please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
what a god dam awful place,purple painted pub full of geezers lining up in the gents all with bad colds a pub to avoid at all costs,what ever happened to this once great pub ,this is another example of a faceless manager who are they ?as for paying �10.00 for a sunday roast terrible when i asked for rare beef i meant the cooking of it not the amount avoid at all costs this was once a friendly locals pub with nice punters and great staff why has it changed? will never go back R.I.P. the kings head.
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A gem of a pub. On the afternoon i stumbled in there was a colourful local group at the bar. A Japanese visitor taking snaps. Friendly staff and the ale was on fine form.
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Pride, Doom Bar and Spitfire currently on draught.
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The Kings Head (that appears to have been lopped off in the page title) is a pretty basic no thrills pub which has fortunately remained relatively unscathed from any fancy makeovers or trendy seating invasions. At the front is a small raised area with fireplace and window seats to gaze at the passing traffic and to the rear is an extended area with stone floors, some ancient looking exposed brickwork, dart board and jukebox. There are a few TVs dotted around geared towards sports and the piped radio music wasn�t too intrusive. A spacious patio garden with gazebo caters for warmer days and smokers. The beer selection is unfortunately very mundane with no ales available on my recent trip (Pride clip was reversed) and just standard kegs / lagers. Prices appeared to be below the average for the area. The pubs lack of pretence and footie and darts approach give it a bit of a down market feel but in places like Islington it can be a breath of fresh air among a tide of ubiquitous chain pubs and lounge bars. When I worked in the area several years ago I only gave the Kings Head the occasional fleeting visit and whilst there isn�t anything adverse about the place, there are far better pubs around if you know where to look.
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This is a decent boozer with a dartboard, TVs and a projector screen for showing Sky Sports. It is not the biggest pub, but there is a small decked area out the back.
There is a standard draught selection available alongside Pride, although there are another two unused hand pumps.
I found the barman to be extremely friendly and I would return if in the area again.
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The vast majority of pubs in Islington are either branded chain pubs or bars or rather pretentious gastropubs / lifestyle bars; this pub (now called the King's Head, as someone else has pointed out) is neither of those things. I therefore rather liked it, despite the fact that it's ultimately a fairly nondescript boozer serving only one ale (and Pride at that) and with a fairly "gor blimey" clientele from the nearby council estates. I'd return here.
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Went in here on Saturday 17th Jan 09 and had a nice time. It was so nice to go into a pub without all the pretentious crap you get in other pubs. And you don't have to pay to get in. They had a dj up there with all the old style stuff, normal people, just like a pub should be
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I go here when I can't face The Old Queens Head across the road,which other than when they put on upstairs is most of the time.
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Went there for a book launch afterparty, great selection of wines and impressive chamapagne choice. Food was excellent, ciabatta and falafel special was tasty.
Tarquin
anonymous - 31 May 2007 14:53 |
Aaaah yes, Clara the angry barmaid.
Nice girl. Bit thick though.
anonymous - 31 May 2007 14:49 |
The only negative was that there was this barmaid who works weekends who has anger managment issues. apart from that the Chablis was lovely.
anonymous - 31 May 2007 14:45 |
I didn't dislike it, and certainly didn't want my review to communicate that. Nor did I mean to convey that it was 'rough', just that it was unpretentious. Which it is. As ghc said, it is a real pub unlike some of the posh bars nearby. I would certainly go back there.
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Not sure what the last reviewer meant- but this ia not what I'd describe as a 'rough pub'. although the building itself is a bit tired and old, there is a major refurb happening at the moment. It is- in my experience- one of the friendliest locals i've been in, the staff are attentive, and table service is often offered- especially during football games. The beer is not cheap- although reasonably priced for the area, and is well kept. I think the last review must be from a different pub! If you're not convinced- go and see for yourself, you won't be disappointed.
anonymous - 8 Aug 2006 15:12 |
Cheap and don't it know it, it's very rough and ready really and the beer wasn't that well kept.
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This has changed quite a bit since the last reviews.
For a start its reverted to its old name of the 'Kings Head' - confusingly the same as the more famous Upper St pub
Secondly it no longer does Thai food, but instead does basic pub grub at reasonable prices
Finally its just about the only real pub left in central Islington - so its full of the sorts of people who go to real pubs to drink, regularly.
So if you want cheap food & beer and not a lot else, it just about hits the spot...
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Pretty souless place, that looks like any other pub in the land, however they have a thai kitchen and its well worth the visit to try the large selection of great food for under a fiver...
alex - 30 Dec 2003 23:57 |
