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The Londoner's Guide to London
05 December 2008
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The Old Queens Head

Venue Image
Venue Image
44 Essex Road,
Islington,
London,
N1 8LN

0871 971 4187 Calls to 0871 numbers will be charged at a fixed rate of 10p per minute (from a landline or a mobile) no matter where you are within the UK. This number is unique to viewlondon.co.uk.

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The ViewLondon Review

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Review byCherry Casey24/07/2008
The Old Queens Head is a firm favourite with the Upper Street masses. With the Boho chic decor and funky music upstairs, in this pub you can always guarantee a completely jam-packed night.

The Venue
With a pub downstairs and a club upstairs, The Old Queens Head is a relatively good sized venue. As you enter the pub there is an immediate homey aura emanating from the decor with its dark reds and browns. Upstairs is much lighter and really rather pretty with pale walls adorned with French art posters and giant mirrors, brown leather sofas and period fireplaces. There is a bar on both floors, but whilst the downstairs area is filled with seating provisions, the upstairs only has sofas around the outside of the room, to allow for a dancefloor. Unfortunately, the set up doesn’t really work and is the let down of the venue - it gets so busy that there is seldom any space to dance.

A very small but nice garden area out the back accommodates the smokers, but this area closes at 11pm when anyone wanting to have a cigarette has to instead go out the front where there are a few picnic tables (and usually a long queue of people waiting to get in.)

The Atmosphere
Not cheap enough for students and too rammed and loud for older folks, the age range of the clientele at the Old Queens Head is twenty-to-thirty. There is no particular theme to the music but it is generally a pretty good hip hop and dance set, and the venue does host various DJ nights. Meanwhile, on weekdays there's more of a slant towards live music and even burlesque.

Whilst it’s not chic enough to be pretentious here, it’s not the most relaxing place to spend an evening. Things get gets really crowded and the continual queuing to get in, out, and to the bar means tensions can sometimes be high. However, it’s busy because it’s a lively and popular place to be so if it’s an upbeat night you’re after there is little to complain about.

The Drink
There’s not the best selection of beer at the Old Queens Head, but then if you’re here for the club side of the venue's facade then it actually surpasses what most DJ bars have to offer. Bottles include Becks, Corona and Budvar for £3.10, and on draught you can choose between Fosters, San Miguel, Kronenbourg, Kronenbourg Blanc and Guiness (£3.10-£3.70 a pint).

Interestingly for what is essentially a pub, you can choose from a list of classic cocktails for just £7.50. There may not be anything to overly impress, but the fact there are cocktails at all is a good effort on the part of the venue. If you like your spirits, a vodka and coke is just under £4.

The Last Word
The Old Queens Head is always busy because it is a good venue. If less people were allowed in and the upstairs was more explicitly a club area rather than just a place with really loud music, it would be an ideal place for a night out.
The Old Queens Head has been reviewed by 25 users
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