The King Charles I, Kings Cross - pub details
Previously called: Craic House
Address: 55-57 Northdown Street, London, N1 9BL [map] [gmap]
Tel: 0871 917 0007 (ref 23666)
King's Cross St. Pancras (0.2 miles), Angel (0.6 miles), Russell Square (0.7 miles)
London Kings Cross (0.2 miles), London Kings Cross - Thameslink (0.2 miles), London St Pancras (0.3 miles)
Pub facilities/features:
- Jukebox
- Real ale
NB: Information may be incomplete or out of date as this pub is not currently registered.
Are you the licensee? Click here.
> Current user rating: 7.3/10 (rated by 40 users)
> Local guides: London pub guide, North London pub guide
other pubs nearby:
Flying Scotsman, Caledonian Road (0.1 miles), Dun A Ri Bar, Caledonian Road (0.1 miles), 6 St Chad's Place, Kings Cross (0.1 miles), Central Station, Kings Cross (0.1 miles), Driver, Islington (0.1 miles) - see more nearby pubs
user reviews of the King Charles I, Kings Cross
please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
5 most recent reviews of 29 shown - see all reviews
| Very well-kept Brodie's IPA last night. Only time to stop for one though! lad_newton - 13 Nov 2008 13:08 |
| Kings Cross's best kept secret. This is a true hidden gem. I called at the King Charles last night for the first time on a friend’s recommendation. The door swung open to reveal a small, cosy, intimate pub with a friendly welcoming landlord at the bar. The pub is woodpanelled throughout, and subdued lighting affords a warm atmosphere. This is a REAL pub, totally unpretentious and something of a timewarp. Four ales were available on handpump when I visited; I enjoyed a pint of Brodie’s Red, 4.3%, £3.00. The King Charles opens late on Fridays and Saturdays (until 2am); closing time through the rest of the week is 11pm (10:30pm Sun). An innovative and unusual food scheme is in operation at this pub: one or two local restaurants provide – and serve – food here, with the local Thai establishment recommended by the landlord. Food is brought into the pub complete with plate and cutlery which the catering establishment concerned collects at the end of the meal. The scheme is reported to work well and is a fine example of how a pub can provide business to its local community. In the current climate of pub closures almost on a daily basis, last night’s discovery was a very exciting one. Regular return visits WILL be made! lad_newton - 11 Nov 2008 10:36 |
| Suffering from a rather lengthy bout of the rum fits and having to walk to t'other end of Old Street to visit an ageing architect I decided to waltz into the Charles on a Wednesday evening - the barman was in excellent form, he eyed me straightaway as a fellow sufferer on the Damascene road to enlightenment through self loathing and intoxication, poured me an excellent pint of ale before hopping outside for a word with the weather and a cigarello ... the bar was perfectly lit, something amiss from the general pub trade in these sorry toping times ... to the point I cancelled my apoitment with the draughtsman and spent the remainder of the night locked in a furious dialectic with furthermost beer pump and the Times Cryptic ... Once again, a gem of a hostelry ... Tope_John_Paul_II - 3 Nov 2008 15:24 |
| In my regular perambulations throught the nether world of our nations dismal metropolis I have often found myself musing profoundly upon the dire lack of a decent hostelry in the environs of Kings Cross. One often veers that way after a few hours discoursing on Kant's cant in Marylebone, or after a solo flight, recreating the atmosphere of 1950's Fritzovia through the medium of ales, spirits and speaking in tonges brought on by rapid bursts of amyll nitrate. By god I've propped up the bar in some terrible excuses for public houses around the area, all of them leaving me utterly, utterly dispirited ... one, I was only slightly vexed after a prolonged period of debauchery left me alone in The Dolphin after hours talking arrow's with the slovenly landlord ... I admit to being in the King Charles I in it's previous incarnation, the inconcievably ill monickered 'Craic House', and whilst the interior was rather welcoming, and the raggle taggle conglomerate of aging rakes and fiddler-de-dees somewhat amusing ... the 'proprietor' and staff were simply not up to par. So it was with a mighty sense of relief that I walked into this miniscule microcosm of all that should be right in a pub sevral months ago. I'd taken a furious beating at the hands of Samuel Smith's Alpine Lager whilst undertaking a lone expedition up the north face of Bloomsbury's sadly declining inns and sought refuge amogst the lost and lonely of the Cross. The pub was dark but with that subtle infusion of light that draws immediate and ever lasting sympathy from those often suffering from the rum fits. On entering a gap toothed local was sat at the bar, resembling a Staus Quo roadie falen on hard times. The barman was a tremendous beast of a man whose complexion, general demeanour and pupil capacity informed me of his fondess for 'sporting life'. I was intrigued and gladdened by the array of beer on sale, and already being several stages into a lager bent, sampled the bottle ware. I stayed for two hours, tucked away in a corner drinking Baltika and watching various 'music types'pour cions into the jukebox and then stand around discussing said tunes in impossibly daft voices. I didn't want to leave but I was hard pressed to lay my hands on any more cash after my earlier largesse. I have revisited this great and good pub on several occasions since and it's always been a beacon in an otherwise barren nebula of worthwhile toping spots. Well done to all involved. Tope_John_Paul_II - 10 Oct 2008 15:06 |
| Decent pub, and that's about it. Good beer. bitter_n_twisted - 2 Oct 2008 23:16 |
see more reviews |
| Blog | Forums | Copyright Neransk Limited 2001-2008. All Rights Reserved. Calls to 0871 numbers cost 10p/min. |