Tapping The Admiral

The pub commits to keeping at least two beers on that were brewed within thirty miles of its own front door, which is the LocAle promise made specific.

Why go

It sits on a corner in the middle of a backstreet block between Camden and Kentish Town and gets almost no passing trade, so the crowd is people who came on purpose (Londonist). Eight cask lines run alongside kegs and up to four ciders on handpump, and CAMRA's North London branch has voted it Pub of the Year four times, in 2013, 2015, 2018 and 2023, with a 2022 shortlisting for Cider Pub of the Year (CAMRA). Tap takeovers land every couple of months. The building is mid-19th century, carries a Camden local listing, and was the Trafalgar before it closed for four years and reopened in 2011 under the people who run the Pineapple. The name is the old slang for a sly drink, from the sailors who tapped the barrel of spirit carrying Nelson's body home.

Order this / avoid

Order: whatever London LocAle beer is on, since two of the eight are guaranteed local. A cask cider if the handpumps have one. A pie, which the kitchen makes itself.
Avoid: treating it as a restaurant, and Wednesday nights if you want to hear yourself, because the quiz fills the room.

What locals & experts say

John Cryne, Branch Chairman, CAMRA North London, on the 2018 win: "The award was instigated by CAMRA to promote good pubs that serve the community and the Tapping the Admiral is an excellent example of that, with their knowledgeable staff welcoming regulars and strangers alike." Voting was open to about 1,700 local members. ref
Laura Reynolds, Londonist (2014): "The drinks choice is exemplary, a good half dozen casks and kegs, many produced locally, and even a pump for perry." ref
Josh Freeborn, then the manager, on what the award was for: "This is a community pub that is made so by everybody who drinks here, from the staff to the locals who make it so." ref
Awards: CAMRA North London Branch Pub of the Year 2013, 2015, 2018 and 2023; runner-up, North London Cider Pub of the Year 2022. ref

Good to know

Where: 77 Castle Road NW1 8SU, opposite Kentish Town West station and three minutes from Chalk Farm.
Booking: walk in.
The garden: heated and covered, which makes it a year-round option rather than a summer one.
What is on: Wednesday quiz, traditional music sessions on Thursday evenings, tap takeovers every two months.
Heritage: a Camden local listing describes it as an important landmark building at a junction where several roads meet and the railway viaduct cuts the view. That is the room, weighed after the beer.
Community: listed as an Asset of Community Value in 2016 and renewed in 2021.
Hygiene: FSA rating 5, inspected 17 October 2024, with food hygiene practice scoring a clean zero. ref

Jeff's take (his words)

Nothing. His saved-places export carries an empty Note for this row, checked against london/data/_src-part3.csv. The master CSV's "Proper local; CAMRA-favourite cask ale" line came from an enrichment pass. It understates the record, which is four branch Pub of the Year wins across ten years, and those are named above with their years.

Verdict (Chef Jeff ladder)

should-visit — Worth the detour if you care what is in the glass, which is the only reason to walk into a backstreet in Kentish Town. Eight cask lines, a LocAle commitment that at least two of them are brewed within thirty miles of the door, up to four ciders on handpump alongside, and a tap takeover every couple of months, so the board genuinely moves. The credential is the right one for a pub: CAMRA's North London branch, voting with about 1,700 members, has made it Pub of the Year four times, in 2013, 2015, 2018 and 2023, and shortlisted it for Cider Pub of the Year in 2022. Branch chairman John Cryne's reason is knowledgeable staff who welcome regulars and strangers alike, which is a specific claim about service rather than a rosette. Londonist called the drinks choice exemplary and noted there is no passing trade at all, so everyone in the room chose to be there. It holds below the top rung because the kitchen is pies and the pub is a local rather than a destination.