Hobgoblin (ex-Devonshire Arms), Camden

pub details:

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location:

Camden

address:

33 Kentish Town Road, NW1 8NL

phone:

0871 258 7489*
* calls cost 10p/minute, click here for more about 0871 numbers.

nearest stations:

Camden Town London Underground station
(130m) - zone 2

Camden Road London Overground station
(240m)

Mornington Crescent London Underground station
(740m) - zone 2

Kentish Town West London Overground station
(780m)

Chalk Farm London Underground station
(890m) - zone 2

how to find it:

Turn left out of the station, walk up the road a bit and you'll find the pub on the corner opposite Sainsbury's.

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nearby attraction(s):

Camden Market (210m)

Camden Markets (290m)

The Roundhouse (670m)

It's official: Goth is out, Rock is in . Now a Hobgoblin pub owned by Wychwood Brewery, and with the name changed, it seems new life has been injected with a much-needed dose of ale into a pub previously best known for snakebite & blacks and dodgy Guinness. There are now three draught ales plus bottled beers to choose from, in addition to the usual standard fizzy yellow drinks. It is fair to say that, of all drinkers, Goths and Rockers should appreciate the darker side of beer the most. While there are probably some people who lament the passing of the old Dev, we were heartened by the more welcoming policies - though the 'no wankers' sign our front suggests not everyone's welcome. It's not just the drink that has broadened: the dress code has relaxed as well. It remains to be seen what impact this will have on the evening entertainment (which goes on until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays), but during the day there was still the same recognisable alternative crowd. Some of the more extreme decorations have gone, but it is by no means a redesign and the pub still feels as 'historic' as ever. And that is important in a world that increasingly swims in ready-made, flat-pack, false-fronted pubs; we must preserve the best in our traditional (and alternative) boozers.

reviewed:
29/10/2008