024
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about The Fiddlers Elbow
Dating from 1850, this is another pub which I’ve passed my whole life but only ventured into for the first time the other day. I remember the place when it was the Mother Shipton, until around 1990 when the current name was adopted and live music moved into what is now the Fiddler’s Elbow, usually abbreviated to Fiddler’s.
It is an unusual corner pub with what looks almost like a turret and is situated in something of an out-of-the-way backwater – this isn’t the kind of place you find by accident, you have to go looking for it. I’m too old to be a fan of live music pubs, though knew what to expect so wasn’t in a position to complain; tick it off my list and leave.
We arrived mid-evening to a venue that wasn’t that full. Customers were a mix of bohemian, smartly dressed professionals, Camdenites and young Swedish women in duffle coats. Naturally, the pub is bare boarded and furniture is conventional with some pews and Chesterfields; a piano completes the ensemble. There’s a smaller side bar away from the music, and a little outside area for smoking. Looking around, the walls are decorated with old vinyl records and concert posters. There are swag curtains, presumably to reduce noise to the outside world. Of note are the ornate columns to the bar which hint that this may have been the pub’s former office. Def Leppard played over the stereo at a surprisingly muted level – I’ve experienced Kylie Minogue played louder in a gastropub. The lavatories are better than what you’d expect in a venue of this sort, but you wouldn’t want to host a picnic in them. The stage isn’t large and occupies a corner opposite the bar. It’s here that the High Priests of rock preach to those who genuflect before the altar that is the Marshall stack, plectrum as Eucharist. The band only did a couple of brief stints before we left and the acoustics were very poor, namely we couldn’t hear the vocals. I know from my brief stint as a lead singer in a heavy metal band that vocals are quite important.
Ales: there was an attentive barman, checking the beer for cloudiness. Fuller’s London Pride (off) and Timothy Taylor’s Landlord at £4.50 a pint which is what you pay in a venue of this type - it was in very good nick.
This pub ended up being the highlight of our mini-crawl – it’s a fun place and I’ll probably pop back when next in the area, though not on a paid entry night. The daily midnight licence (1.00 am Friday and Saturday) is a bonus.
On 4th March 2018
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1983 recommendations about 1949 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Alan Winfield left this review about The Fiddlers Elbow
The Fiddlers Elbow is a decent looking corner pub that is situated at the bottom end of Malden Road.
Once inside there is a single room with the bar on the left side,the floor is bare boarded and there is a stage to the front,,the seating is a few normal tables and chairs and pew seats to the left and settees to the right.
There were two real ales on the bar,i had a drink of London Pride which was a decent drink,there was also Taylor Landlord on the bar.
The background music was rock type and the pub was almost empty on my Friday afternoon visit.
No doubt the pub would be better to visit on an evening when a live group is playing.
Pub visited 2/6/2017
On 7th August 2017
- rating: 7
[User has posted 6113 recommendations about 6113 pubs]