fun pub. good music, nice food, hot barmaids, cool crowd. crap, expensive hieneken, though they do do a mean jack and coke!
i think a few of the negative reviewers are missing the point. this aint no gastro pub or swanky cocktail bar. its were people come to get pissed, make merry and get messy.
toilets are an abomination though

went to see fake blood at the lock tavern last Saturday and it was bloody amazing.
that tiny upstairs room was going off with people dancing all over the tables and even though he played an 'alternative set' it was still top notch. cant comment on food and the like but the drinks for the expensive side of reasonable and the bar staff were nice too look at and having as good a time as us. if something similarly quality is booked i wont hesitate to return!
mens loo upstairs is a joke though...

nice boozer this. went there for the festival-affliated, 'Sundays best' a few weeks ago and had a pretty awesome time. i saw a load of amazing bands and DJ for free, got a decent roast and a glass of wine for not much more than a tenner and had a number of heated smokes in the garden. that said the place was so-mad-you-cant-move busy, the toilets smelly and pokey (if your a bloke) and the staff sometimes a little harassed looking. nonetheless it was the best Sunday ive had in months and when im back in town ill be returning.

A north london institution of disapointment.

This place was meant to be nice, but the staff don't pay any attention, they seem to be completely occupied with themselves and the food is horrible.
A few examples from our evening:

The Meze plate was our starter which we shared between 2 of us, it was the second best thing we had in there that night, some tooth picks aren't too much to ask for if olives are included however...

As for mains:

When the chef rang the bell to get the staff's attention, it took nearly two minutes before anything was done about it, the food sat there and literally chilled out, just like the staff, and the bartender who finally forced himself to get the the food had a quick mouthful of his own soup behind the bar before wiping his mouth with his arm and bringing our lukewarm food to us, nice.

We had a tagliatelle with creamy mushroom sauce and a Lamb burger with a beetroot coleslaw dressing. The pasta was totally bland and utterly flavourless, it even looked it, as for the burger, the patty was too salty and the chips were cold and clearly re-fried, I could only finish a fifth of the burger as the saltiness got too much, it was seriously over seasoned.

The only good thing was the house red, a chilean merlot, the music wasn't too bad either, but everything else let's this place down because it has so much potential. There seems to be no control over staff, nobody stands out as a Manager and nobody gives a shit whether you're happy with what you're paying for.

This place is better off as a boozer, one you go to with a bunch of friends who don't mind awful bartsaff.

Absolutely shocking behaviour from the staff - particularly from one with short blue hair! The toilets were foul with exposed cisterns. The whole place is filthy and looks as though it is being held together with duct tape. The food was really nice but looking around at the cleanliness of the whole place and how miserable some of the staff were....it begs the question how clean is the kitchen?! A lot of the customers were dirty and rude.....bearing all this in mind and the fact that there are numerous places to drink and eat in Camden I would give this one a miss! Unless dirty, smelly and rude is your thing; in which case you will fit right in!

This place is awful. Outside is nice before 10.30pm but after that the venue is cramped and unpleasent. Bar staff are on some sort of power trip and look at you with contempt. Toilets are disgusting, flooded and blocked toilets with no toilet roll. I pointed this out to a member of staff who reponded by saying 'ok'.

Mmmm ... I'm one of those who tend to drift towards places that have bad reviews just in case they've been written by locals who want them to stay relatively quiet and unspoilt !

However, in this instance make sure you read the other reviews first and simply STAY AWAY from this awful venue.

Rude staff who seem to have the broom handle market cornered, so many of them are there firmly stuck up 'where the sun don't shine' its untrue.

They also seem to think that its them who are doing YOU the favour of being in their presence.Overpriced and over-shadowed by other venues within a few minutes walk.

I have to say am a little shocked by the other reviews.

Sure the toilets are rough around the edges and you have to get there early to grab a seat but it is still one of my favourite places in Camden, after the faithfull Steels of course.

The garden is always bustling and although the music can be a little too alternative on some night, they get some wicked names playing there, especially on Sundays.

I have never been stopped on the door but never head up there on a Friday night so maybe there's the difference although agreed the bar staff are a little on the 'cool' side for my liking.