Undoubtedly my favorite venue in Camden. The blues kitchen is the place every jazz lover wants to go to on a Friday or Saturday night. Best live music ever, great atmosphere, drinks are not too expensive and the cloakroom is only one pound.

Really enjoyed the atmosphere in here, a real Camden party club! The bands were fantastic and the DJs rocked! Gonna come back real soon and try out the full menu as the buffalo wings we ordered were just amazing! Can't wait to go back!

Came to this place the other evening for some food and drinks with my mates. I just couldn't resist the Gutbuster burger! Boy it was huge! I just couldn't eat it all but what I did eat I really enjoyed. Their chips are also pretty damn fine and I nicked a hot wing of a friend and they were amazing, definitely what I'll order when I go back there!
We stayed for the bands in the evening and partied all the way until 3am! It was awesome! Highly recommended for a good time venue in Camden!

This place is great, for a vintage feel and vibe it has to be one of the best places in Camden. For someone like myself who really enjoys all things retro this place is great.
I went to the venue on Friday night and started of with a rather tasty cheesburger that was well presented, substantial and tasty to boot! After a couple of drinks the first of 2 bands, which I was really impressed by. The frontwoman had a strong voice, great presence and well, they rocked! The next lot were OK and did a great job of keeping the dancefloor rocking but weren't as polished as I'd hoped.
The whole place was rammed as I had expected after seeing regular queues outside the place most weekends but this only added to the positive and lively feel of the club.
Me and my friends also took advantage of the 6 shots for £14 deal which left us feeling pretty buzzed and kept us going right 'till the end with the DJs playing rhythm and blues, northern soul, rockabilly and some great general 60's tracks.
Really enjoyed the whole night and will probably be making it a semi-regular haunt as I just loved the whole experience!

I visited The Blues Kitchen with my partner on Saturday night for a friends birthday party and it was fantastic.

The venue was so busy, we could not believe it! Despite this we had great service, ordered food and cocktails all night and didn't wait more than a few minutes for anything.

Most of us ordered from the BBQ menu which seems to be very popular. Its like an American canteen, everything is served on lovely little silver trays and the food was all very smokey.

The music kicked in later in the evening and we all enjoyed the live show from our table well past midnight.

When we were settling up, we said thank you to our waiter (who turned out to be the manager!) who looked totally exhausted but he was still very sweet and gave us both a free shot as we paid the bill.

Excellent night out, one of the best I have had in London in a very long time. We will be back!

Totally ace - love the Blues Kitchen!

It was always a winner with the Buffalo wings and Burgers but now they have a BBQ Menu as well! The pulled pork is absolutely amazing.

My work mates and I cannot believe out luck, having a place like this on our door step!

Well well well...what a cool venue. A great selection of bourbons, and fantastic milkshakes. We went out for my birthday to see my friends band. We booked a booth and really went for it! What was going to be the start of an amazing evening, started with a bit of a damp squib.
We had anticipated a great birthday feast, which turned out to be little more than microwaved pub food, made to look fancy.
The starters were came out nearly 30 minutes after we had ordered, lukewarm. One of the ribs we had ordered had to be returned because we found a hair in it.
OK...not the end of the world. The mains came out, but a couple of the dishes were not what we ordered. This was however rectified quickly. The mains on the whole were very substantial in size, but lacked any real flavour. The food seemed rushed, and lacked any care and attention.
The desserts were good though, and as I mentioned earlier the milkshakes are to die for.
Other than the that - a great night out.

Susan

I was recommended the Blue’s Kitchen in Camden as a great place to go for an authentic southern American dinning experience as my girlfriends mum was over visiting from the States.
On arrival it looks the part. The exterior was purposely dilapidated to give an old 50’s feel, and inside old pictures of Blues legends hang from the walls, while music from the likes of Muddy Waters & Howlin’ Wolf set a chilled atmosphere.
The menu is varied with many traditional southern dishes. I tried the Gumbo and was my expectations were exceeded, while my girlfriends mum ate the Jambalaya and said it was a good as the food back home. We polished off the meal with the cheesecake which we were informed was homemade, and tasted as such.
There was also an extensive cocktail menu that included many classics. We tried the Old Fashioned, Sazerac and Negroni, each one as good as the last. I was also a fan of the various American Whiskeys that were on offer. My personal favourite being the Bitter Truth, well worth a try in my opinion!!
Overall it was a great dining experience and I couldn’t recommend it enough. Great, prompt service, amazing music and good times.

I went to the Blues Kitchen for the first time last month and I have been back every week since. Great venue with a great selection of drinks and the food is top notch. Good quality music too from both the bands and DJS, i reccommend it highly to anyone in Camden looking for a gaurranteed good night

Absolutely fantastic place, went here with a couple of friends the other ight and ended up staying until it closed. Amazing, chilled atmosphere, great interiour and brilliant music! A definite place to go for the weekend!

I went here for a quiet drink early evening with a couple of friends with the intention of having a chilled drink and heading home early (boring i know) but the night turned out quite different.For starters the bar is AMAZING! The decor is really interesting shabby, retro kind of rustic feel with awesome lights. The atmosphere is really great. The bands don'tplay till later around 9 but its worth waiting. I ended up meeting lots of ineteresting people and staying till 3 am when it closed. We just had drinks , met people and had so much fun dancing like crazy to the blues.Highley recommend going !!

The Blues Kitchen was recommended to me by a close friend of mine last month. I have never been a very big fan of the blues and know nothing about it so we gave it a go. All I can say is that ever since then my boyfriend and I have been full blown regulars of the music, food and entire feel of the venue. We absolutely love it! We usually go for dinner and the food is spot on. The staff are wonderufl and have always been very friendly to us. I would definately recommend The Blues Kitchen as a great night out and if you just want to feel truly at home this is the place to be, it has a nice chilled and laid back feel!

I have just started going to The Blues Kitchen on a regular basis as I have just started working in the area. We regularly have lunches there as a team and the manager always remembers who we are and arranges for a free drink or a bit of a discount as we are there so much!
We all especially like the milkshakes for a dessert but they do seem to slow us down for the afternoon.

I pop in more for lunch than in the evenings but on a couple of occasions we have made it in for dinner and caught some of the music. I dont claim to know too much about the blues at all but the show was fantastic, a beautiful female singer with an incredible voice!

Some people below say that they have had a bad experience with service but this has never been the case with us - we feel right at home when we pop in for lunch so they can count me as a regular!

I've been to the BK twice now and both times the service has been below par which is such a shame as it's a nice venue.

The first time, they were advertising 2 for 1 cocktails on their website, the whole reason for us going (nearing pay day) only to be told that this offer no longer existed (I'm sure there must be some advertising laws coming into play there). We've also gone there both times for the music - both times advertised on the website as starting at 8pm and both times not starting for over an hour after that, the staff never quite being sure what's going on timewise. Some of us have jobs to get up for the next day....Last night we had to leave about 9pm without hearing one instrument play.

The second time, the food was quite nice (fine at 50% off on a Monday but I wouldn't have paid full price for it) but the service was a joke. The "manager" (still a teenager, surely) was nonchalant, moody and dismissive, with a bordering on aggressive tone of voice (like when she all but ordered me to move my coat for diners coming in to sit next to us). The final straw was when we were given two Oreos per five people on a dessert we handn't ordered (they patronisingly suggested we break up the two biscuits between us, so we had a morcel each) and then charged us £1 per biscuit.

When we requested that the Oreos charge be removed, the manager eventually came over with no apology, mumbling that she had removed the charge and kind of threw the receipt back at us with major attitude. I really hope this review encourages people to not go there - there are plenty of other places in Camden and in London where the staff act like adults and simply have basic manners!

After having so much fun with friends on Saturday night out, I decided to book a table for dinner on 05th Feb to celebrate my birthday. Naomi, the lady who was dealing with the bookings at the time kindly reserved a booth for 10 people. However, to my surprise 7 friends who did not confirm decided to turn up overcrowding the area. Not the bars fault of course, but one of the waitresses got really cross with our group, and was quite rude. Understandable I must say. Overall, the service was great (our waiter was really nice), the music awesome and the food was really really tasty! Shame there was so many people next to the stage, but by 11:30 some of the other customers had gone, and we could dance and carry on up to 1:30! Great night out!!

Met up with a few friends for some food last Thursday. None of us really know Camden too well but dropped in at The Blues Kitchen as compared to the rest of the places on the High Street, it looked pretty cool.

Managed to get a booth which was a touch so decided to have some food.

I went for the pumpkin & parmesan soup for a starter which worked really well with the roasted pecans and then the spicy buffalo wings as a main - glad I did. Really good sized portion and loved the sauce on them which actually left my lips tingling after because of the spiciness.

Can’t remember what my mates had but they all seemed pretty happy with their meals.

Hung around after as they had a night on called Roll Tumble which was really good fun. Basically DJs playing a lot of funky music. Ended up staying much later than originally planned – whoops!

Will definitely come again.

At first i wasnt overly impressed, service seemed stressed and a bit manic, but after several visits since opening this is definitely a top spot on an otherwise crappy end of the high street. The burgers are really juicy and kudos to the chef for serving it as rare as he did (though possibly not intentional) good hot crispy French fries to. The club Rueben is also ace and the missus rates the milkshakes. So yeah in the last couple of months or possibly year now, time does fly its settled down to become a tip top destination especially for a hungover brunch in my case

Omg! Last night I went to The Blues Kitchen cos my friends, who visited last week, told me about their amazing food experience and insisted I come and check it out with them I was totally blown away by the food. The flavours were spot on, I have tried this style of food in other eateries around London and I have to say this is the best on offer this side of the Atlantic! Whoever the chef is, you have my utmost admiration. Your Barbecue Ribs are to die for, and the Gumbo is out of this world! One of my friends had the Steak Po' Boy and another the Belly Pork dish with spicy beans. All I can see is 'wow' I have visited New Orleans a number of times and am a true fan of Cajun/creole food and I have to say this is one of the tastiest meals I had in a long time! What a fantastic experience. Thank you.

So me and a few of my friends decided to come down to London from Manchester but with no real plan in mind, we were recommended The Blues Kitchen so thought we would give it a go.

Now I do love coming down to London but have always found the service to be quite bad in a lot of the so called best bars so don't really expect much any more. What we found with the blues kitchen was a bit of a treat, the service from the start was excellent, and made us feel like we hadn't left Manchester, where I feel service is of a quite high standard.

Anyway we wanted to eat but rang at very short notice, on the day, we were informed that they were fully booked but that we could be put on the guest list for free entry and if anything became available they would call us or sort something out on the night.

We arrived and the doormen were very pleasant and we were indeed on the list, we were then also informed that a table had not arrived so we could have it.

We were all seated and our drinks order taken, we decided to put some of there cocktails to the test, the drinks arrived promptly and I have to say the bramble was really well balanced and delicious.

We then ordered our food with the waitress who we had a good laugh with all night, my seared Jerk tuna was really tasty and the crunchy coleslaw a good recommended addition.

After dinner we spent the rest of the night drinking plenty of Jagers and dancing madly to the band, if any one has been to Mojo in Manchester on a Sunday it had that kind of vibe.

All in all a great night the only disappointment being that it had to come to an end. Am definitely going to try this place out again and would recommend it to everyone.

I don't live in London and don't make it down to town as much as I would like to but I was down last weekend and staying with some family we thought we would have a little night out.

We are all blues fans and musicians so we got online and had a look what to do for the evening. As we were staying in north London, The Blues Kitchen seemed like the obvious place to go!

We didn't book a table as we were not going for any food, so we arrived about 8pm. As we arrived we were greeted by a pretty waitress but we told her we didn't want to eat so she pointed us in the direction of the bar and that is where we went and stayed for most of the night.

The family loved the blues kitchen, we are all of different ages but everyone had a fantastic time. We all had far too much to drink and sampled a few cocktails and the bourbons! The live music was fantastic (cannot remember any bands names unfortunately!) and the atmosphere was great!

Next time I am in town, I will be heading straight back to the Blues Kitchen!

i have lived in camden for over 5 years and was quite excited when this place opened, but it took a friend visiting from paris for her birthday for a group of us to finally go.

My friend booked a large table for us at 7pm and surprisingly everyone go there on time. From the moment we arrived and sat down the waitress kept reminding us that she had another booking for the table at 9.30pm and we would had to vacate. We thought we would have the table for the whole night, so this was slightly annoying. The waitress then kept coming over every 15 minutes (no exaggeration) to ask us when we would be leaving. When anyone put down their knife/fork/burger she came over to ask if they had finished eating, and to vacate the table. she even cleared plates before a few people had finished eating.

at 9pm she stormed over to tell us we have been at the table too long and slammed the bill down on the table. The table had not been reserved again until 9.30pm and in my opinion it does not take 30mins to wipe a table. We paid, but refused to pay the service charge which, after much arguing, the waitress finally removed then told us to f**k off.

Half our party decided to go home immediately due to this hostility, but a friend who had just arrived was at the bar buying a round, so we decided to stay. We found a seats at an empty table (the same size as the one we had to vacate) at the front of the bar and all laughed of the rudeness of the waitress. Our friend, who was buying the round of drinks at the bar, then came over to say that he was leaving as the barman started to shout at him. Basically our friend put in his drinks order, then the barman gave him 3 extra drinks (spirits, when no one was drinking spirits), and tried to force our friend to pay for them.

Not surprisingly we all left and no one will be returning.

Go to this bar only if you don't like Blues (they don't play any), like to be charged twice for drinks, and love being shouted and sworn at by the staf

I am a newcomer to The Blues Kitchen as I really don't head out in Camden that often at all so really had no idea what to expect.

My friend had booked a booth for us to get some dinner on Saturday night and we all turned up in our fancy dress for Halloween at about 7:30pm. I could not believe how busy the place was that early on but it was nice organised chaos. One of the waiters that was looking after us was hilariously dressed up with horns on his head and was very charming, pretty good looking too from what I could see under the make up! ;-)

We all ordered different food and drank a load of wine. I am not a huge fan of American food but it was really great, if not a little too filling! We all loved how the burgers came out on boards on the chips were in little cups - nice touch.

After eating we all felt like we were ready to go home, a tad of the over eating I think! However, as we were about to go a band came on, also dressed up for the night and played a load of great cheesy halloween songs. We all stayed on for a couple more cocktails and finally bowed out when the band finished! It was even more rammed when we finally left at about 12:30 but what a great place for a party!

My initial impression of this restaurant was quite good. The décor is excellent and it has a warm, comfortable feel. Unfortunately, this is where the good impression ended. After entering, we stood around for some time wondering what to do next. There were 2 staff members gathered around a computer but they seemed uninterested in our presence. After a little while one yelled for someone else who came to seat us.

We immediately ordered 2 beers, a starter and our mains. The beers took around 10 minutes to come out. While it was obvious the bartender/manager was quite busy, why the waitress did not just pour them herself I am not sure. After this our waitress disappeared. When our beers ran out we tried for around 15 – 30 minutes to get the attention of one of the wait staff. Those who I did manage to make eye contact with quickly looked away and made sure not to look in my direction again. Eventually we gave up and went to the bar ourselves. Around 45 minutes after we placed our order we became concerned as nothing had arrived. Finally, we managed to get someone to come over. She brought a menu and asked if we would like to order. So our order had obviously been lost and we needed to start all over again. The manager came out and offered us a bottle of wine or a desert which we declined.

Finally the food started coming. The buffalo wings were excellent but unfortunately the burgers were terrible. There was no sauce and the meat was overdone, shrunken and rubbery to the point of being inedible in places. Eventually the manager agreed to give us our meal for free, but amusingly left the service charge on our bill for drinks – obviously we did not pay this!!

This same problem occurred with the couple a the table behind us, who stormed out. While I understand how accidents can happen, the fact that we were ignored by an entire staff (who were not particularly busy) for 45 minutes is simply unacceptable.

I am a north London girl and I have been waiting for years for a place like this to be built on my door step!

Completely love it - great music most nights, great drinks and honest American food!

Blues Kitchen - you have a new local, see you again very soon!

I visited this little place when it was the Ou! Bar quite frequently and was a little sad to see it change. But being a lover of whiskey and bourbon loved the idea of the place selling a vast selection of the good schtuff!

Visited the place perhaps a couple of times in the past month and found it to have a lovely intimate feel but somewhat lacking in character despite it's commendable efforts with decor especially it's light fittings (very interesting).

But!

I possibly had one of the worst cocktails in my life there last week on their 241 cocktail night served up by a 'quirky' and curt barman. Unfortunately will NOT be going back.

If it's blues, it's gonna be Charlotte street- sorry camden

Popped in for a quick drink last night, and was very impressed. The decor of the place is pretty cool, and despite being a little quiet (it was a Tuesday night) there was a nice atmosphere.
The bourbon selection is fab, and we sat at the bar samplking these and had a great chat with the staff - I can't wait to come in on a night where there's live music. I had major food envy - it looks so good!

Came here early on a sunny afternoon, just in time for lunch. Met a friend here and both decided to have lunch. I had the southern fried chicken and chips which was lovely. My friend had the burger ( I tried a bit too ) and it was gorgeous.

I also went for the Oreo Milkshake which was amazing.

Love it

I popped into the Blues Kitchen on Saturday night - not sure why it has taken me so long as I am always out in Camden! Had a little bit of a wait to get in (about 4/5 mins in the queue) but nothing to bad for a Saturday night. I got in about the same time as one of the bands started, didn't catch the name, but what a band - bit more rockabilly than I thought of for a blues club but who am I to say - everyone was dancing! I stuck to beers and a few simple jd and coke's - I think the bourbon's would be wasted on me! Just as I was about to leave I saw French Daniel take to the stage - I have been watching him at Marathon bar for years and it is amazing that he now plays in a proper venue! He was playing with a full band and he was as incredible as ever! The original rock n roller in Camden! I stayed for his whole set and stumbled out at about 2am. What a night - I will be going back - especially now I know Daniel has a new home!

I dashed into Blue Kitchen last Friday (in all honesty to escape the torrential rain) having never been before. However, once inside I was very impressed indeed- a great place to spend a Friday night.

Brilliant live Band and some great bar food- I had the battered prawns then the steak, both of which were delicious.

The bar man made the best whiskey sour I've ever tasted.

Will definitely be returning rain or shine!

If only I could put no stars! No one go to this overpriced place! Terrible service as all the staff looked like they couldn't give a shit. And if you're going to be called the Blues Kitchen then I expect to hear the blues! Jeez seriously this is the worst dinning experience I have ever had in London. Definitely won't be back and I will spread this so no-one else wastes their time!

A wonderful place to listen to the blues in London - the atmosphere is relaxed and if you manage to find yourself a seat near the stage with the bands up close & some bourbon to warm you, it can become one enjoyable experience. Entrance is free on weekdays - the day I attended they had a blues band going by the name of Beth Packer and the Black Cat Bones. Their rendition of some old classics were so charming that other than going over to the bar to get refill I couldn't move! The bar too beautifully lends itself to the atmosphere, they have an amazing range of bourbons & cocktails that we managed to sample a bit of by the end of the night. We will surely be back - heard they have a Pete Doherty gig coming up soon, would be interesting to watch.

Great venue for a great night out! Went there with some friends on a Friday, got their about 9pm and got in free which is always nice on the weekend! Ended up staying till close, so a good 6 hour stint! Live bands we’re awesome, as was the Dj and the place has a real nice vibe about it, def will be coming back!

Went there couple of weeks ago and just loved the place!
Arrived early on a busy saturday night but still had the chance to find a nice spot: close to the bar with a nice view for the band!

Music is great, and ambiance perfect! Just so different from everything you usually find in London!!

Drink list good and prices average, entry, just £3 after 10.30pm (whereelse can u find this kind of price?!).
Did not try the food but it did look quite good.

Will definitely go back!

Group of us went to the Blues Kitchen for the Babyshambles show on Monday 15th. After waiting in the unending queue for a good hour, we finally got to get in to the venue. Since most of us haven't been here before we were not quite sure what to expect. More importantly we were just so excited to watch Pete & the boys that it wouldn't have mattered where it was! But the Blues Kitchen was a neat little space, with a nice bar & some really nice seating areas - a bit like a diner but with more style & interesting looking food on the menu. Noteworthy was the bourbon smash, which was amazing & for non bourbon drinkers like us it was a good initiation & followed by many more. I must mention that inspite of the venue being so busy, the service was prompt & easy, drinks prices were reasonable which made the night so much more enjoyable. As for the performance from Babyshambles, can I just say we were more than pleased. Lovely venue to have an intimate party in!

Went to the bar with family and visitors from Ireland. Reserved a table then were made to wait, other people arrived obviously friends of the ignorant table organiser that were seated whilst we were basically told to talk to the hand. No live music played and we stayed till 11. Bouncers were rude pushing people around. A total rip off don't know what people see in the place? I really wanted to chin that guy organising the tables he was so rude I thought that sort of job involved customer care he obviously didnt give a s@$t has the lots of suckers queuing outside to get in. Waste of time!

Went to the Blues Kitchen for the first time a few nights ago. First of all, they should be commended on how much better the place looks compared with the horrid Oh Bar that was there previously. The atmosphere is so much better! The music was fantastic as well and the band that we saw was top notch. And it was only 3 quid to get in and they were open til 3. Not bad for Camden on a Friday! That said, I must admit that I looked at the menu and, as a Tennessean who's grown up on soul food, I can assure you that this isn't the place to go if that's what you're looking for.

The only actual soul food item on the menu that I saw was pork belly. The rest of the menu is rubbish (note to the chef: Cajun is Southern, but not soul food.) Where's the fried chicken? Where's the hoecakes? Where's the greens? The fried fatback? The pulled pork? Anyway, enough of a rant about that. One thing that redeemed them to me was the selection of whiskey and bourbon rivaled only by my dad's liquor cabinet. They even had George Dickel, although I had to argue with them about the fact and even point it out on the shelf to the bartender. Old Grandad was there as well. As was Buffalo Trace, which they used to make a fantastic mint julep as good as any I've had back home. All in all a fantastic place. Just don't go expecting actual soul food on the menu and you won't be disappointed.

Had a lovely New Years party at the Blues Kitchen. The music was spot on, the people gorgeous and the atmosphere was just perfect. They were not serving any food on the night, shame cause I love their hot wings! Nevertheless, the party was a blast. They do have a great range of bourbons, some good wines and beer. The live entertainment in the form of 'The Blues Kitchen House Band' were fantastic. Couldn't have asked for a beautiful end to a fabulous year and the start to one even better. Highly recommended as one of the best bars in Camden.

Been back again and this time it was even better than the last if that's possible!! When are you coming South Blues Kitchen?? Not to worry though, me and my friends will continue to cross the river for the fantastic food and ambience!!! We love it!!

I went to the Blues Kitchen for my friends birthday this weekend and had a great time. I had never been there before but my friend said it was good and she was right. They drank cocktails and I enjoyed the chocolate milkshake. Will definitely be back for some drinking and dancing soon

As a southern food enthusiast and a Camden local the Blues Kitchen is probably my long wished for dream come true. Having lived in the deep South for a couple of years, you never expect to return to the true flavours of a country's cuisine unless you are in that country. However my very high expectations from the Blues Kitchen were met and how.

After days of popping in and out of the bar for some bourbon and mint juleps, I finally invited some of my friends for dinner here. While service at the bar was quick & friendly, the drinks smooth and just what you'd expect from a blues bar, I was surprised to note that service at the restaurant was just as good, if not better. Our food, glorious food orders were taken and the starters - cornbread, buffalo wings & shrimp arrived almost quickly. The shrimp was spicy but it was the hot sauce wings that made me break in to a sweat almost immediately. They were perhaps the BEST wings I've had in a long time. Perfect. So far,so good. Our mains - seafood gumbo and louisiana crab cakes were just as fabulous. The flavours were very authentic and I cannot fault the kitchen anywhere. We ended this fantastic meal with some Missisipi mud pie and key lime pies and left with a tremendous feeling of satisfaction.

I've already booked my upcoming birthday in one of their booths next month and I'm massively looking forward to it!