please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Great gay pub for bears and admirers. I usually end up here a couple of nights a week for a few cheeky pints after work.
Staff are very friendly and polite - as are most of the clientele.
Can be a bit cliquey if you are on your own, but with a bunch of mates its a nice place to hang out.
In the summer it gets incredibly busy outside with people drinking al fresco. It also has a much underused upstairs.
Sundays are well known for Karaoke so get there early unless you want to find yourself squashed in a corner with lots of hairy men. But then again, maybe thats what you're looking for....
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Decent pub . Not only has everybody shagged each other here - they all tell each other about it. Unique pub
bob55 - 21 Dec 2007 12:34 |
Well they closed and refurbished this place after the smoking ban came in and it's still a fly-blown dump. Toilets disgraceful so god knows what the cellar is like. Often felt sick after drinking draught here so switched to bottles. Staff are attitude-ridden queens.
Only the clientele make it bearable :-)
Manager has a "DJ" in on a Saturday so converstaion is impossible, he'd obviously rather be running a club than the potentially cracking traditional Gay boozer he has...
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This once great establishment has sadly been fading since the departure of Steve Holroyd. Karaoke is a real winner on a Sunday night but overall the pub is nowhere near as busy as it once was and I think this is mainly due to the surly attitude of certain staff. The punters make this place friendly, but the staff find it difficult to smile and are at times, particularly unwelcoming. Thank goodness for the smoking ban in 6 weeks time, this place supposedly has air conditioning but I have struggled to feel it! The toilets are small and in a constant state of disrepair. Refurbishment is long overdue and what happened to the relaxed drinking laws? This place still kicks out in a very rude and unfriendly manner. There are alternatives on the bear scene to the Kings Arms these days, the brewery and management would do well to remember this.
anonymous - 11 May 2007 13:01 |
i wouldn't recognise the bar from these descriptions, i now only go in occasionally for the pool table and the staff and atmosphere could hardly be less welcoming
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It can get terribly crowded in the evenings, and also, crucially, they take away the chairs after 6pm. It`s a friendly enough place, and if I sit in there long enough, I usually see at least one person I know. Upstairs can be a bit less crowded.
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We refer to it as The Leaky Cauldron. The K.A. is an institution. It gets too busy later in the evenings . It is one of the few "gay pubs", (as opposed to a "gay bar". And even though it gets too smoky, come April 07, that will be one probelm less. One of the few friendly bars in Central London
anonymous - 2 Jun 2006 01:07 |
I unwittingly walked in with a friend to discover it was a gay pub and whilst this would not generally concern me, I did find the Kings Arms quite uncomfortable, probably as it had an all male customer base and there were some decidedly shady looking characters among them. The pub itself is fine, a bit dark but not in any way tacky. Good service, decent beer and a good mix of music. If gay pubs are your thing then I guess you could do a lot worse.
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warmy furry pub with a decent Kareoke on packed Sunday Evenings and no thats not a tautology
This pub was a lot nicer when the previous owners were there, the atmosphere was friendlier and older bears were made to feel a lot more welcome, its got camper and queenier and the staff would be happier working in Comptons
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I went in completely oblivious to the fact that it was a gay bar and was made to feel very welcome (s.w.f) although this was early evening on a Saturday. Good pints served too. Nice to look at a few decent blokes, just a pity they weren't interested in me!
Hucks - 15 Sep 2005 13:05 |
I put the ATM in this pub when Willy was the landlord.. he was a top man, bought me a pint for my birthday and was very sad to go back weeks later to find he'd died suddenly. Not my scene but seemed a decent place and the ale was excellent.
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The beer is probably the nearest to real ale of any gay pub in London (which is not saying much).
The Ancient Order of Druids was founded here in the 18th century - see plaque on wall inside.
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refurbished and not bad. A real daddies bear leather bar. Gets horrendously over-crowded but service is OK even when 3 deep at bar. Go in summer so you can stand outside on the street (and get stared at by the puzzled tourists)
Jon - 9 Mar 2004 13:32 |
