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Detail Pages
The Lord Palmerston, Dartmouth Park, NW5
NW5
NW5 1HU
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Lord Palmerston
This is a large, partially opened out gastro pub from Young’s, located a short way up the hill from Tufnell Park tube station. The pub has an approximately U-shaped layout, with the entrance taking you into the main bar area, with the servery on the back wall. The room has a very clinical feel to it, with bare floorboards, , simple tables and chairs under the front windows, banquettes and chairs to the left and some high backed armchairs to the right. A fireplace on the right hand wall has a nice padded seating rail around it and some mirrors and art prints above, next to slightly incongruous large pictures of a fish and a duck, plus an unused TV screen. The bar has a long, sweeping dark wood counter with a truckle of Scotch eggs and other such bar snack treats at one end. The left hand side of the room extends some way to the rear, into something signed as the Dairy Room – more of a dining room from what I could see, with tables laid for diners and some unique, but weirdly corporate feeling decor. The right side of the room extends through two definable sections, with more armchairs in the first space, which is dominated by large images of moths, dragonflies and the like on the walls. This gives way to a snug-like space signed as the Viscount’s Table – basically a compact space with a large, long table through the centre, quirky wallpaper on the walls and a feeling that there wasn’t much else they could do with this part of the pub. There is an open kitchen next to this room and stairs lead up to the Lord’s Room – a function room that I failed to explore. Very quiet music seeped through into the bar area and there were plenty of seats available in a nicely fenced off front garden.
Just the two main Young’s suspects on the bar – Ordinary and Special – with the latter available for £4.70 a pint. Two other hand pumps remained unclipped, which was a bit of a disappointment, but the Special was at least in decent shape. A young bar team greeted me on arrival and seemed very friendly, making small talk with all their customer and generally being a real credit to the pub.
I found this place a little too clean and clinical for my liking – clearly the Young’s refurbishment team have been busy here, but whilst the place undoubtedly looks smart, it’s also lost any personality it might once have had. The beer range was also a little off-putting but the bar staff made up for this with their positive approach – something I wish I encountered in more pubs around London. Not the worse pub in this neighbourhood, but not one I’ll be rushing back to either.
On 15th January 2019
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about The Lord Palmerston
Summer 2010:
We popped in here on a Saturday night at peak time and the pub seemed a little dead and lacking in atmosphere. This was my first visit since I used to frequent the place in the late 1980s when it was a bit of a dive; to be honest, I preferred it back then.
With the Southampton Arms (redux), Junction Tavern, Dartmouth Arms and Bull & Last all a short walk away, I can't really see myself returning; not a bad pub in all, it's just that there's better just around the corner.
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A return visit a couple of days ago and this pub has been improved, the result of a makeover from November 2017. This is now a Ram Pub Co. outlet so there's a triumvirate of the usual Young's ales and in addition Hammerton's N7, none tried as I fancied a glass of wine.
The interior exhibits pale bare boards, a panelled wooden central bar painted a burgundy colour and there's a modern shelf-style bar back painted predictable smoky blue. Furniture is essentially conventional with some rustic large tables with more formal dining to the left-hand rear to replace the pool table. The white ceiling exhibits some attractive roses and an ornate cornice. A muted TV was on showing tennis of some sort. There's not much décor, though the walls are adorned with colourful lithographs of birds. Upstairs is a very inviting function room and very smart new lavatories. In all, the pub has a rather stripped out look to it, but not in an unpleasant way.
There's food from a varied menu with prices shown in fractions, e.g. 12.5 rather than £12.50; this is tedious, pretentious, and old-hat.
To the outside there's a spacious heated front patio with a beer garden to the rear.
Friendly staff and an overall better experience than seven-and-a-half years ago, but this isn't a destination venue.
On 16th January 2018
- rating: 5
[User has posted 1985 recommendations about 1951 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Alan Winfield left this review about The Lord Palmerston
The Lord Palmerston is a decent looking pub that is situated on Dartmouth Park Hill.
Once inside there is a single room with the bar facing,the front area is bare boarded,there is pew seating and normal tables and chairs to the front,the room extends to the rear left where there is a pool table,this area is also carpeted.
There were four real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Twickenham Naked Ladies which was a very nice drink,the other real ales were St Austell Tribute,Taylor Landlord and Doom Bar.
Background music was playing and food was being served,but did not take over the pub.
I quite enjoyed having a drink in this pub.
Pub visited 2/6/2017
On 6th August 2017
- rating: 7
[User has posted 6113 recommendations about 6113 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Lord Palmerston
Attractive 'U'-shaped gastro-pub, very much in the Geronimo Inns mould, with the high front windows being quite a feature. Menus on clipboards, but a pub quiz starting while I was there so still slightly traditional in some ways too. Patio beer garden to rear. Beers from four of five handpumps included Twickenham Naked Ladies (£4.10), Doom Bar and beers from Youngs and Sambrooks.
On 9th July 2016
- rating: 6
[User has posted 8117 recommendations about 8117 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The Lord Palmerston
The only ale available here was Doom Bar (£1.95 a half), and with no less than four other handpumps unclipped and apparently unused, at least on my visit. This is still a gastropub - after ordering my half I was asked if I was eating with them today. I suppose that was the prompt to be given a menu (or not in my case), as there weren't any on the tables. There was a chalkboard on the chimney breast listing a load of sharing plates, but there wasn't anything I recognised.
Being a gastropub, there wasn't a proper bar back, just effectively a large wine rack. Nonetheless there was a decent amount of seating (mainly hard wooden tables and chairs) at the front of the bar for drinkers, and with an area at the back on the left with tables laid for diners. By the fireplace at the front on the right is a sofa, with loads of board games beneath the table in front of it, and there's some bench seating outside at the front, as well as a garden at the back.
But this isn't much like a pub, even though it's got an original pub name. The ale selection's not up to much either. But I did get a very warm welcome from the barmaid, so I reckon this pub just about gets into the "OK" category.
On 12th July 2015
- rating: 4
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Will Larter left this review about The Lord Palmerston
The previous purple exterior has now become grey, and the walls inside have been painted that almost ubiquitous shade of green/grey that is used nowadays, presumably in an effort to make a pub seem cool and stand-offish rather than warm and welcoming. There are no soft furnishings and no curtains, apart from the draft-proofing around the front door, so any more than a dozen people talking at once can make the place very noisy. Again, this is becoming typical, so it's not a gripe at this particular pub.
There's a conservatory and a small garden to the rear, and in front there are tables and a very ugly umbrella for the smokers. There is a function room upstairs available for hire, and the toilets are also up here, so it's not a place to go if you are elderly or disabled.
The background music was OK, not too loud and not too annoyingly familiar. A TV set was playing soundlessly, and was switched to Match of the Day upon request.
The furniture is a mixture of high and low tables, stools, wooden chairs and one sofa. On the four hand pumps were two from Charles Wells, plus Sharps Doom Bar and Redemption Pale Ale, which was very good. Service was efficient and friendly, and the manager wished me good night as I was leaving, which left a good impression.
On 8th February 2011
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3745 recommendations about 3482 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about The Lord Palmerston
Last Saturday I enjoyed a nice pint of Pride and Landlord whilst sitting on one of the picnic tables out the front. Doom Bar was also available alongside a selection of premium lagers and the barmaid was probably the friendliest I have met this year.
The drinking area at the front is very bright and airy and there is a restaurant area at the rear of the pub and I also spotted some more dining space on my travels to the upstairs toilet.
This isn't the most exciting pub on the planet, but the beer was worth the trip and I would gladly visit here again.
On 15th May 2009
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5249 recommendations about 5217 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john mcgraw left this review about The Lord Palmerston
Street corner comfortable pub with a single L shaped bar.Three real ales on including the excellent Landlord.5 mins from Tufnell Park station(up a fairly steep hill)
On 13th January 2007
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2044 recommendations about 2025 pubs]