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Issue No. 412 · Tonight in Camden ·
Live now in Camden The Hawley Arms · Busy Camden Head · Steady The Lock Tavern · Quiet

Issue No. 412 · Tonight in Camden · Updated 21:47

Where to drink tonight, ranked by the people who live above the lock.

The Camden Bars Directory is the browsable companion to our weekly What to Drink in Camden email — 247 independently-reviewed pubs, cocktail rooms and late-night spots across Camden Town, Chalk Farm and Kentish Town, all re-visited by our editors every 90 days.

One email every Thursday at 6pm. No fluff, no PR. Unsubscribe in two clicks.

  • 247 venues reviewed
  • 6 local editors
  • 90-day re-review cadence
Half-empty pints lined up on a canal-side pub bar in Camden Town at dusk.
The Hawley Arms, 19:14 — one of 247 venues re-reviewed this quarter.

Right now, on the lock

Powered by 18,400+ anonymised weekly check-ins — refreshed every 10 minutes.

  • The Lock Tavern 78% · lively
  • Bar Music Hall 42% · quiet
  • The Cuban 91% · heaving

Browse by neighbourhood

Three postcodes, three very different nights out.

Start with the patch you're standing in. Each card opens the full, filterable list for that area, plus one editor's pick we're championing this week.

  • Editor's pick · Camden Town

    The Hawley Arms

    Castlehaven Road · NW1

    "Still the most honest pint in the market — and the only place our editor Niamh walks past twice on a Saturday."

    Listed since
    2017
    Last re-reviewed
    11 Mar
    Busyness now
    64%
    Open 124 Camden Town venues →

  • Editor's pick · Chalk Farm

    The Roundhouse Tavern

    Chalk Farm Road · NW3

    "Pre-gig pints that don't smell of lager and broken dreams. The garden is the secret weapon."

    Listed since
    2018
    Last re-reviewed
    02 Apr
    Busyness now
    51%
    Open 58 Chalk Farm venues →

  • Editor's pick · Kentish Town

    The Tapping Admiral

    Adelaide Road · NW5

    "Eight rotating cask lines, a quiz on Thursdays and a landlord who actually remembers your name."

    Listed since
    2017
    Last re-reviewed
    27 Mar
    Busyness now
    33%
    Open 65 Kentish Town venues →

Pick your mood

Six drink modes for six different Camdens.

Every venue in the 247-strong index is tagged with one or more of these. Filter the directory down to exactly the kind of night you're planning.

  • 01

    Pubs & locals

    Proper boozers with proper pints. No minimum spend, no DJ, no queue for the loo.

    112 venues
  • 02

    Cocktail dens

    Basement rooms, napkin menus and bartenders who'll talk you out of a Porn Star Martini.

    54 venues
  • 03

    Rooftops & terraces

    Sun, skyline and a view of the lock. Open May–September, weather-permitting.

    21 venues
  • 04

    Live music rooms

    From open-mic acoustics to 200-cap backrooms. Check listings before you go.

    33 venues
  • 05

    Late-night spots

    Open past 1am, every night. Last orders listed per venue on the card.

    46 venues
  • 06

    Queer & inclusive

    Independently audited by our advisory board for safety, staff training and door policy.

    19 venues

Filter the full 247 →

A note from the editors

“The thing that catches me out most on a re-review isn't the drinks — it's the door. A bouncer appears, the music shifts to a playlist that wasn't there last quarter, and suddenly it's a different room. We write that down. The list is only honest if the door is.”

Niamh O'Connell Senior editor · 4 years on the directory · lives 9 minutes from Camden Town tube

By the numbers

  • 247 venues reviewed across Camden Town, Chalk Farm & Kentish Town
  • 90,000+ monthly readers, 62% from NW1, NW3 & NW5 postcodes
  • 90 days maximum gap between in-person re-reviews of any listed venue
  • 47% newsletter open rate — 3.1× the hospitality-media industry average

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