Queen's Head

A couple of hundred yards from the heart of King’s Cross rejuvenation is this on-trend but individualistic oasis. It’s a compact Victorian hole-in-the-wall pub with three real-ale pumps and an astutely chosen handful of craft beers on draught - and that’s all before you pick up the clipboard list of twenty-plus bottled beers from around the UK, Belgium and the US. Although sometimes invaded by hollering students, it's usually cosy and blissfully music-free, apart from the odd hipster-trad jazz session around the old walnut upright piano. It’s a brewpub too - the own-made QHB beers are only occasionally available, but definitely worth trying when they're on, alongside brews from the likes of Kernel, Summit, Redemption and Windsor & Eton and an artisanal cider or two.