Located a short walk out of Kings Cross in a sidestreet off the the Caledonian Road is this wonderful little wood-panelled one-room pub.
Space is at a premium inside – the pub is rumoured to have the smallest men’s toilets in London – but they still managed to fit in an excellent live band.
There’s also bar billiards, a jukebox on the wall and a real fire for the winter evenings. Lovely.
Snacks are served at the bar but if you fancy something more substantial, you can order lunch from the the cafe over the road – they’ll bring it across to you – or choose from the provided takeaway menus in the evening.
There was a decent selection of interesting real ales available from the small bar.
In June 2015, the pub’s regulars raised £70,000 to save the pub, as the Islington Tribune reported:
Customers raised £70,000 between them to bid for the leasehold, and its landlord this week agreed to hand over the running of the bar to the people who love the pub the most.
Donald McDonald, one of the Northdown Street bar’s rescuers, told the Tribune: “When we heard the pub was up for sale there was mass panic among the regulars.
“We didn’t want the community elements to be lost.”
The 15 new shareholders – ranging in professions from an actor to an accountant – put in between £1,000 and £15,000.
Mr McDonald, who has been drinking in the pub for the past 12 years, said: “It was a hard sell to my wife. I was asking her to invest our money in a pub. But this is a sustainable business, we’re also here to make a profit.”
There’s some curious nick-nacks stuck on the wall.
Pub details:
King Charles I
55-57 Northdown St London N1 9BL
020 7837 7758
Opening hours (call to confirm before setting out)
Monday: 5pm-11pm
Tuesday: 5pm-11pm
Wednesday: 12pm-midnight
Thursday: 12pm-midnight
Friday: 12pm-midnight
Saturday: 5pm-11pm
Sunday: 5pm-10.30pm
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