King’s Head Pub and Theatre

A small to medium sized pub, which is also a fabulous theatre.
I haven’t eaten there, so can’t comment (though a friend was disappointed with the cold scotch egg she received). They have a nice selection of beers and wine, along with very friendly and quick bartenders. I’d definitely come back to drink and to try out the many options on offer for food.
I went for a theatre show and it was wonderful. Smallish theatre with an intimate feel. The panto was BRILLIANT!

I could not rave about the King’s Head pub and theatre more!
An intimate pub just past the high street, with a theatre to boot, the King’s Head ticks all the boxes.
I ordered the pepper, pesto and ricotta doorstep sandwich. The revelers at the table next to me stopped what they were doing to discuss it in not-​so-​hushed whispers. Awkwardness of them watching me eat aside, the sandwich changed my life in a small way.
The beer on tap was sufficient, the perfect appetiser for any play. Currently playing Lovett + Todd (3.5÷5), in the theatre space out back. A great little space, a theatre in the round, that gives any play a whole new level to play on.
If you’re new to theatre, or an old hat, OR you’re in Islington and need a quiet pint, then you’ll love the King’s Head.

Great for the best in London fringe theatre

Came here for a drink after a Unilocal event and really liked the venue, found out they have a theatre upstairs which me and my friend said we will come back to check the theatre out. Good selection of alcohol and a good place to go for a quick drink or to spend the evening there.

This place is a little gem in London — beautiful old pub with a theatre at the back. Nice selection of beers and tickets at reasonable prices. I saw ‘Go-​see’ there and was really impressed. Will definitely go back!

What a gem of a place in the middle of Upper Street, Islington. A really nice pub with a theatre at the back. The theatre is independent to the Young’s pub we were told by the Bookings Manager who introduced the theatre and the show, Hello Norma Jeane, an interesting concept and story regarding the equally interesting life of Marilyn Monroe and a grandmother who claims to be her, written by a brilliant writer, Dylan Costello. Well worth catching, only two more shows to go, until 2 November, especially as the wonderful ‘Allo ‘Allo star, Vicki Michelle stars in it, plus a host of really good actors who make up the rest of the cast, who are all brilliant in their performances. What is also good is the seats are comfortable.
The theatre is very intimate, so you feel that you are in the show as you are so close to the actors. Also an unexpected treat is they actually have delicious ice cream in the interval, just like at the West End theatres!
Another nice thing is after the show you can have a drink in the pub and meet the actors. All in all a very friendly place, in a convenient location, and if you add a good show, you would get a thoroughly enjoyable evening out without West End prices.

Disclaimer first: I am yet to make it to one of the plays at the theatre itself.
The King’s Head is a favourite though for meeting friends for a relaxed catch up after work. Mind you, the experience can be rather varied — ranging from near-​deserted to crammed to the rafters with large groups. Sometimes the crowds clear once the play starts, sometimes they grow to an appreciative audience of a rockabilly band setting up in the corner of the bar.
Bar staff are consistently lovely.

I LOVE this place!!! They have an tiny little Opera theatre in the back, which packs a punch with big voices in small productions on an intimate stage. Superb. Even if you don’t care for theatre, the crowd that fills the place is a groovy mix of people and there’s bands some nights in the pub too. The pub is decorated with theatre imagery from when it launched in the 70’s to the current day… giving it a bit of cool class. Oh and there’s beer too. Sometimes they do a dinner theatre too, I am told… but I haven’t tried that yet.

Visited earlier this week for the first time to see a performance of «Our Town,» which was wonderful — but the theatre is apparently completely unaffiliated with the bar. So the only thing I will say about that is: small performance space, comfortable seats, I’m a fan.
As for the bar itself, I was surprised by how expensive it was. Around 8 quid for a pint and a half seems extortionate, but maybe that’s the neighborhood.
The setup seemed a bit odd, with only a few small tables for two scattered around, then a bunch of chairs pushed up against the wall with, again, a few small tables randomly placed in front of them.
The staff was very nice, but that’s pretty much all this place has going for it — that, and the lovely performance space with great shows in the back. I don’t see myself returning, unless it’s to buy a pint during intermission.

It’s a shame that I lived in Islington for so many years before seeing a play at King’s Head. Or, trying to follow through with my resolution to be more optimistic, I’ll say it’s never too late to make up for lost time. And that’s what I’m trying to do. I’ve seen two shows in the past few months and will undoubtably go back for more. Both were solidly entertaining, well acted, and just slightly more expensive than a night at the cinema. Where would you rather give your money — Odeon or a neighborhood fixture?
Here’s a tip — stick to the seats that are on the right when you come through the entrance. Some of the ones on the other side of the theater are a bit of a crush due to an angled end to the bench (yes, you sit on benches, not individual seats).

Okay… I’m not sure exactly how long I was in the King’s Head. I feel like it’s the kind of place where once you’re in the door, time just changes. It picks up the tempo of the band and the pulse of the wall-​to-​wall crowd and just exists separately from what’s happening outside the door.
Needless to say, it was a bit crowded for my taste, but the music was good and loud, and I can see how it would be nice at an earlier point in the night to sit at a table, have a few pints, and listen to the band play.
They have a nice centrally located bar, though it’s a pain to get to the toilets around back of the bar on a weekend night where it’s absolutely jam packed. The prices are good and they have a standard selection to appeal to all consumers. The location is good as part of a crawl through Islington, in fact that was how I popped in with friends.
I’m not sure I’ll make it back specifically to drink at the King’s Head, though I’d highly recommend it as a place for catching live music.

Just moved to London, bored and unemployed, I dragged my exhausted primary school teaching fiancé out for a pint on a Friday. The universe was kind and Werewolf Barmitzvah was performing –totally our kind of music (The Beatles to James Brown to Santana to the Arctic Monkeys) and we enjoyed it a lot.
It was packed but with a friendly crowd and good bartenders. And reasonably priced beer.
Hubs actually enjoyed himself despite being knackered and in poor form at the end of his work day.
We will definitely be returning and are looking forward to catching some theatre there, as well.

We went here on a whim. Because my friend does not favor the underground we hired a taxi. Islington was a fair distance from the Westminster area of London so we were happy to get a direct ride there.
It was a small bar with a various concoction of seating from old theater seating to stools and even seating on a small stage.
We delighted in our conversation with the men and women who made room for us. One of which was a bartender on her break.
You will find it homey and have some from the local area as well as out of towners like me.
I was amazed that our leader knew of this pub.

This is such a fantastic venue — particularly if you enjoy live music and theatre as it offers both and at great prices!
In the pub, there’s a great atmosphere and friendly service from the bar staff and the prices are good for Islington which for the past few years has become one of the places to be and is often far too overpriced. The layout is warm and welcoming and there’s usually a great, eclectic and friendly crowd in there.
The theatre is wonderful and you walk through the pub to get to it and it’s like a little hidden gem and I’ve seen some wonderful live performances in there and would highly recommend it. Infact a lot of well known and established performers, have been known to tread the boards here or back in the day they did! To add to the atmosphere the walls of the pub is adorned with pictures and posters and it really gives you a feeling of the theatre.
A short walk along Upper Street from the tube and served by lots of buses, it’s located well too.

Is it a bar?
Is it a music venue?
Is it a theatre?
It’s all three and more! The King’s Head is one of my favoured Upper Street hang outs.
Eclectic mix of live music many nights a week, reasonably priced beverages, generally the clientele is not too rambunctious plus if you are a little thespian-​inclined, squeeze up on the floor in front of the little stage out back for a cosy bit of pub-​theatre (and opera I’ve noticed being advertised too, yet to see/​hear that though).
Got to love the curved glass windows on the façade too. Islington stalwart!

Alright, here’s the thing — King’s Head is without a doubt my favorite pub in Islington, but I’m not going to give it 5 stars. This is the most fun, most open, most hip and welcoming, most non-​douche bag pub on Upper St. (in my humble opinion). Drinks are reasonably priced, the bands (of which they first audition and then pay) are ALWAYS wonderful, and the bartenders are super nice and totally ok when you start dancing to the music.
But this medium-​sized pub is usually swamped any time near the weekend, and recently there are been a string of weird crowds that have begun to amass on the less-​crowded days.
Go to this bar if you love live music that’s too loud to hear yourself over, like normally-​priced alcohol, and don’t mind being crowded or occasionally assaulted by the random jerks.

Beatiful old pub and good theatre venue. They are surprisingly good at keeping the noise of the pub from conflicting with the show.
Many of the plays that do well here, end up in central London.

18÷83÷11 le boheme. Oh MG. don’t think about it just book it. You will love it. I cried like a baby!
2÷8÷11 Lovely pub but, more, impotantly THE, BEST PRODUCTION OF THE TURN OF THE SCREW. totally blown away! 1000% better than Glyndebourne!

Was trying to kill time before seeing a movie and my friend had been here before a few months ago. Moseyed up to the bar and ordered. Fairly quiet on a sunday afternoon, only a few other people in there. Suddenly a door opened near the entrance to the bathrooms and loud operatic singing came jolting out…
«what was that?»
«oh there’s a play going on right now, actually in a few minutes there will be intermission where they perform a short part of the play out here»
«reaaalllllyyy???»
And then yes about ten minutes later a sea of people came out of the double doors that led to the theatre and a modern version of a scene of La Boheme happened right there with the hundred audience members and us.
It was an amazing experience to just happen upon. I want to go back and check out the actual theatre space some day.

I love this place. Sure, some nights it is better than others, but it’s one place that I’m more or less always willing to stop in for a drink, which often turns into an «ohmygod how is it 2am and I haven’t eaten dinner I should probably get freezer pizza on my stumble home» kind of night. The DJs are typically awesome, though one time that was not the case and everyone kind of just… didn’t really dance at all. The staff is always friendly and great. I lost my phone there this past weekend and it was there the next day. AND they didn’t even give me any strange looks for having been drunk enough to a) lose my phone or b) not realize until I climbed into bed several hours later.
The décor is fantastic. It’s comfortable and interesting. I haven’t actually been to the theater in the back, but will hopefully check it out at some point. The crowd is always an interesting mix, which I enjoy. It just is what it is, with a total lack of pretension.
The only downside is I have twice found men weeing in the women’s toilets. This is either a testament to the pub’s ability to get you schnockered or there’s something kind of weird going on. Then again, I’m always drunk when this happens. So who knows.