please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Dived in here from the rain after giving up on the queues in the Bunch of Grapes around the corner. What a totally different atmosphere. Although busy, there was a lot more elbow room and no deafening cackle from lager sipping office boys and girls as was in the BOGs. Service was fast and there was a good choice of ales and pleasant conversation at the bar. I could have settled in here all night but had to get the next train. The Tribute in the BOGs had been just a tad better, but not enough to give it the edge overall. The Kings Head is a great pub. Worth missing a train for.
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perfectly decent unpretentious boozer - delighted it hasn't be tarted up.
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This is an unprepossessing boozer - as people have said - but last night there was a reasonable number of real ales in good condition (my St Austell Tribute was good, reportedly so were the Harvey's and the Hyde's Owd Bill - an unusual beer to find in London). Two football matches were on but no volume so not too intrusive.
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You always get served very quickly no matter how busy it is ! The staff are great. It is a good place to watch football in !
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The beer was nice, but it was just a big room with a few tables. I got there early, and struggled to get a table. They were showing american football on the TV!!
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Popped in here on a friends birthday night a couple of weeks back. Had two cracking pints of ale. Great atmosphere.
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Really welcome change to the usual tourist and chain pubs in the area. Good old fashioned boozer that is great for Sport events and happy hour is very good value
Tim76 - 21 Jun 2007 12:11 |
Seems to have had a bit of a refurb since my last visit with a consequent loss of a bit of character, but still a fine pub. Nice to see a pub offering a Happy Hour ( between 4 - 7 pm ) with all beers £ 2 per pint.
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very good
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I found this to be a pleasantly down-to-earth and unpretenious place, fairly friendly atmosphere although a bit drafty by the window. The window was actually wedged open which seemed a little odd for January. I think the beer was from the Greene King range. My only other slight gripe was the slightly overbearing football screens, but that's what people and it brings the punters in so mustn't grumble. Other than that I quite liked the place!
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Bit of a monolgue here, and nothing to do with what the place is like now - but in 1979....
No TV, but the best drawn Courage Ales, and a REAL atmosphere with only a 'juke box' to enliven things.
It sounds dreary, but it was the 'crowd' that made the difference, especially at lunchtimes, which were were mainly from Post Office Telephones.
Even in the evenings then you could still bump into the 'old crowd'. We really felt then that we 'owned' the place.
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Old-fashioned town pub, making a pleasant change from the overdone theme bars nearby. Good selection of real ales. Worth seeking out if you have a long wait at London Bridge station.
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My first visit in over 25 years - what a relief to find it still a proper pub. Warm friendly atmosphere; people talking (perhaps because of the absence of loud music); excellent pint of Reindeer; happy hour (did not expect to write that, especially as the late afternoon trade was so busy). A real gem well worth seeking out if in the Borough area. Long may this continue.
P.S. I do not intend leaving it another 25 years!!
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This is an excellent pub. I've been coming here for years, mostly as a pre-match pub. Although it is predominantly Millwall, it's never overbearingly so [it's a train ride away], and many varieties of away fans have been accomodated over the years with zero trouble. Agree, with other posters, the staff are excellent and friendly, and the beers are well kept - usually five ales on tap.
There was a refit a few months ago, but I'm happy to say that nothing was ruined at all. There is now more visibility for the often very busy big screen Sky games. This place does seem to get banged out more for Man Utd, and especially Liverpool games, as is often the case in London. It's also usually heaving during the excellent happy hour - many of these clientele seem to by the tie-unloosened hard drinking, hard smoking men de-stressing, and it's quite smoky at these times.
Overall: brilliant. I intend to keep coming here for many years to come.
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Popped in here last night for a quick pint. I was happy to find Harvey’s Sussex best on hand-pull but less than happy to find the dartboard out of action due to a quiz machine being placed in front of it. Too many London pubs have lost their dartboards, please put this one back into action! The King’s Head has the feel of a local and on a warm evening it’s quite pleasant to stand in the quiet cobbled alleyway next to the pub. They also show sport on a TV in the bar. Recommended.
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Really like this place. Well kept real ales, good mixture of people and friendly staff who also seemed to be local and not Eastern European which is a rarity these days. Agree with Boss_Hog regarding the decor.
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Lovely unspoilt boozer - this is what pubs should be like - long may it remain so !
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Excellent back street boozer. A real mix of local hard-nuts and overspill from Borough Market. Decor looks like it has been untouched in decades....which is a good thing. Beer is above average.
anonymous - 22 Feb 2006 13:08 |
Great pub, staff very friendly. Happy hour 4pm to 7pm - real ale £2.00 per pint!!! Big screen, music, darts and quiz machine. Can get too smokey and avoid Sat PM if you don't want to watch football
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Not as cosy as I could imagine (in fact I was convinced someone'd try and sell me bootleg sportswear/tabacco/DVDs etc it had that kind of vibe) although there were a couple of real ales on.
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Never been in here before but pleasantly surprised. Nicely dingy/comfortable with a good, mixed clientele. Had one pint of Harvey's Sussex bitter which was good.
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A lovely old 'boozer'. Food looked fine but more of a drinkers establishment. Joss Stone behind the bar didn't do any harm either.
anonymous - 23 Nov 2005 14:00 |
Fine traditional pub in a side alley off Borough High Street. Nothing else to add to previous comments - must try and do this pub more often
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Fantastic pub. Cheap for its location. Great staff. Darts board. Limited seating but never gets overcrowded. Handy location near London Bridge. Good Happy Hour, lasting from 4 till 7
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Although I would't get too excited about the downstairs bar (very smokey and blokey, even on quiet nights) the upstairs room is a real find - loads of character, with a kind of quirky, 'nautical' feel: it's great for functions of up to 50 people, with your own little bar. The staff are really friendly & helpful and it's true, it's one the few proper pubs in this area. I hope it doesn't disappear!
anonymous - 15 Feb 2005 12:00 |
This pub is hidden away but a real find. I love the All day breakfast. Prices are great aswell. Also that Raqcheal Stevens Video was filmed outside with all the girls running around. Great.
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A rarity in the London Bridge/Borough area,this is neither a soulless chain pub, nor an overpriced tourist trap. The Old Kings Head is in fact something of a hidden gem, tucked away in an alley off of Borough High Street.
This is the only pub in the area that authentically feels like a local - always crowded, noisy and occassionally smoke filled, but with a tremendous range of music (Beefheart, reggae, punk, Dylan and Destiny's Child in the same hour), a good range of cheap beers (£2 per pint 4-7 pm), very quick service(especially on a Friday night, when so many other pubs
leave you waiting for an age), and the friendliest staff in London. It also screens all the sport (particularly football and rugby)you could wish for. Finally, users of the upstairs function room range from sceptics to philosophers (actual philosophers, as opposed to the pub philosophers downstairs:-])to the London Musicians Collective. How can this pub not rate 10/10? You owe it to yourself to at least visit once.
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£2 pints in happy hour (2.50 - 2.70 other times). this is the only tennanted freehouse in the area. It's a proper pub. Big screen has been replaced and the service is quicker/friendlier than any other pub around. I work here.
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great football atmosphere,but would be better off with a new big screen to replace the old faint one.
jasper - 3 Jul 2004 17:48 |
Great football pub all the best matches shown although does get a bit overcrowded seems to have been run by the same bloke for a while now and could do with a lick of paint good beer though
Mark - 3 Sep 2003 15:43 |
Terrible if you want to get a seat, but cheap in happy hour... £1.60 now all pints from 4pm to 7pm. A pint of Stella goes up to £2.60 after 7pm, which while being more expensive than the Globe nearby, it's much cheaper than the Heeltap or the George (£2.90).
Tristán - 21 Jul 2003 11:09 |
It's a bit grubby, but there's a 2 for 1 happy hour between six and seven every night and they show all the good footy matches!
What more can you ask for?
Pascal - 22 May 2003 16:40 |
I used this place 25 years ago, when it was a great watering hole for BT engineers in London Bridge Street.
I'm coming back to see what its like.
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£1.80 pints Monday to Friday 4-7pm
Boris - 18 Nov 2002 14:21 |
