The Southampton Arms, Kentish Town, London.

During our trip to London for IPA Day our first stop straight from the train to the capital was The Southampton Arms in Kentish Town. A much vaunted ale house that was a destination pub ideal for whiling away our afternoon.

Upon arrival were greeted by barman Ash, whom Andy was acquainted with from a previous visit, looking briefly down the bar the first thing that amazed me was a the spartan nature of the bar, no ugly macro beer fonts glowing obtrusively.  Simply 12 hand pulls filled with cask ale from independent brewers from all corners of Britain not to mention the 6 hand pulled ciders, also quietly nestled at the end of the bar are two small keg fonts serving beers from Camden Town Brewery.

We moved down the bar to see which beers were on & we were truly spoilt for choice, Redemption Brewery's Urban Dusk, our very own Nerotype #4 Herkules Black IPA, Magic Rock Curious, Buxton Brewery Axe Edge, Dark Star Carafa Jade & Kent Brewery Zingiber to name but a few.

We started off with a Magic Rock Curious,  Kent Brewery Zingiber & a pork pie a piece,  the beers were in top nick & Ash is a clued up barman who makes sure everyone who comes to the bar finds a tipple that suits their palate. But let me just spare a minute for the PIES! Holy moly, their pies, sausage rolls & scotch eggs are of stunning quality & hugely moreish!

This bar needs no gimmicks, happy hour or glowing signs it is no nonsense & focuses on well tended beers & ciders from well thought of breweries & simple bar snacks is really all that is needed.

We proceeded to work our way down the bar taking in Buxton Axe Edge, a stunning IPA not dissimilar to our Diablo IPA, Dark Star Carafa Jade, Nerotype #4 & many others, a combination of great chat, great beers in a no fuss pub focused on on top beers & great snacks all too easily devoured hours of our afternoon. We left feeling relaxed after our lazy afternoon & amazed by what a no bollocks cracking pub this really is.

The bar is a like a London boozer of old, pub dog rolling around on the floor, original tiling behind the bar, dimpled pint pots, worn floor & a record player in the corner behind the bar whisking the hours away with an amazing array of classic vinyl.

ALE, CIDER, MEAT. This place has the important things at it's heart & that's what makes The Southampton Arms bare bones CLASS!

Go There!

Follow tweets about the amazing beers they have on the bar @southamptonNW5