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Image posted by john mcgraw
Submitted on Friday, 20th August 2010
With picture contributions to 21064 other pubs
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Detail Pages
The Black Heart, Camden Town, NW1
NW1
NW1 0AP
Served areas
Reviews of The Black Heart (Average Rating: 6 of 10) see review guidelines
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Black Heart
Down a back alley with just a large Black Heart symbol visible on the exterior,this bar up some internal steps does at least have a variety of craft kegs beers to offset the no real ale tag.
The decor lives up to it's name,dark and moody with a very loud soundtrack to match.There is bench seating,a small side section to the left,seating booths to the right and the bar split into two sections and U shaped with the keg taps across the front.There is a beer list at the rear left,I counted 16 taps,with several not working making a choice from 10 from which I had a decent Hackney Millions of Melba,a 4% sour at £3.40 the half.Other well respect craft beer brewers were represented .
Food mainly mac 'n cheese,dirty fries and win gs but most punters were just drinking.The dimly illuminated Courage cockrel sign was a feature,and despite being almost 3times the avarage age of the customer base the bar service was friendly.
The unisex loos are a (street) work of art,covered from floor to ceiling in colourful graffiti and a must visit !
On a crawl around Camden I was subject to a lot of sub standard real ale,so this place is worth seeking out for something more refreshing if you dont mind getting down with the kids/goths/hipsters.
On 29th October 2023
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2835 recommendations about 2835 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blue Scrumpy left this review about The Black Heart
This rock pub is tucked away down a narrow side street that seems more like an alleyway that might be used solely for rubbish/garbage in New York City!
Nevertheless, it seems to be quite a trendy venue and despite having dispensed of real ale since my last visit in 2015, it still has a good range of craft beers - Brew By Numbers #64 Imperial Stout Tiramisu, Duration Dripping Pitch, Bone Machine Nordic Barbarian, Hackney Boogie Van, Brooklyn The Stonewall Inn, Camden Pale & Anspach & Hobday London Black. The cider was Sandford Orchards Devon Red.
It's quite a large open space with limited seating around the edges. Perhaps people get up and dance at weekends in the open areas(?). Nevertheless, on a quiet Sunday evening, finding a seat didn't prove to be an issue. Although getting back up off the seat after my 10% Imperial Stout was more of an issue. However, I though that at less than £3 for a half, it was good value for Camden.
I'm not really into rock pubs, but with a good craft beer range, I'll probably be back the next time I'm drinking in the area.
On 1st March 2022
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2736 recommendations about 2735 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Black Heart
This pub, tucked away down a narrow side street just a short walk from Camden tube station, is pretty hard to spot as it has virtually no external signage - its location given away only by the punters who'd spilled out onto the pavement. It's a typical Camden bar, painted all in black and with very muted lighting throughout to create a gloomy, rock bar feel. Large, folding front doors lead into a split level room, with a sizeable U-shaped servery in the middle of the back wall. Some padded bench booths run down the right side of the room, under some large framed art prints, whilst over to the left there is limited bench and low stool seating, mostly in a recess that has been decorated with more of the colourful posters. The pub's name is spelt out in a floral display similar to those you might expect to see on top of a coffin, which perhaps fits the pub's edgy theme. The lower front left portion of the room has been set aside for a pool table and the front windows allow enough light in to make a game feasible. The pub puts on a lot of live music and a door to the rear left leads into their own bespoke venue, passing a table covered in various gig flyers on the way. Unsurprisingly, there was a good alternative rock soundtrack playing throughout my stay, although it remained at a level which still allowed for conversation.
The servery is lined with pump clips on one side, hinting at a good guest ale policy. On this visit there were two ales on handpull - Saltaire Cascade Pale Ale and Harbour India Brown Ale - with Lilley's Sunset Cider occupying a third pump. My pint of the Saltaire was in very good shape although the barman had all sorts of trouble getting a pint of the 'lively' beer into my glass. A decent keg range included Camden and Rouge brews whilst blackboards around the servery detailed all options, including a fairly lengthy craft bottle selection.
I thought this pub was pitched very nicely to attract its niche target market, of whom there are plenty around Camden, but hidden away enough to ensure the tourists don't pack it out. I enjoyed relaxing here over a good pint, listening to some good music and watching the customers come and go and would definitely consider using this as a pre-gig venue more often.
On 8th June 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3219 recommendations about 3219 pubs]
View more reviews of The Black Heart (6)
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- Official site of the Black Heart - www.ourblackheart.com
- Review of The Camden Tup at Bar Blog - BarBlog.co.uk
- Facebook - The Black Heart
- Twitter - The Black Heart
- CAMRA WhatPub :: The Black Heart - whatpub.com
Kentish Town West, 0.73 miles, 14 min walk (show)
London Euston, 1.06 miles, 20 min walk (show)
Pub Details
Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.
- Accommodation : No last updated 14 November 2014 by ROB Camra
- Bar Billiards : No last updated 08 June 2014 by Pub SignMan
- Beer Festivals : No last updated 14 November 2014 by ROB Camra
- Beer Garden : No last updated 14 November 2014 by ROB Camra
- CAMRA Discount : Yes - 20% - last updated 04 April 2018 by ROB Camra
- Car Park : No last updated 14 November 2014 by ROB Camra
- Child Friendly : No last updated 08 June 2014 by Pub SignMan
- Darts : No last updated 08 June 2014 by Pub SignMan
- Hot Food : Yes last updated 14 November 2014 by ROB Camra
- Jukebox : Yes - Free - last updated 14 November 2014 by ROB Camra
- Live Music : Yes last updated 14 November 2014 by ROB Camra
- Live TV Sports : No last updated 14 November 2014 by ROB Camra
- Pinball : No last updated 08 June 2014 by Pub SignMan
- Pool Table : Yes last updated 14 November 2014 by ROB Camra
- Real Ale : No - Deleted from 2016 GBG - last updated 27 February 2016 by Bucking Fastard
- Real Cider : No last updated 01 March 2022 by Blue Scrumpy
- Wheelchair Access : Yes last updated 08 June 2014 by Pub SignMan