The Lord Stanley, Camden

Best pub in the area. Been coming here since I moved to the neighbourhood and always made to feel welcome. I�d hesitate to call it a gastropub, mainly because I hate that word, and although the food is gastro-quality and the menu chalked up on an old-school blackboard, this place is nothing like those lah-de-bloody-dah places down Islington way. Just an honest-to-goodness local with great food and zero pretension. And anyway, there�s no pressure to eat, you can just spend a pleasant evening drinking here with a bunch of friends. Well-chosen international selection of wines, the usual Continental lagers, and a good choice of ales and bitters (if I knew anything about ale and bitters, that is). If you are eating, look out for the special six-quid lunches on weekdays, and the hangover-busting breakfasts at the weekend, as well as the Sunday roasts. Clientele is a friendly mix of locals, the odd character, and people from the nearby creative studios and offices. A suit was spotted here once, but thankfully didn�t last long. And because it�s away from the main Camden drag you don�t get any of the extraterrestrials or Bacardi breezer brats who make Camden on a weekend resemble something out of Dawn of the Dead. No jukebox or piped music either, but a creaky old Joanna in the corner. My only complaint is the yummy-mummies who occasionally swoop in for lunch with their screaming spawn, and convince me that Herod had the right idea after all. But apart from that, highly recommended. Oh, and there�s a theatre upstairs as well.

6 Nov 2012 23:12