NW1 Bar is having something of an identity crisis - is it a bar or is it a Thai restaurant? Either way, it does exactly what it says on the tin. If cheap beer and freshly cooked Thai food are what you’re hankering, it’s no crying shame to stumble into NW1.

The Venue
Amongst the plethora of chain restaurants and pubs springing up all over Camden, turning it into an identikit of every high street in the UK, NW1 Bar is one still hanging onto its independence - in a posh Weatherspoons kind of way. A 5 minute walk from the tube, the bar’s chalk boards proudly stand out on the street advertising their ‘authentic Thai cuisine’ which you can smell as soon as you walk past the Odeon. The windows are always misted up and, upon entering, a combination of the warmth of the pub and the intoxicating smell of Thai green curry hits you. It’s enough to make anyone hungry.

Along the left of the pub is a long bar covered with beer pumps, and you can amuse yourself by watching the latest instalment of Flava of Love on MTV on the plasma behind the bar. There’s a raised area towards the back with pull down screens for sporting events surrounded by sqaushy lounge chairs and sofas. The rest of the bar has wipe clean pine tables and chairs with matching laminate flooring. Each table has a candle stuffed into an old wine bottle. If you run out of conversation with your friends, more plasma screens cover the walls alongside numerous posters for Strongbow and Fosters. At the turn of the decade, this bar would have been upmarket and slick, but now it just looks like an upmarket Weatherspoons.

The notable downside of the decor are the toilets, which are in need of a good service. Rundown, dirty and cold, they’re not the place you would chat whilst sprucing up your makeup.

The Atmosphere
Frequenters of NW1 Bar are a real dolly mixture. There are the locals who sit in their special seat around the bar, the Friday lunch crowd lining their stomachs for the evening, and tourists stumbling in and trying to work out what kind of the place NW1 is. The service is fantastic, from being shown to a table, served in record time at the bar, and if you want the channel changing on the TV they will happily do it. They’ll even pop over if you’re only there for a quick drink and check whether everything is ok. Apart from the plasmas, there’s not much other entertainment, although above the raised seating area there’s a lighting rig that suggests they either have gigs on every now and again, or they put the spotlight on the plasma screens when the FA Cup is on.

The Food
The Thai offering at NW1 Bar has been available for a few years, and is one of the many Lodnon pubs that have adopted a Thai family into their premises. The menu comprises of all of the popular dishes, Phad Thai, stir fry and a variety of hot and spicy Thai curries. They also have an extensive starter menu and, apart from the addition of French fries, the menu is 100per cent authentic. Main dishes are priced between £6.50-£7.50 depending on the kind of meat or fish you want, and rice is an extra £1. Colourful and fresh, the dishes come out on big plates, smell delicious, and are equally tasty.

The Drink
In contrast, the drink selection is traditionally British, with draught offerings of Fosters, John Smith, Kronenbourg, Guinness and Stongbow. They have a huge selection of bottles, from alcopops to Peroni, and they serve their spirits in 35ml measures. The laminated wine list comprises of a small selection of reds, whites and one rose with the house priced at £14.25. They also have thee different Champagnes on the menu, but it’s doubtful they get brought out very often.

The Last Word
NW1 Bar isn’t a place you would necessarily spend the whole night or plan to go to, but for great service, a well priced bar menu, and fresh Thai food it’s worth a visit.

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