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Chat about:
Disappointment of the week with Real Ale Ray
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
Kings Head, Crouch End, N8
Crouch End
N8
N8 8AA
Pub Type
Castle (Mitchells & Butlers)Reviews (Current Rating Average: 5½ of 10) see review guidelines
Steve of N21 left this review about Kings Head
This is a very good looking pub from the outside. There has been a public house occupying the site near the southern end of the Broadway since 1662 and has been referred to as the 'King's Head' since around 1812. This current Victorian turreted building has been in situ since about the early 1890s.
Unfortunately it isn’t that good looking inside nowadays as it has been largely stripped out and Gastrofied. It’s a bit flippant and lazy to refer to them as planks of wood, but the dark pastel colours, stripped back brickwork and distressed wood panelling will not be everyone’s cup of tea and will certainly not appeal to those that prefer a more traditional pub interior. In truth it didn’t appeal to me much either. And unfortunately this was also the case with the beer selection that was available for my visit. Still four ale pumps on the bar with Timothy Taylor Landlord, Sharps Doom Bar and Old Rosie cider on them with one unused. Fortunately the landlord did not run out for me and it was fairly decent. But the saving grace for this place is not actually the pub but the fact that it supports a thriving comedy club in the basement and the space is used for regular live music as well. It gets an extra mark from me for that. If I was to return here then it will probably be to visit the comedy club below.
On 10th August 2023
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2110 recommendations about 1992 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about Kings Head
A mid-16th century pub rebuilt for Taylor Walker in 1892 and visited by me for a comedy evening in the late '90s.
I popped by the other night and it appears to have been seriously gastrofied, with what looked like planks fixed to the walls and slightly modern furniture so I decided not to go in; I can't afford to prop up every pub...
On 15th September 2021
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 1983 recommendations about 1949 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Will Larter left this review about Kings Head
A typical London corner pub: there must be a couple of thousand like it. This one has been not just opened out but gutted, with walls hacked back to inferior brickwork, and repurposed rough timber on other walls that are presumably worse than inferior. Only youngsters would think this was cool, so me, my brother and his wife were obviously the oldest people there when we and their extended family came here for a post-funeral drink. Fortunately the beer was ok: Wily Fox Crafty Fox was on, alongside Sharps Doom Bar; then disaster struck and the Fox ran out. Swerving the Doom Bar, I went for Camden Pale, which wasn't too bad. A round of drinks averaging £5 a head was pretty awful, but that's London, isn't it.
On 17th February 2020
- rating: 4
[User has posted 3733 recommendations about 3470 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Alan Winfield left this review about Kings Head
The Kings Head is a grand looking pub that is on the apex of two roads.
Once inside there is a smallish oblong shaped room with the bar facing,the floor is bare boarded and the seating is normal tables and chairs to the left,tall tables and chairs in the middle area and bench seating and settees to the front.
There were four real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Harvistoun Summer Legend which went down well,the other beers were Salopian Hop Twister,Purity UBU and Doom Bar.
Background music was playing and food was being served,the pub was also quite busy on my Thursday afternoon visit.
I was happy enough having a drink in this pub.
Pub visited 4/8/2016
On 2nd October 2016
- rating: 7
[User has posted 6113 recommendations about 6113 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about Kings Head
I also agree with Rex, I found this pub to a bit Gastro and prices were expensive. The pub did have a good atmosphere on our Sunday Eve visit, there was a DJ playing 7" vinyls, which seemed to be going down well with the older crowd. Four handpumps in operation, so we went for the Hopback Winter Lightening and the Cotleigh Uncle Sam.
On 2nd March 2016
- rating: 5
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about Kings Head
There were two ales on in here - Adnam's Rudolph Nose Best and Redemption Urban Dusk, with two further pumps unused, one with a Doom Bar Clip reversed. I just knew that I wouldn't get away with a half in here for less than £2 - and so it transpired, with my half of Rudolph Nose Best rockin' in at exactly £2. I wouldn't have been surprised had it been more.
It's had a makeover since the last time I wandered past last year. There was a young man standing in the bar who welcomed me like some sort of wannabe maitre d'; but it is nonetheless nice to be welcomed. All the walls are painted crimson and the tables all have a little sprig of flowers on them, and of course the obligatory large glass jars of nuts are behind the bar. Rather surprisingly there are no sofas, but there are some tall tables/tall stools as well as some banquettes and normal tables and chairs that look a bit like re-cycled dining room furniture. Nothing wrong with that of course. There was some pop music playing a bit too loudly for my taste, but I accept that I'm one of those strange peole who prefer it to be totally absent. But on the plus side there are no fruit machines or others of their ilk, and in fact I didn't see a TV although there may have been one tucked unobtrusively away somewhere.
They do hot food, with burgers in the £10 - £11.50 range, and other main meals the same sort of price. There are a couple of large vases with floral displays in them, and when I was in a chap came into the pub to change them over. Although the pub's fairly upmarket and a bit gastro, it ticked the ale quality box, so is worth dropping in for a swift one if you're in the area. It's not cheap though.
On 11th January 2014
- rating: 5
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about Kings Head
I had a nice pint of Pride in here one Saturday evening recently and although I found the staff to be nice enough I decided not to stay and try the other ale offering of Banker's Draft as I found it hard to get settled due to there being no seating or standing room other than at the busy bar. I wouldn't normally find this a problem, but unfortunately the patrons of the King's Head that I ‘bumped into' seemed to be a self obsessed bunch who wouldn't move out of the way for the queen if she popped in.
Along with the two ales there is a wide selection of premium lagers and also Old Rosie cider. The staff were pleasant enough and seemed to easily cope with the demands of the thirsty punters.
I would go back here again if I happened to be in Crouch End during the daytime when the pub is less busy, but I wouldn't entertain the idea of another weekend night visit.
On 30th June 2009
- rating: 5
[User has posted 5228 recommendations about 5196 pubs]