London ’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
Central London – Bloomsbury, Euston & St Pancras
The Queens Head London WC1
Contemporary pub
66 Acton Street WC1X 9NB
T (020) 7713 5772 W www.queensheadlondon.com f The-Queens-Head tw TheQueens_Head
Open 1200 (1500 Sat, 1600 Sun) – 2300. Children welcome until 1900.
Cask beer 3 (Oakham, unusual guests), Other beer 7 keg, 40 bottles, Also 4 ciders/perries
Food Cheese, ham, pork pies, with beer matching, Outdoor Small rear courtyard
Tue comedy, Wed folk, Thu swing jazz, quiz planned, pub for hire
Another beer-focused modern makeover of a forgotten and decaying local, this place reopened in June 2010 but seems to have slipped under the radar of many of the capital’s beer hunters, perhaps because while pursuing quality and a warm welcome it’s gone for a more accessible and less geeky approach than some. Tucked down a side street off Grays Inn Road a short walk from Kings Cross, this handsome pub benefits from some fine original features happily preserved thanks to decades of underinvestment, including extensive ceramic tiling, engraved glass, mirrors and light fittings from the gaslight era, with several strikingly unusual standards on the bar. An open main bar with simple furniture and plenty of standing room is extended by a lovely green painted snug at the back.
Oakham JHB is near-permanent on cask, alongside beers from the likes of Dark Star, Harviestoun, Redemption and Windsor & Eton. Imported lagers come from Kaiserdom, König and Licher, with craft keg from BrewDog, Camden Town and Harviestoun. Suppliers of bottles include BrewDog, Coopers, Kernel, Meantime, Odell, Samuel Smith, St Austell and Timothy Taylor – note there’s considerably more in the fridges than appears on the printed list. Food is limited to cold plates of cheese and charcuterie, some of which are helpfully provided with matching beer suggestions. A friendly place that deserves wider recognition, under the same ownership as Simon the Tanner in SE1.
National Rail, Underground Kings Cross St Pancras Cycling LCN+0 Walking Links to Jubilee Greenway, Jubilee Walkway