please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Handy for meeting people who can't follow directions to anywhere else as it is right by the tube. Not much good for anything else though.
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What a wonderful evening I spent ! Great handsome waiters .. especially the french one !
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amazing service! crazy french waiter! Pierrot
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much better than it was!
nice refurb inside and out , pleasant decor and atmosphere now .
nice selection of beers and wines too .
would definitely return should the opportunity arise .
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Just returned from enjoyable evening out that ended with a swift pint here at last orders. A fine pint of Deuchar’s IPA, friendly Swedish girl behind the bar and a pleasant atmosphere. Will return and spend longer here.
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bit pricey, but has free wi-fi access. service friendly. used to be the roughest pub in town, but now comfortably safe. good meeting point.
anonymous - 31 Oct 2007 10:45 |
the pub is a vast improvement on its halfway house days except for the fact they cant seem to look after the real ales,i was in a month back & the deuchars had gone sour so i had it changed for a bombardier which was ok-just.I then went in last night to find the deuchars rather tired tasting and when i went for a 2nd pint it had finished but the bombardier had turned sour.someone there needs lessons in how to look after real ale
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In March 2006 I wrote “If you could clear out the rabble, introduce some more sympathetic furnishings and insert a decent management team, this place could be a winner.” Someone seems to have taken note as the Eye is now a shadow of its former self and an excellent example of how to turn a total dive into something more respectable without destroying the character of the building. The dropouts and wierdo’s have been replaced with a smarter and more civilized crowd and the pub is far more hospitable than it ever was before. The basic interior is the same but the furnishings are slightly more trendy, the music more eclectic and a couple of Plasma Screens added. The Bombardier and Deuchers are enough to keep me happy and the staff have been top notch on the 2 or 3 occasions I have visited since the makeover. Still a great place to people watch with its panorama of the junction outside Camden Town tube station. Well done to whoever sorted this place out. Shame the rating reflects the old Halfway House rather than the Eye but it will hopefully adjust itself in due course.
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Hey it just seems to get better
They now have a new Manageress and and new vibrant team
Jet I did read you comment and I guess you either are a twit or have a personal axe to grind
As I have only ever had great service and a good time in here since the refurb
I agree with wellreadjay the spirit range is lacking but I had a chat with one of the Bar staff, James last night and he was telling me they are adding some more interesting stuff soon
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hey wellreaddjay [henry miller is the BEST - whats your fave?]. wonder where my previous post went - was v. tame, no swear words etc, thought this was a website supporting independent views, apparently not...
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Hey Jet. Did you go to the same pub I did last night? I only started drinking in the Eye recently as it was a complete hole before the paint job, but I certianly can't fault it now. Both the staff were attractive and helpful last night, although I couldn't vouch for the level of their education. The spirit selection was a bit lacking though. Definitely a step in the right direction for Camden.
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WOW what a turn around great looks good and the food is really good as well really good breakfast I will be back
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must be limitations with what you can do with a place this small - a definate improvment with the revamp, Deuchars/Bombardier no hand pump the former sadly dispensed through a cask breather? (sorry i'm just picky) The kitchen was knocking out some very appetising frie ups - i'll be back for one of those if not the ales. Opens 9.30am !
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Had lunch here for the first time since the change of management. Excellent chicken à-la-king very well prepared with quality ingredients in a good-sized hunger-busting portion! The Deuchar’s IPA was also very well kept and was in top condition.
Pub is well worth visiting for a lunchtime special and a swift pint, but it can get very smoky inside.
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A fantastic change to this pub it was nasty and now is light and you can see everything going on in the street cracking new name fits the spot
I had a cracking pint of Deuchers the other night wicked now have a spot close to the tube for a swifty before home
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Pub has been cleaned up as patr of a general "cleansing" of the area which is good.It's all helpin to give Camden a better name. Spent a few months in Camden a few years back and the Half Way House as it were then along with the World's End weren't my ideal drinking venues. Now with two real ales includin Deuchars IPA, and later opening hours, that, in my book, is a lot better than it was prior. Feels like a more welcoming place that anyone can go in.
7/10
andyW
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Yep, gone from the newly refurbished Camden Eye are the drunks, druggies, drop-outs and weirdos that frequented The Halfway House. Gone are the old rickety tables and chairs, the filthy toilets and the scabby 80s decor. Gone is all the character!!!
Well done folks. Yet another bland modern bar to add to the collection. Aren't we spoiled for choice!
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Visited last night, a few minutes before the new closing time of 12 midnight. Staff friendly, the music was not too loud to spoil conversation, and Charles Wells Bombardier was rather good (for Charles Wells Bombardier). Will visit again when the Deuchars IPA is back on.
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Well - what can I say..a fantastic change of decor, which makes for a totally different Pub. A light and airy feeling, with plenty of room to sit down. You can actually see inside the pub now,which is a bonus!
Went there last week with a group of friends (all female), and had a great time. The staff are knowledgeable and friendly. A great turnaround.
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Popped in a week ago. First time i been in since the refurn.Deuchars was off so settled 4 an average pint of Wells Bombardier.
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In addition to the redecoration this pub now has at least one real ale. I recall recently popping my head through the door just after closing time and seeing Deuchar's IPA on hand pump. I will shortly visit the pub to create a more comprehensive review of it.
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It's re-opened... As "The Camden Eye" I only saw the outside, from a passing bus. The black paint seems to have been replaced with an off white / light grey colour.
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By all accounts it will reopen as the "Camden Eye"
why must old pubs be renamed?
We want to see what happens to it...
(But I'm not going to hold my breath)
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Closed. Being heavily refurbed.
anonymous - 20 Sep 2006 21:41 |
A small pub that is quite dindgy with little atmosphere. There is little to say about this pub. Ok if you want a quite drink. Beer was ok but i generally use it to meet and move on - an advantage of being small i suppose, you can't miss anyone.
Ditinctly average 5/10
wocca - 24 Aug 2006 15:50 |
someone should get hold of this place and make an effort, remember going to the bar one night and standing next to Winston Silcott, which was a little strange
anonymous - 2 Apr 2006 18:43 |
The previous 2 comments are pretty close to the mark.The place was surprisingly empty when the pavements are choc a bloc outside.And it was wierd how long it took the barmaid to acknowledge your presence-seeing that I was the only one who needed a drink-She eventually managed to drag her arse away from her friend....This pub has always had its fair share of middle aged drunks-but years ago,you could at least sit at a decent set of tables,and sit comfotably with your discomfort.
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If ever they need to do a remake of Night of the Zombies, they could do far worse than cast the regulars of the Halfway House. When a pub in Camden is empty, you know it must be bad. On the face of it, this could be a decent enough boozer with its ideal location in the middle of Camden next to the Tube Station, handy for the market, the High Street and the various music venues. Its single bare floored bar offers no thrills and the beer was surprisingly well kept albeit not too adventurous (the Bombardier was in far better shape than the Worlds End opposite). The big downside is the customer base. Camden has its fair share of dropouts, down and outs, druggies and weirdos and they all seem to use the Halfway House as their local. Pretty much everyone I have encountered in here has either been stoned out of their minds, compulsive gamblers, plain drunk or all three. Even the barmaid didn’t seem to be all there although she was pleasant enough. I didn’t encounter any violence or particular nastiness but the atmosphere is quite intimidating, even when there are only a handful of punters present. If you could clear out the rabble, introduce some more sympathetic furnishings and insert a decent management team, this place could be a winner. As things stands, it is definitely one to pass by for the time being.
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The bar beholds a mess of booze that can normally be quite charming given the right location. Unfortunately a lack of decent seating, overly large windows and a general air of violence amount to any modicum of atmosphere going straight down the drain. Two huge video screen's peer down at you adding to the strangely alienating feel of this place. A traditional boozer that actually feels more like a bar - that's no mean feat.
Good for: Nothing - avoid.
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i do occasionally take a walk on the wild side and plunge into new pubs when i'm out and about - and what a mistake ! Camden is rather bereft of decent pubs and this one has to be one of the worst, was actually enticed through the door by the Batemans beer - which turned out to be flat and uninspiring (just like the pub) avoid... Go to Wetherspoons by the lock hardly a reccomendation but still heaps better than this place.
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can't agree more with other's comments - this place is a shithole. Went in there once with some work colleagues expecting to find a decent pub, and was accosted by some twat who was looking for a fight. It could be a nice place, but as always, the cheap booze (shit) attracts the winos and crack heads. Go across the road to the World's End instead.
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You know how every pub has one bloke who's just a complete shambles? You know the one; he wanders in smelling of wee, bumps into tables, barks at the barstaff and generally makes a nuisance of himself.
Every single person in The Halfway House is that person. If you are even remotely sane you just will not fit in.
It's an uncompromising freak show and it smells like someone died in there. They probably did.
Avoid.
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This used to be a great (real) Irish boozer back in Camden's eighties heyday, and revisiting it last night I was sad to see how much it's declined.
The boxing memorabilia, Motown music, and characters of those days have long disappeared. Now it just feels like an empty shell with a few old drunks. The only cask ale was unavailable, so I made do with a pint of Fosters, while witnessing a burly drunk brickie doing his best to intimidate a couple of foreigners, and with only one barman on duty the situation didn't feel particularly safe.
anonymous - 8 Mar 2005 18:29 |
Really dodgy boozer.
Normally one for a back street boozer I keep an eye out for rough diamonds - but this is just rough.
The benefits and skag trades keep this slightly strange smelling establishment open, but they arent doing us any favours in doing so.
Its a simple lesson - the first pub you see from the tube station is ALWAYS rubbish. And in this case full of skag heads and cheap kings x whores.
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Advertises as having the cheapest prices in Camden, and I believe it probably does. £2.20 for a double vodka and coke isn't bad by London standards. Bit small though and has no air, but still, a good place to start the evening.
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Yeah, not the best of places. I've got stuck talking to too many annoying drunken soaks in here and I tend to avoid it. The Halfway House is more than an apt name - maybe it's not a pub at all.
I think it's just been done up, although can happily stand corrected if that's not the case. Based on what normally happens to Camden pubs though, a refurb will make it infinitely worse.
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Strange pub, poorly set out with a fruit machine in the middle of the room. Beer is ok and it is handy for looking out at the chaos of Camden. Considering the pubs history though, there is very little atmosphere in this pub.
Owen - 21 Jun 2004 09:19 |
one of the smallest pubs ive visited,full of old blokes and the beer and service is poor.
baz tav - 17 Oct 2003 12:52 |
Very interesting pub for that quicky after work. Interesting location too as you are able to see all the local Smackheads/Drunks/Losers doing their bit outside Camden Station and feel quite safe doing so. You always get an interesting mix of people in here and due to it's central location be prepared to expect anything. The beer is better than I though.
Doofer - 6 Aug 2003 16:21 |
Not a bad pub but it's pretty tiny so can be hard to get a seat (and get served!) at busy times. Handy for getting home as it's right opposite Camden Town tube station.
Chris - 5 May 2003 14:45 |
Pretty standard boozer - a better place to meet your mates than the World's End opposite.
Darryl - 27 Apr 2003 23:34 |
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