A good 5-10 minute walk from King’s Cross station, Cross Kings pub is far enough away from the bustle of the commuter/traveller/clubber gateway to remain cosy and quiet, undisturbed by the noise and unwelcome type of general merriment you might find from a group of northern weekenders, hell-bent on hitting the closest possible place where they can cover the one pink, or white, or pink and white chequered shirt they’ve brought, in vomit.

Thankfully it’s not that sort of place. Nor is it the sort of place suffering from its vicinity to the sort of place it isn’t.

It’s all very well describing what sort of place it isn’t we could go on forever, It’s not a zoo either do you want to hear about how there aren’t zebras running through, queuing up for a pint? I guess not. What it is is still close enough to the station to not demand an uncomfortable, even during a chilly night.

It’s a small, cosy, somehow creative place. Dark walls and warm lighting create the atmosphere of a friendly place to sit and while away. You can hand in your hourglass at the door, you won’t be needing it here. The walls are covered with things. I don’t know what things, and they’re not the kind of things making you actually look at the wall for 20 minutes, but they’re there. They’re not all just black & white photographs, or flowers, which frankly is enough for me.

The front bar is incredibly small. However there’s a second bar round the back they use for gigs, and perhaps anything else they want to put on like comedy or open mike nights (I don’t know if it actually does these things, but it could). Wherever you are, you can get a drink for between £3-4 which seems quite expensive for the place and the location, but it’s hard to feel like you’ve lost out. £8 seems a fair price for somewhere to sit and chat for a few hours, slowly sipping a glass of bitter or quality beer. You’ll find the crowd friendly and laid back (probably got something to do with the soothing atmosphere) as they pump attractive trendily melodic tunes into your ears.

When there’s a gig on, it gets quite loud, and I actually strained my voice, but then you’re not really supposed to talk during a gig are you? As I was reminded by the helpful staff.

BEER SELECTION: Pretty good. Bitter, Cider, quality beers. Not many wines. ****

COST OF A ROUND: About £10-£11 3 drink round. Not bad if only a short night. ***

STAFF: Cool, do their job, but nothing special. ***

FOOD: Just crisps and possibly nuts. *

SKIRT RATIO: Young, friendly, laid back crowd. Plenty of chance to get chatting to interesting people.  ****

Overall: Great in some areas, poor in others. Not far from King’s Cross, better quieter option than other pubs/bars in the area. Good drinks selection, great atmosphere and friendly people, but quite expensive and no chance of grub. ***

Cross Kings - King’s Cross - Brought to you by James Wormald -