Camden pubs with the best beer gardens
A heated terrace beside the Euston line, a roof over the Stables, a covered garden on Castle Road and two award winners in Kentish Town. Where to drink outside in Camden, and which ones work in the cold.
By Only Camden Editorial
The biggest beer garden in Camden belongs to the Edinboro Castle on Mornington Terrace: a heated terrace strung with fairy lights alongside the main line out of Euston, five minutes from the tube. If you want height, the Lock Tavern’s roof looks over the Stables. If it is raining, Tapping the Admiral’s garden has a roof. Here are the pub gardens that earn the walk, from NW1 to the top of NW5, and which ones still work in a coat.
The Edinboro Castle, 57 Mornington Terrace, NW1
CAMRA describes a large garden and terrace with fairy lights and heating next to the Euston line, and that undersells it: this is the one for a birthday or a whole office. Inside is one big room round a single bar with London Pride and Landlord on cask. Mondays are £1 off every tap beer. Food runs most of the day, and the pub is open from noon to 23:00, 22:30 on Sundays.
The Lock Tavern, 35 Chalk Farm Road, NW1
Two outside spaces for the price of one. The Lock Tavern has a heated beer garden with a fire pit and an all-weather roof terrace, right opposite the Stables Market. Get up to the roof early on a sunny Saturday. It is open to 01:00 on Fridays and Saturdays.
The Engineer, 65 Gloucester Avenue, NW1
Over the canal on the Primrose Hill side. The Engineer has a big garden for this part of town, with heaters and separate areas for eating and for drinking, so you are not stuck next to someone’s starter. Landlord and Adnams Broadside on cask.
Tapping the Admiral, 77 Castle Road, NW1
The best pub in Camden also has a garden that copes with London weather: heated, covered and well laid out. Tapping the Admiral pours eight cask ales and up to four ciders, and children are welcome until 20:00. Take a pint of something from a London brewery outside and stay put.
Primrose Hill: three more
- The Princess of Wales, 22 Chalcot Road: the ‘Banksy beer garden’, named after a lion stencil that appeared in 2011. Sambrook’s on cask, and live jazz on Sunday afternoons.
- The Pembroke Castle, 150 Gloucester Avenue: a good-sized heated outside area, five minutes from Chalk Farm tube. Quiz on Thursdays at 20:00.
- The Queen’s, 49 Regent’s Park Road: not a garden but an upstairs terrace that looks over the hill.
The Lord Stanley, 51 Camden Park Road, NW1
Up by Camden Square, a tiled 1920s corner pub with heated benches round the outside and a large beer garden behind. They run a monthly barbecue in summer and do roast rib of beef on Sundays. They do not take table bookings and do not take cash.
The Old Eagle, 251 Royal College Street, NW1
Small and decked, a minute from Camden Road station. No screens, Yard Sale Pizza delivered to your table from your phone, a quiz on Mondays, vinyl DJs on Thursdays and a pub cat called Churchill.
Kentish Town, NW5
- The Lion & Unicorn, 42 Gaisford Street: award-winning gardens at the front and the back, and the back one is covered. Families welcome until 20:00.
- The Pineapple, 51 Leverton Street: a conservatory and garden behind a Grade II listed bar. No under 18s after 19:00.
- The Grafton, 20 Prince of Wales Road: a covered roof garden above 29 rotating taps.
- The Southampton Arms, 139 Highgate Road: a small garden at the end of a long thin bar. Seven casks, six ciders, no bookings.
- Camden Town Beer Hall, Wilkin Street Mews: the brewery’s own bar has outdoor space, and children are welcome until 21:00.
Up the hill: the Lord Palmerston, 33 Dartmouth Park Hill, NW5
Seating out front on Dartmouth Park Hill and an enclosed courtyard at the back, plus a conservatory for grey days. The pub opens at 16:00 Monday to Thursday and at noon from Friday.
Which garden for what
- Big group: the Edinboro Castle. Nowhere else in NW1 has the room.
- A view: the Lock Tavern roof over the Stables, or the Queen’s terrace over Primrose Hill.
- With food: the Engineer, with its separate eating area, or the Lord Stanley on a barbecue weekend.
- With the dog: the Engineer, the Pembroke Castle and Tapping the Admiral are all listed as dog friendly by CAMRA.
How to win a table
- Warm Saturday: be in the Lock Tavern or the Edinboro Castle before 14:00.
- Cold or wet: Tapping the Admiral, the Lion & Unicorn or the Grafton roof, all covered.
- Cheapest round outside: the Edinboro Castle on a Monday.
Outside areas can shut before the bar does, so check with the pub before you settle in.
