Address: 77 Castle Road, Kentish Town, London, NW1 8SU
Opening Hours: Noon – 11pm (Sun-Tue), Noon – Midnight (Wed-Sat).
Tel: 0207 267 6118
Kentish Town is well known for its extensive array of pubs to choose from, and a good number of them offer real ale and feature historical architecture dating back to the 19th century. Most of these pubs however tend to be around the high street, yet sometimes if you go around the back-streets you may find some neighbourhood gems. Over by the railway arches by Castle Road is a pub that has stood there for many years and has served generations of customers through its doors, its by definition alone a quintessential local. Tapping the Admiral has resided in the area for nearly 175 years, built on the site the former Castle Tavern, the current building was constructed after the original was pulled down in the 1850’s to make way for the development of Castle Road and nearby Lewis Street. A new pub was soon constructed in its place and was named the Trafalgar, in honour of its famous customer Horatio Nelson who used to visit the location when it was known as the Castle Tavern with his uncle William Suckling. The pub has gone through a number of names over time from the likes of Tavern Inn the Town, Fuzzock & Firkin and the Trafalgar Tavern, its current name (Tapping the Admiral) is in tribute to the historical incident in 1805 following Nelson’s death at the Battle of Trafalgar when his body was stored in a barrel of brandy during the journey back to England, rumour has it that the crew of the HMS Victory tapped the barrel and drew brandy from it, to toast to their fallen Admiral, hence the moniker ‘Tapping the Admiral’ which grew out of this supposed legend.
Many of the original Victorian era fixtures remain, such as the oak panelled l-shaped bar, Regency style fireplace, mirrored pillars and an ornate oak gantry above the bar that displays a large collection of pump clips from various beers the pub has served over the years. Like most pubs dating from this era, it has since been renovated, the three original entrances have been reduced to one, and the former public, saloon bar areas have been removed and opened up for a larger open-plan area; there is also a rather narrow pub garden at the back with covered seating areas, the garden shares with the tradesman entrance so it can feel a bit crowded, although most of the spent barrels are kept outside near the entrance. Inside, there is plenty of seating around, and there is also bar-stools by the bar, and another high-top counter near the bar that offers more seating, which is beneficial given that the bar can get busy at times, especially during early-evenings and weekends. There is a lack of gaming areas, although the pub hosts weekly quizzes every Wednesday, live music events and shows live sports on occasion. Meanwhile for the Brewerania specialist, this place is a cornucopia of memorabilia, there’s everything from embossed mirrors, a poster for Fuller’s beers, an original Greene-King sign, a Whitbread ornament adorned in gold, vintage posters, an advert for Truman’s Beers and Ales and a collection of bottles behind the bar all linked with a Nelson theme including the appropriately named Tapping the Admiral (4%), a commemorative ale produced by Shepherd Neame to mark the bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar in 2005.
Since the pub is a free house, there’s also a changing selection of real ales on offer, including 7 changing beers and 1 regular. For a good number of years, their regular beer used to be Nelson’s Whiskers (4%) named in honour of the pub’s cat, who still makes appearances now and then. But that has since been retired and has been replaced with Redemption Trinity (3%), although due to the pub’s long affiliation with CAMRA, they do offer a 30p discount for members of all EBCU organisations including CAMRA. Furthermore, the pub offers real cider which is usually limited to one or two barrels depending on the time of year, and every couple of months there is a tap takeover by a small independent brewery. There is also an extensive range of spirits available for those discerning cocktail drinkers, a small array of bottled beers and the ubiquitous selection of keg beers and lagers featuring examples from Camden Town and Redemption Brewery. A full restaurant menu is also available that includes Lunch, Small and Large Mains dishes, Burgers and a Pie selection, along with roasts served only on Sundays, although like most pubs in the local area, the food tends to be on the pricier side; on a disappointing note, there only ever seems to be one dessert regularly available, in this case Sticky Toffee Pudding with toffee sauce and ice cream.
On the whole, this pub is shining example of what a great pub should be, as it offers a great range of real ales and ciders, which always change weekly so you never know what to expect. This pub is often busy with customers, and is easy to see why it has been voted four times winner of the CAMRA North London Branch Pub of the Year (2013, 2015, 2018 and 2023 respectively). Moreover, it has featured in the CAMRA Beer guide for a good number of years and is a member of their LOCale scheme which helps champion and promote beers from affiliated London based breweries. Furthermore, due to its status as a revered local landmark, in 2016 it was listed as an Asset of Community Value, which was renewed again in 2021, hopefully at one point soon this pub will become a listed building. Overall, this pub is quintessential local boozer, tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the nearby Kentish Town Road. This place is perfect to a sample a quiet pint or two, read a paper or watch the world go by, so if you happen to be area and can’t work out which pub to choose from, then this place is the perfect choice.
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