The Black Heart

All the pics do it justice — it’s dark, cavernous and gritty. Rock is the order of the day, and it’s well complimented with a delicious selection of crafty brews and even the odd decent whiskey (they had my fave from Ireland — Green Spot — deeeelish). To quote Arnie, I’ll be back…

I *love* the Black Heart. I think it’s my favourite pub in London. It’s nicely hidden away in the alley, with barely even a sign out front. Perfect for keeping the tourists away! It’s dark and cosy and no TV screens. The music is amazing, the art and décor is really interesting. I love it.
There’s always an epic choice of beer available and whilst the specials aren’t cheap, they are worth it and there are always a few old favourite available at a slightly more reasonable costs.
The toilets are unisex (although I think there are a few cubicles that are supposed to be separate) and I have to be honest during a night out there’s piss everywhere. It’s pretty grim, but y’know you can be precious about it or not.
There’s also a mini venue upstairs which actually has some pretty good gigs going on.
Personally, the best time to go is during the day where you can actually get to the pool table, sit down at a table and actually have a conversation without having to shout or guess what your friends are saying. Also, if it’s quiet during the day they let me bring my dog in, so I love them for that. Perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Popped in for a gig and it was very Camden but had a bit of new-​ness about it that didn’t make it too authentic, but more hipster. But maybe it is trying to be mix of both which is fine by me to be honest.
Gig was good out back. Very much like the Camden gig bars which are small and intimate.

My favourite bar in Camden. Great pre-​gig spot. Drinks to please everyone and good level of music. No danger of them playing bad pop. Good crowd. If you’re there for a gig upstairs, wear layers — it gets ridiculously hot.

Gosh, if I’d have found Unilocal years ago, I’d have a dukedom for this place by now. I spent about 75% of my free time here. I made the transition to The Black Heart from The Fighting Cocks, when the bar manager Josh moved here. Josh is somewhat of an innovator when it comes to providing craft beers and ales from relatively unheard of yet great breweries, alongside underground metal bands, and I’ve enjoyed many a good beer and band here over the years.
Set across two floors, the upstairs serves as the area for gigs, with its own set of (unisex) toilets and a small bar. The downstairs features limited seating, a pool table and a massive, massive bar with every type of lovely beer, spirit and cocktail you can dream of. There’s even a booze slushie machine. Fancy.
My only gripe with The Black Heart is the toilets — I’m all for progressive, forward thinking and breaking down gender boundaries, however, if it’s at the cost of having to hover so I don’t sit in piss then I’ll take my gender segregation, thank you very much. I kinda get why they did this, when the toilets were separate there was only one cubicle in the ladies loo, unless you decided to go upstairs and it often descended into chaos. The toilets downstairs, and up, are now much bigger, so you don’t have to wait as long. You will, however, have to traverse the bodily fluids of others in order to do your business, and endure the bashful glances of man children who’ve not yet gotten over the giggle fits of going potty in the same room as girls. SIGH.
It’s £5 minimum card spend, which is handy. However, DON’T BE THAT GUY. It takes bloody ages, and the bar is usually rammed, so you’re holding the queue up further. Honestly. There’s an ATM right around the corner. Cash is king. The staff, and myself, will love you for it. If you’re going for cocktails, I recommend the Old Fashioned or amaretto sour. If you’re going for beer, get whatever dark beer they have guesting. It’s usually always excellent. Their house gin is bloody great too.
The door staff are all very friendly, and sometimes they have food pop ups. I’ve only ever eaten here once, and I’m forever kicking myself that I didn’t grab the name of the restaurant. I had deep fried gherkins and they were a revelation.
The music here varies greatly, but it’s usually always good — you can expect everything from Kiss to Black Sabbath to The Commodores and I’ve spent many a night dancing around, sloshing my drink on people, to whatever happens to be playing. The DJ nights are the most fun ever. Ask for ‘Just a Friend’ by Biz Markie and watch him get annoyed with you, hahaha. I mostly come here for gigs. I love metal and al of the sub genres that branch off of it, and this makes for an excellent gig venue — real nice sound quality and general good vibes. A lot of what gets put on here sells out well in advance, so don’t rock up to the door expecting to get in — buy your tickets in advance!
Overall, a lovely little London boozer, with some bangin’ tunes and bloody horrible toilets. Lovely stuff.

I really like this pub! Awesome rock and roll grunge looking with hatch food delivery –Pulled pork ect which was ace, fairly pricey but pretty standard type camden prices, good drink selection, great for that kindda of dirty grimey sexy atmosphere for a great night out with mates, haven’t experienced the band aspect but want too, loos are shared which doesn’t bother me in the least but expect shocked guys when you stroll through! My only downfall is occasionally you get a bar member with an attitude problem and not in the cool way just the buzz kill way! So long as they keep an eye on that I’m happy as larry! Can’t wait to go back!

I did not feel good at this site, the security guys so unpleasant and violent, and the staff rude, not recommended

Great selection of beer from around the world with wicked live music. Nuff said!

Think I’ve definitely found my favourite pub in London. Its in Camden, but a bit hidden away which is cool… they have the flowers like, e you get at a funeral saying ‘dad’ or whatever but with ‘black heart’ on the wall which is very striking. The place definitely has a Gothy/​punky vibe but I like it a lot. They also do comedy nights in the space upstairs which is really cool.

I’ve been to The Black Heart twice now. Both times for food. First for Kimchi Cult and second for Tongue’n’cheek. It’s always a bit of a shock walking in as the music playing is music reminiscent of my childhood. It’s not necessarily the music I listened to, but it’s the music my sister listened to, so I’m quite familiar with it.
Both times I’ve come, I’ve had some beer, and both times I’ve been quite impressed with the beer I’ve had. The cask ales aren’t the ones that you find at many of your chain pubs, and it’s a nice selection that seems to have a lot of thought put into it.
One thing about coming to Britain is that there seems to be a certain feeling and atmosphere when walking into a pub. It has a certain Britishness about it. I don’t hate that feeling, but it’s nice to find a pub that has a different vibe and a different clientele than your standard British pubs. It’s also incredibly close to the Camden Town station, so that’s awesome too.
I like it. I really do. It’s won me over with its clear non-​Britishness and the nostalgic thoughts I have when I’m inside. And the beer. Good beer can always win me over.

The tables are sticky, the tables are wobbly but you don’t care once you’ve had kimchi cult. Read about my sexy burger adventure on the kimchi cult review page.
Alas, Black heart was not as pirate sexy as I thought it would be, there were no Jack sparrow’s hanging about. (wait, that was the black pearl… Fail whale!)
The tables were sticky, the tables were wobbly and there was a massive floral arrangement like the type you get at funerals saying BLACK HEART. So morbid, as was the soap in the loos. It wasn’t as much soap, it was a massive bag of grimy antibac gel. kinda icky. but it does fit with the morbid theme. Tip: take your own nice smelling anti bac.
The cocktails are pretty yummy but they take AGES to make, or at least the girl serving did. I was PARCHED by the time I received it.
But Kimchi cult is an indefinite pop up there for the timebeing so I’ll definitely be back, regardless of everything because I LOVE KIMCHI BURGERS.

The Black Heart is one of those London «dive bars» that is trying a little too hard to be grungy or rock and roll.
Everything here is intense. The name is intense. The location, down a back alley with a giant black heart hanging above the door, is intense. The music on the speakers is intense. The insane over-​the-​top intense poster and pictures that line the walls of skulls and neon crosses are… intense. It’s an intense kind of place.
It’s not a bad pub though if you want a little bit of everything happening. The staff works quickly to get you a drink — beer mostly, and their selection is nice. A lot of local stuff to chose from.
No food, but sometimes they do pop-​ups with different places so you can get your meal on that way. I went to one with Kimchee Cult and it was a little annoying to order my beer at the bar and then have to go all the way around the room to order my food at the window and have to pay twice. Think they could have streamlined that, but ah well.
Black Heart isn’t just a bad though, it’s also a place for bands. There’s a stage on the second floor for music. I saw a band I really like who was touring through London rock out here. It’s never going to be that venue that brings in big names but it’s a small intimate room with a bar in the back so you don’t have to go downstairs for more beer. That was a good touch. And the sound is quality, damn loud (obviously) but in that way you want when seeing a rock band close up. I’d see more music here.
On their website, Black Heart calls thsemselves «a Music Pub with an edge.» Sure, if the edge is a really, really, really intense one.

It creeps me out a little that the website for the Black Heart is
. Was
taken? Or do the owners really have pure evil at their core?
Whatever the reason, one can’t fault them for picking a theme and going full on with it. The Black Heart is a black metal pub with a small venue on the upper floor. It’s the type of place that you would expect to be the hangout for a biker gang in a movie with dark walls, slightly dim lighting, and a pool table in the corner. The clientele are similarly dressed with black being the colour of choice and I think I lost track of how many white guys walked by with the trademark black beanie on despite the warm temperature inside.
The bar takes up most of the central space and is woefully understaffed with the average wait time for a beer somewhere around 15 minutes. While the beer list on the wall looks impressive, be warned that they don’t have a good portion at any given time so always get up there with a back up in mind or you may face another wait before you can get served. Prices are also a bit much at £5 for some of the nicer bottles (330ml still) and pints around £3−4. Card minimum is £10 so keep some cash on you unless you are buying a round.
But none of this is why we were here. We came for Kimchi Cult and damn I’m glad we did. Kimchi Cult was born as a street trader slinging juicy burgers to the hungry masses. Naturally, as the name suggests, their signature burger, the Kimchi Cult Special, is topped with a generous serving of kimchi made by the man in charge. I first ran across them a few years ago at a Korean festival and I’ve been an avid fan ever since. Given the winter weather makes for poor street stall trade, they are running a six week pop-​up at the Black Heart. I won’t go into too much detail on them (see the Kimchi Cult reviews for that), but I will note that because they have a larger kitchen (which isn’t saying much) this time, they are also offering up some loaded fries. The kimchi fries are doused in a kimchi hot sauce and packs some serious heat. The bulgogi fries are topped with a massive serving of delicious bulgogi (some of the best I’ve had in London). Both are huge portions that will definitely fill you up… unless you are Rob H… in which case even the ribs from the Flintstones aren’t enough.
Back to the Black Heart, it’s an alright pub for Camden but unless you are into the metal scene I’d probably give it a miss. The beer is better (and a little cheaper) just down the street at BrewDog and you have more interesting places to people watch further up the locks. And I’m still slightly annoyed that after going through the effort of making a reservation for 8, they forgot about it completely and stuffed us on some tables in the middle of the busiest walkway in the pub. Not cool.

I don’t often go to Camden, which I would like to be the first to admit is a bit silly. After all, Camden feels distinctly like home, yet clearly English, which is probably why it resonates with all of me, including the American citizenship and the Anglophile heart. That all said, as part of an impromptu let’s-do-Camden-tonight, the Black Heart was absolutely my favorite spot along the way, despite all of it’s quirks, er, character.
It’s a rock n’ roll bar, playing classic rock. Now classic rock is not my favorite, and that says something that I was able to go in, have a few drinks, shoot some pool, rock out a bit, and still love the place. It’s filled with unusual people, or maybe just the standard people you’re likely to find out and about around 2am in Camden, but it just adds to the experience.
The bar is quick with service and the servers are pretty friendly, given the crowd that gathers. It’s not the kind of place to have a deep conversation, but it is the place to get a little bit rowdy and enjoy good music and good company. I’d love to go back in and look around a bit more, as other reviewers have mentioned how cool the décor is.

Alternative bar/​pub with a wanna be «dia de los muertos» feel to it.
It’s cool to hang out and enjoy some drinks. They have an upstairs venue as well and sometimes there are live bands playing or they’re showing movies. If the weather is nice, the folding windows open and they have pizzas named after the 7 sins… uuuuu, I need to try one!
The staff was quick, we got our drinks in a jippy –even though the bar was busy– and the door dudes were ok but a bit arsy.
Nothing out of the ordinary in Camden.

An Amurrrrican bar in Camden.
Tattoos and rock n roll music and religious latino inspired paraphernalia strewn about (like From Dusk Till Dawn with less blood and mexicans)
Plus there was a jukebox on the wall that let you browse the albums but it wasn’t actually connected so it was just a tease.
OH and a bartender short changed me. Yes it was only 10p but it’s the principal of the thing. The other bartenders gave me correct change.
Ok ok I sound a bit harsh but I just wasn’t feeling it that night. I think I was just tired and wanted to sit but there was no place to do that with our big group. Already packed on a thursday night at 9.
If we had a little spot of our own I would have been happy chatting and hanging out all night though.
Oh and there’s an upstairs area for live music. The girlfriends/​groupies of the band playing at the time were trying to get us to go upstairs with them.

The Black Heart beats for the Camden locals — and it’s tough not to love it for that alone.
While other Camden establishments aim to bring in the camera-​flashing tourists, the strung-​out punks, the overly emotional musicians, the angry goths, or really, just anyone to make it seem like ‘this bar embodies Camden’, the Black Heart just does its thing, (watched over by hi-​fi biblical shrines, no less), tucked away on a back street near the tube. It’s the *other way* on Camden High Street, which eliminates about 90% of Camden’s usual traffic.
Yes they do beer, yes they do movies, yes they do pizza, but the reason you’ll go to The Black Heart is because they’re in Camden, but they don’t painfully hype up the «HEY! CAAAMMMMDEN! YOU’RE IN CAMMMDEN!» thing. It’s refreshing. As is the aforementioned beer.

The off the beaten path location and gothic theme may give this place a little street cred. The beer selection may also for them some cred. But the wanker manager of this place ruins anything redeeming about this drab bar.
Do yourself a favor and go somewhere with a friendly staff.

Did you know they show movies upstairs? Nope, neither did I until Eamon B organised an event here.
Hidden off the high street this little pub is as close to a «local» as you’re going to get in the area. Friendly staff even made me a cuppa to warm me up after my cycle there. I really can’t fault the place! I also know its a favourite spot of Miguel’s and the bar man even knew his name. It’s things like that, which make a pub not just good but great.
I shall be back here. When I next need a pre-​gig drink or someone asks that question, «Is there actually anywhere good around here?» I’ll point in the direction of The Black Heart.

Should I be sad or happy that the pizza here only gets three stars? If it was better I’d probably end up in this place way too often, so I think I’m ok with it.
It’s a thin crust pizza and for the 3.5 quid you get a decent amount of food. The pizza is rectangular and cut on the diagonal so you essentially have two big slices.
There are 7 pizzas to choose from, each named after one of the deadly sins. First time around I went with the Greed pizza, which was a bit of a schitzophrenic mess of toppings. If I remember correctly it had achovies, capers, pepperoni, mushrooms, olives, jalapenos, ham and pineapple. All in all a bit too much, I guess that’s what you get when you act on your greed. Kept it simple second go around and ordered the Envy with ham and pineapple.
Probably won’t eat the pizza again unless I’m already here for the beer as it’s not much more of a walk to Al Parco.