Queens Head & Artichoke.

Queens Head & Artichoke

A Victorian corner pub on the edge of Regent's Park where the kitchen cooks Cypriot and eastern Mediterranean mezze, and the bar pours three national bitters that CAMRA's own record says never change (CAMRA North London).

Why go

The mezze is the reason. Babaganoush, grilled goat cheese, meatballs with feta, black olives and parmesan, lamb skewers, and homemade bread with olive oil and balsamic to start. On Sunday there is a full roast, beef with Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes and honey-glazed carrots. The owner is Michael Kittos, and he picks the house wine himself, currently a Pinot Grigio and a Spanish Monastrell (Cyprus Mail).

CAMRA's North London branch surveyed the pub on 18 February 2026 and gave the most neutral description anyone has: "On the cusp between a drinkers' pub and a gastro, it is, if anything, striving for the latter with an upstairs restaurant, tapas and more standard menus, and extensive wine list, and a snack list which seems to be reaching for the more upmarket end, albeit not especially expensive." They also note it fills at lunchtime and early evening.

The beer is where the pub stops trying. CAMRA's structured field reads "no changing beers and 3 regular beers", and the three are Black Sheep Best Bitter at 3.8%, Fuller's London Pride at 4.1% and Young's London Original at 3.7%. Nothing rotates and nothing is rare.

The building runs back a long way. A tavern of this name stood on what is now Regent's Park, was demolished when the park was laid out, and was re-established on Albany Street in 1811; the current building dates from about 1900. The name is traced to Henry VIII's sister, who was said to be fond of artichokes and to have asked her gardener to call his tavern after them. That is a good story and it is not a reason to eat here.

Order this / avoid

• Order: the mezze across the table, with the babaganoush, the grilled goat cheese and the feta meatballs on it. Lamb skewers. The Sunday roast if it is Sunday. The house wine, which is the owner's own pick.
• Avoid: coming for the beer, since none of the three handpumps changes. Lunchtime and early evening if you want quiet, on CAMRA's own note. Reading the sixteenth-century history as an argument about the cooking.

What locals & experts say

• CAMRA, North London branch, surveyed 18 February 2026: On the cusp between a drinkers' pub and a gastro, it is, if anything, striving for the latter with an upstairs restaurant, tapas and more standard menus, and extensive wine list, and a snack list which seems to be reaching for the more upmarket end, albeit not especially expensive. Their beer record is blunter still: This Pub serves no changing beers and 3 regular beers.1
• Iacovos Constantinou, Cyprus Mail, 17 September 2024, and he declares the conflict himself: in the interests of transparency, I'll let you in on a secret: the owner, Michael Kittos, is a good friend. His description of the food is the fullest anyone has published, running from homemade bread served with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic reduction through tender lamb skewers to hearty fish chowder to the roast. Because of the friendship this is carried for what it names and counted for nothing as a verdict.2
• No independent review found. Searched on 1 August 2026 across Time Out, the Standard, the Good Food Guide, Hot Dinners and all 622 records in the London vote graph. Nothing. CAMRA's branch note is the closest thing to a neutral assessment this pub has.

Good to know

• Where: 30-32 Albany Street, NW1 4EA, on the eastern edge of Regent's Park. Great Portland Street and Regent's Park are the nearest tubes.
• Timing: lunch and dinner, and CAMRA records both as served. No exact hours could be established, because the venue's own site returns nothing to either fetch tool and its contact page 404s. Call 020 7916 6206.
• Booking: worth it for the upstairs dining room, which is also the function room.
• The beer: three regular cask bitters, none of them changing, on CAMRA's own record as of February 2026.
• The room: a classic Victorian corner pub with an upstairs restaurant, a function room, and seating and tables on the street at the front.
• Ownership: independent. CAMRA gives the freeholder as QHA Ltd. Michael Kittos is named as owner by one source, who is his friend.
• Hygiene: FSA rating 5, Camden, inspected 15 July 2025, FHRSID 424030.4
• Sites: one. No sibling of this name in London.

Verdict

could-visit — Go if you are near Regent's Park, and go for the mezze rather than the pint. A Cypriot owner, Michael Kittos, runs this Victorian corner pub on Albany Street, and the kitchen leans his way: babaganoush, grilled goat cheese, meatballs with feta and black olives, lamb skewers, homemade bread with oil and balsamic, and a full roast on Sundays with the Yorkshire pudding and honey-glazed carrots. The prices are kind for the postcode and the house wine is chosen by the owner rather than by a supplier. That is a decent lunch two minutes from the park. What keeps it here rather than higher is the two things a rung actually rests on. The beer does not move: CAMRA's North London branch surveyed it in February 2026 and records no changing beers at all, just Black Sheep Best Bitter, London Pride and Young's London Original, three national session bitters. And nobody independent has assessed the food. The only review anyone has published is by a writer who opens by saying the owner is a good friend, so it is quoted here for what it names and counted for nothing as judgment. CAMRA's own survey note is the closest thing to a neutral assessment: on the cusp between a drinkers' pub and a gastropub, striving for the latter. The building has been trading under this name since 1811 and that earns it nothing at all.