A Grade II listed Victorian gin palace on Camden Passage, kept intact and running free comedy most nights.
The Camden Head stands on Camden Walk among the antique dealers of Camden Passage in Islington, not in Camden Town. It is a Grade II listed Victorian pub dated 1899 in the carved panels on its stacks, and it has kept the look of an old gin palace.
Etched glass partitions, ornate lamps, and an island bar with a Pond's of Clerkenwell clock survive inside. Come for a pint in a genuinely preserved Victorian room and a free comedy night upstairs. Skip it if you want a modern cocktail den, because the appeal here is the original 1899 fabric, not a reinvention.
The Camden Head is in Islington, London. Walk in; book ahead for the comedy room.
The interior is the reason to come. CAMRA's listing records etched glass screens, an island servery, and stained glass in the Aesthetic Movement style added during a 1969 restoration by Roderick Gradidge.
Outside, a terrace on Camden Walk faces the antique stalls of Camden Passage. The upstairs room hosts the comedy club, so the ground floor stays a drinking room.
This is a traditional pub range rather than a cocktail list. Expect two regular and two changing cask ales alongside the gin selection that suits the gin palace setting.
Order a cask ale or a gin and sit by the etched glass. The kitchen runs traditional pub fare, with pies and fish and chips, so a pint with a plate is the move here.
What to order
- 01
A changing cask ale
- 02
A gin, neat or long
- 03
A homemade pie
- 04
Fish and chips
