The Abbey, Kentish Town  

There was a rash of relaunches and makeovers of the pubs and bars in these parts over the last couple of years. The Jorene Celeste became the Oxford; the Verge became the Bullet Bar whilst the Abbey kept its name but replaced its interior. When it opened it offered a selection of Belgian beers not a great deal different to Quinns over the road, though what with The Abbey styling itself as a 'Bar-Restaurant-Garden' you'll gather it was aiming at a different demographic. The one-roomed gastropub open plan look has been avoided here, and the generous outside seating packs them in when the sun shines in NW1 (and when it doesn't, the treehouse-esque space on the roof is a great place to hide away in). There doesn't appear to be as many beers on tap as there once was, but there's still some decent bottles in the fridge. Careful on the way to the toilets though, the vibrant drawings on the walls of fireworks and woodland scenes may stun the senses after a couple of Leffe Blonedes. If that wasn't enough for in-house entertainment, look out for live music and DJs at the weekend. Oh, and whilst there's a screen in the main bar, this one isn't really designed as a pub to watch the match in. All in all though, this one fits together comfortably and certainly did the job for us.

reviewed:
28/09/2007

pub features:(click on an icon to see an explanation)

areas can be reserved

beer garden

live music (rock)

dj

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