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Detail Pages
The Charlotte Despard, Archway, N19
N19
N19 3TX
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about The Charlotte Despard
It would seem that this is a relatively modern conversion dating from around 1984, originally Marler’s Bar, then the Dog, previously the Settle Inn, this name arriving in the 2000s and as mentioned, it was named after the suffragette whose name was taken for the adjoining street in this rather unprepossessing location.
Ignoring the publicity reviews, the pub appears a bit scruffy, not least because of the many blacked out windows and I won’t bother describing the interior as you can do a 360° tour on Google, with photos on their website. Suffice to say that the colour scheme has changed, with grey wainscoting to white walls with modern lighting and a megavision screen to the right-hand wall. Décor comes in the form of trendy prints and books in shelves and an LGBTI+ flag, whilst customers were young and a bit studenty; a white and ginger cat mooches about the place too.
Ales amounted to just an unused pump, then a reversed ELB Cowcatcher clip, then local Hammerton N7 at £2.40 a half and ok, served by a very taciturn barmaid (landlady?) who told me that it was cash-only, without warning; when will pubs realise that if they have a payment preference, it must by law be clearly displayed, though fortunately I had – just – enough cash to pay. If she reads this, perhaps she’d like to explain why the website says ‘cash or card’?
This is a bit of a depressing place, with vastly superior pubs in Highgate, not least the reborn Winchester a few hundred yards north of here, the obsession with sport and feeble ale choice being disincentives to making a return, not to mention the misinformation regarding payment.
On 14th January 2023
- rating: 3
[User has posted 1985 recommendations about 1951 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Charlotte Despard
This is a mid-sized, partly modernised pub on the Archway Road, on the corner of Despard Road which, like the pub, takes its name from the British suffragette Charlotte Despard. The pub has a split-level interior, all of which is bare boarded and has half panelled walls with plain painted uppers. You enter to the lower front section which has the servery over to the left and a row of big pillars through the centre which break the space up in a very effective manner. Tables and chairs run in rows either side of the pillars and there are some comfy sofas and hard pews to the far right, with a pool table filling some dead space in the front right corner. The bar has a fairly high counter with a nice panelled front and a pub cat sat proudly at the far end. The bar back is a somewhat plain affair, livened up a little by a colourful, backlit Vedett sign. A step or two take you up to the rear part of the room where pew, bench and chair seating serves a number of tables in what feels like the pub’s cosiest spot. A TV screen on one wall remained off during the course of my stay, a couple of well stocked bookcases have some interesting items in them (I spent most of my visit thumbing through a Gary Larson book I found there) and there is a fun ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’ art print on the back wall. You ascend again for a very small rear right area with a sofa, dartboard and inactive TV screen. Lots of miscellaneous breweriana can be found dotted around the whole pub, which was soundtracked by some fine post-rock tunes, incongruously mixed in with 80’s pop hits.
I’d hoped to find some decent beer here, two handpulls had reversed clips and the third seemed to be out of action altogether, which was a real shame and meant I had to pick one of the craft keg beers from their modest draught selection. I forget what I picked, but it was nothing particularly out of the ordinary. Service was a bit brusque and there were only a small handful of other customers in attendance.
I thought this place had the potential to be a great pub, so was very much let down by the lack of cask ale, the surly service and flat atmosphere. I’d be interested in checking the place out again if I could be sure they had some decent beer on, but may well resort to alternative nearby options in the meantime.
On 9th July 2020
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Will Larter left this review about The Charlotte Despard
Now open again after a period when there appears to have been some dispute with the landlord (owner of the premises). Judging by the review posted in December 2010 by the landlord (operator of the public house) nothing much seems to have changed in the interim.
There are five hand pumps, serving a cider and four ales, two of which were local Sambrook Wandle and Redemption Pale Ale, the others being the now ubiquitous Sharps Doom Bar and the almost equally prevalent St Austell Tribute. I had the Wandle for my first pint, which was refreshing but a little too hoppy for me to have a second, so I had the Doom Bar, but this was unfortunately a little tired, though still OK.
The music was just a little too loud for me to have a comfortable conversation with my daughter, though the sofa and arm chairs near to the kitchen provided some respite, the nearest loudspeaker being sufficiently distant to make shouting unnecessary.
On 23rd October 2011
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3745 recommendations about 3482 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bongo Worm left this review about The Charlotte Despard
Hi, and welcome to The Charlotte Despard. We pride ourselves on being a relaxed and friendly place, with a nice and eclectic clientele. We’re the place to come for great beer, tasty food, good conversation and funky music, and we hope that we have something to offer everyone...
We’ve always got a range of papers for your perusal and use –Although the Guardian quick crossword is most definitely Tom’s. We also have a good assortment of games, anything from Scrabble to Chess, Cribbage to Cranium. We even have a (very mini) table football (balls kept behind the bar).
As you can see from the picture gallery, we’ve got some pretty funky decor and interesting pictures and bits and bobs; and any artists out there are very welcome to ask about displaying their work, either with a view for sales or just exhibiting. There are lots of spacious wooden tables and seating, as well as some very comfortable sofas for just hanging out and putting your feet up.
So if you find yourself in Highgate or Archway, and you’re looking for a good time in a relaxed environment, with friendly, interesting people and no hassle, you know where to come.
On 3rd December 2010
- rating: 9
[User has posted 1 recommendations about 1 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Howard Hill left this review about The Charlotte Despard
This bar was a very pleasant surprise to me and to my mind is one of North London's undiscovered gems. What is surprising is that it has such a cosy country style ambience so close to the mayhem and bustle of Archway. The people that run it obviously have a love of music and seem keen to develop it into one of the the capitals foremost DJ bars. Of course I am slightly biased because I play there now every Friday but I would go there even if I didn't. To me its a joy to find a bar where you can chat with friends in a convivial ambiance and listen to some cool tunes. We need more places like this in London.
On 8th October 2010
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1 recommendations about 1 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about The Charlotte Despard
This place used to be called The Settle Inn and I never found it to be that welcoming. Thankfully the hospitality has improved since the name change and although I still wasn’t overly impressed I do think that there has been a vast improvement. It was good to see some real ale in the form of Landlord and Sambrook’s Wandle and there were also some ciders available with the inclusion of Flowers, Addlestone and Olde English. The premium lager selection will cover most tastes and my pint of Guinness was well served. There were a few people eating during my visit and I gleaned from a quick glance at the menu that Tibetan food is served along with some English classics.
The décor is minimal and the tables are all large thick wooden ones that were all taken up on my visit so even though it wasn’t very busy it was difficult to get comfortable to watch the football on the large plasma screen. There are some more tables and chairs along with a couple of sofas at the rear of the pub by the kitchen area.
There is a quiz every Thursday from 20:30 and I also spotted some signs for DJ nights which would probably cater for the young estate contingent that were propping up the bar.
I think that next time I’m passing I will stay on the bus.
On 28th March 2010
- rating: 5
[User has posted 5249 recommendations about 5217 pubs]