Isn’t it nice that so many of Kentish Town’s pubs have been reborn of late, often with their original names reinstated? Following the Rose & Crown on Torriano Avenue and, of course, the Bull & Gate, a major new pub, the Gipsy Queen, opens tomorrow, just up the hill from Queen’s Crescent.
Most recently known as The Bluebell, which closed back in October, the reworked Malden Road boozer is by the award-winning team behind The Grafton.
When we popped by last night, the interior was still very much work-in-progress, but owners Joel Czopor and Susie Clarke assure us it will be 90% ready for the soft opening tomorrow night (June 19th). Or, at least, the beer pumps will be in, anyway. The official launch is a week later, on June 26th.
Their simple – though time-consuming – task has been trying to strip the pub back to basics: exposed brickwork, original fireplaces, reclaimed Victorian wooden floors, and a tiled “bar apron”. An open kitchen now occupies the back of the pub, around which diners can eat at the counter, but there’ll be plenty of cosy tables and booths, too. Susie’s brother Aidan – who’s been at the group’s sister pub since its inception – will be at the helm.
Billed as a “pub, garden and bottle shop,” expect all manner of craft beer, an off license and daily specials under the aegis of Tom Humphries, the head chef at The Grafton. The food menu is, at a glance, a pleasingly democratic offer, from easygoing bar grub like sausage rolls, burgers, pizza slices and scotch eggs to Barnsley chop, rib-eye steak and risotto. And there’ll be foodier options: roasted scallops with apple, cucumber and crispy seaweed, or guinea fowl with polenta.
Drinks-wise, besides an inevitable focus on local London and smaller UK breweries (including Camden Hell’s, Hackney Brewery, Four Pure and Lawless) will be cheaper stalwarts like Amstel and Heineken. Plus some classic cocktails and a decent wine list, including draft prosecco.
As you can see in the pics, the team have reproduced the original signage. Which makes sense: a boozer has occupied the site since the 1850s. Known as the Gipsy Queen for a century, the current building in fact dates back to the 1930s when the original pub – it’s believed – burnt down. Previous owners the Brownes took it over in 1991, changing its name to the Westport Inn after their hometown, before reinventing it as the short-lived Bluebell early last year.
Oh, and there’s one other asset that the owners are prioritising: restoring the very lovely, leafy courtyard, with space for a whopping 90 people.
“We’re hoping to bring a little Cuban flavour to the garden with bright colours,” says owner Susie. “Festoon lights will be strung back and forth, with fixed booths and covered areas. Its length is canopied by gorgeous cherry trees from which we’ll hang lots of twinkly lights, and there are plenty of sun-soaked spots as well for the sun-seekers.”
The Malden Road Riviera starts here.