The Monarch is a really great find. It has that low key, down to earth buzz with just enough glitz and great music to make your night a winner. I have been here several times to watch bands play, or catch the odd DJ.. The crowd are a nice mix of people in their mid 20's-30's, grounded with life, good conversationalists, who know how to have a good night out. Its a large venue, with four different areas, so theres plenty of room for social diversity.. a chance to have a natter with a friend, or swing those hips. It has a pub come music venue feel, with beer on tap ( Yay!) and shiny disco balls ,with a few chandeliers thrown in for good measure. I haven't failed to have a good night out here yet. read more

Monarchy Camden - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

I had a great night out here at The Monarch! I went on a Friday night and it had a great vibe and a great atmosphere. I paid £2 entry fee- which I think is very reasonable because although a lot of the pubs in Camden don't charge, £2 really isn't very much and it is definitely one of the better pubs to go to. Drinks were very reasonably priced too and every time I went to the bar I got served straight away.. No waiting around for ages for someone to take my drinks order which was really good seeing as it was so busy, The music was great! Really varied music styles being played throughout the night. I went with a large group of people all with different music tastes and everyone was happy and having a great time! I'll definitely come here more often. read more

Monarchy Camden - The Monarch even has a cutout you can pose with! - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

I went here for a weekday lunch. I figured it must be fun in the evenings. But I'll keep my review to the lunchtime offerings. I like the old wood, wide round booths, and spaciousness. I bet it's heaving on a Saturday night, but on Tuesday afternoon it was easy to get a table for 7 of us. I got the fish and chips, which was quite acceptable. In fact, I liked the peas better than most I get. Others in my group got the curry beef pie, ham and eggs, and a sandwich. Nobody was raving wildly, but nobody was disappointed either. It was school holidays the day I went in and I saw quite a few families with toddlers and small children. It has a small (7 foot?) pool table that was in tolerable condition. All in all I was glad I went and will probably go again. read more

Monarchy Camden - This was in front of the pub today. We sought refuge from zombies there. :) - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

I'd say food is a 3 1/2 star quality while service and ambience was 4 stars. We had the fish and chips which I think were made in house but came out a bit greasy for my taste. Still 1000x better than anything you can get in the states. read more

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In their own words "The Monarch, located in the heart of Chalk Farm Rd, Camden. By day, it's a stylish Dickensian boozer. By night, it's a bar & boutique venue hosting some of the the best of Camden's alternative DJ's, bands & musician." I couldn't agree more. Having been to the Monarch on several occasions it always delivers. On random Saturday night they play some classic 50's Motown tracks and a rather handsome looking chap with ridiculous hair can be seen wandering aimlessly through the bar. On Saturday they had on an Anti-Valentines day bash with a couple of the boys from GLC DJ'ing. It was a cracking night and was aided by the fact my friends all looked epic (especially Will who wore the most amazing shirt) They often have numerous fun times nights on and the bevvies aren't too spenny, so it's well worth a visit. If you find yourself bimbling through the streets of Cammers. Make sure you get your ass into the Monarch. Sexy Rob - www.twitter.com/RobOrme read more

"What is it with you Monarch?" You are funny, you are spacious, you have great staff, you serve food, but you are always quiet. Yelpers raided the place like Storm Troopers on a Vader mission Monday night. We had a great time, drinking and chatting, but we were the only people there. Seriously the drinks are not expensive and they have a good selection of beer and spirits. They have two of the coolest bartenders in Camden. I'd name them but I was a little tipsy and I'll get it wrong. They know who they are though, "Cute girl and Microchip Boy." To finish the Batman metaphor, we have Alfred, aka Al, the brains and GM of Monarch, who is the biggest thing to ever escape Swindon. There is a poker league played every Tuesday and this is one of many reasons to keep me coming back to the Monarch. The more I go, the more the place grows on me. read more

Maybe I was there on an off night, but I was incredibly disappointed by the Monarch, especially after all the rave reviews I'd read here on Yelp. I went on a Saturday night (maybe that was the problem?) and the place was packed with the sketchiest people I've ever seen assembled in one place. Trying to dance was more like trying to walk through a mine field, avoiding all the weirdos who kept ruining a night out with the girls. The music was so-so -- it was Soundtracks night where they play music from movies. I might have enjoyed it had I been either really drunk or in a singalong mood...but I wasn't. Plus, glass ALL over the floor. I walked out and could still feel the crunch under my feet. So, I'm sorry, but chances are slim that I'll be returning to this place in the near future. At least not for a cover on a Saturday night. read more

Quite an odd venue but really nice, a decent sized stage and seating/dancefloor area out the front with seating arranged in booths and sofas down the back and upstairs means this pub has a lot of space. Bar service is good and on busy nights the staff are very quick (and there are loads of them). Bouncers are also very reasonable in my experience and deal with troublemakers quickly. Saturday nights are Soundtracks and they are ace, the premise being they can play anything from a movie soundtrack (which means pretty much anything they like tbh). This involves the usual cheesy singalongs (Don't Stop believin', Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, etc.) but the sets tend to be really varied, from classic rock through jungle, Classic 90s RnB, Motown, Soul, Pop and more besides. For a fun drunken night out with mates you can't go far wrong with Soundtracks, a cut-above many nights in Camden. Go along for halloween or NYE for something a bit special. Also, if you're planning a birthday or something the venue will let you book a booth/seating section if you get in early enough. read more

Spacious venue. Came here early on a saturday night, very quiet, not a lot of people in yet. It was just a DJ on the stage that night too. Easily found a couched area upstairs near the toilets for our group of 8. Nice. I'll be back. read more

I booked a table for st patricks day over a month ago and just received a call saying they need to cancel my booking due to a corporate event. I now have no time to find another venue. I am so angry as I have friends coming down all over England. all I got is a sorry. Don't book this joke of a pub, embarrassing - ruined my st patricks day 2 days before. read more

This place is so odd that I can't help but give it a good review. Wandered down here with colleagues for Friday drinks once and have gone back multiple times since. The beer is cheap. So are the shots. And the mixed drinks. I believe I was paying £2 for a vodka + soda water...and it was a healthy sized drink. The decor is shabby-shabby that was maybe once shabby-chic? The back patio is nice if your party is smaller. There's tons of space all over the bar. It feels like walking into a movie set that people forgot about 30 years ago or something. The staff seems like they don't care about serving you, but they're always quick and efficient in getting drinks, so who cares? Also, the music! It's always somewhat fascinating. In a generally good way. Definitely not a nice place to take a date, but a great locale for drinks with friends! Oh, and if you book a table on Fridays, you get free nachos. They're basically just doritos with melted cheese, but they're FREE. So there's that. read more

The pub has really disappointed on my last visit. The decor and charm are still there, the toilets were actually cleaner than last time, but the food! It seemed like the average pub fair it should be, but my fish tasted very chemical, I'm not quite sure how to describe the taste, kind of as if it had been soaked in a cleaner chemical. I took two bites and left the rest on my plate. The peas and chips seemed fine but I had a very upset stomach the next morning, so something just wasn't quite right. I'll probably come back for the quizzes but I'll steer clear of the food in the future. read more

I think the true character of a place reveals itself when something goes wrong. Which is what happened on a Saturday night out with friends at The Monarch. It was nothing serious, but basically I was at the bar, waited, waited some more, watched the barmaid serve someone who had just come to the bar, got tired of waiting, so waved at the barmaid and she finally acknowledged I was there, but she then inexplicably proceeded to serve the person next to me who also was after me in the "queue". And I know there is no real queue at the bar, but it's part of the bartender's job to try and serve people in the order that they arrive at the bar and this barmaid was failing miserably. I then tried to talk to her over the loud music and got told off for yelling at the barmaid! To top things off, I then asked another member of staff to get me the manager and guess what, he/she was "too busy". I'm sure it's fine most of the time and I actually liked the space itself, but I think Yelpers should avoid places like this out of principle as they are too busy for their own good. read more

In the afterglow of the Camden Crawl, we slipped into the Monarch, a pub in Camden. It's a small, intimate pub with luxurious wallpaper, chandeliers, with taxidermy decorating the walls (think stuffed foxes, small creatures, and deer heads). We needed the Monarch. We'd just been slogging through stacks at record stores and our feet were covered with blisters. We settled into a huge booth with our Rough Trade bags, and settled into a comfy black vinyl booth. It was an interesting night to visit. An ancient, very-drunk British couple sat in the booth next to us and glanced at us as they continued to down pints of ale. In the booth across the way, a crowd of soccer hooligans celebrated an electro show that they had just watched at The Roundhouse. In the DJ booth, two female Cherry Cola DJs were kicking out an interesting mix of Prince, Michaeal Jackson, LCD Soundsystem, and electro hits. At the bar, two bartenders wiggled as PYT pumped through the room. As the old couple in the corner stared at me, I amused myself by staring at the soccer hooligan crowd who rapidly took over the dance floor. It was such a contrast to Seattle, where you almost have to dose someone with an illegal drug to get them to dance to ANYTHING. You hear that Seattle? London doesn't stand there with perfectly coiffed hair, cross their arms, and act tough when bands play. They do the appropriate thing: they dance. Thanks, Cherry Cola DJs. Thanks, London. Thanks, Monarch. Thanks, soccer hooligans. Thanks hot bartenders who kept the ale flowing like honey. Thanks weird old drunk couple who survived the war to creepily stare at me while you bobbed your heads to "Let's Get Crazy." You were the tops. read more

A Camden favourite, great for gigs & weekend clubbing (which is mainly free entry). I'd recommend We Will Pop You on the 1st & 2nd Fridays of the month. Fun stuff & usually packed to the rafters by midnite as it has a 2.30am close. Theres a small garden out the back & plenty of seating inside where you can also order some pub grub if you're feeling peckish. Free nachos too on Friday nights if you book a table for 4 or more. Good stuff! read more

Monarchy Camden - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

Quite divey but they had a decent spirits selection and the staff was nice. Kind of a laid back casual environment that seems plausible for large groups or one on one drinks with someone special. The upstairs adds to the versatility of the atmosphere you'd like. There are pool tables as well! This is a solid place to see a show as well. Lots of seating and space. read more

Another great pub. I was initially unsure that this was the best place to drop into, but soon reassured by the excellen6t bar staff, and great range of drinks. With the Yelp crew in the hood - we must have increased their takings by 500% that Monday nite. Apparenly there is live music, and a poker nite every Tues. We may need to return and check this out. All in all l left a very happy rock dude. read more

One of my favorite areas in London is called Camden. One bar we visited is The Monarch. The decor features monarchs, not surprisingly. Although, we didn't eat any food here, we did notice that they have typical bar food. We just enjoyed beer on tap. They have a bar, as well as tables, and even a couch. We sat at the couch, where some girls joined us. They were locals, who wanted to chat with the tourists. The people were friendly, and the beer was good. read more

Not a bad pub, with nice seating and patio. I had the steak sandwich, which I didn't expect to come with cheese and it seemed an odd combination but it worked. The meat was good, and the flavour was nice. I would go again. read more

Monarchy Camden - Steak Sandwich - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

Nice little club/venue which sits very smoothly in the 'Camden' way of things and offers a more intimate affair than KOKO/Roundhouse with regards to gigs. I ended up here with a group of friends to polish off our Camden Crawl exploits and it was a very good choice as it had a great atmosphere and great barstaff who just added to the personality of the place. The only reason i'm taking away stars is due to the disorganisation with regards to smokers having to queue again everytime they went for a cigarette (ruddy outrage). read more

When we walked in here for the first time, my boyfriend described it as "one of those old couple pubs, not an old man pub but an old couple pub". He was right. Sure enough 5 minutes later a eighty-something year old couple came toddling in, claimed what must be their regular spot and ordered two massive pints of bitter. How sweet. Not a bad place if you are a tourist wanting a 'Camden experience' (but nothing so extreme as being spat at by a punk) but it's a bit dingy for something as chic as a gastro-pub Sunday lunch. My advice? Walk the 20 metres up the road to the Lock Tavern instead. read more

Camden boozer with large leather sofas round the back and a little stage up t'front and a garden out the back Not a bad place, had a great night watching Akira the Don and chums here the other week and it's pretty good for a small venue like that although I can imagine it gets packed later on. No ale on offer which is a mark down for me though and frankly there are better pubs round here read more

Popped by with my girlfriends for a late lunch and I think the highlight was the food. The Monarch is a pub, and as we all know pub food can be either awful or quite ok. The food we had was very nice, a bit pricey for what we got but still good. The interior is like a standard pub nothing more nothing less. Good service, clean(ish) loos. Overall nothing to complain about but I wasn't amazed. But definitely happy about our lunch. read more

Great ribs and they have some great geeky quizzes every month or so which are really good fun but you need to book in advance so make sure you've checked the upcoming events. read more

The Monarch is hands down, one of my favourite venues in London. Whether it be for a pint, a gig or a hell of a dance with some brilliant DJs, this venue has never failed to instate a great time! To expand, there is always something going on - and the events are so beautifully varied (you can check their website in advance for all listings) The internal decor engages in a comforting hybrid between a leathery camden pub that meanders down to some more lovely seating, a pool table, a shot/bottle bar, and then up again to the dance floor/stage, and then up again to more lovely areas to chill out in. The Monarch itself is also given a quirky and amusing personality. EG: Free entry on Fridays if you bring a Pineapple! And even then, entry is only £2! Recently, I booked a booth for my birthday (for FREE) thanks to the snappy and responsive email manner of the manager, Mark. He quickly and kindly organised my guest-list and even arranged a free bottle of Prosecco. The drinks are pretty decently priced for Camden Town too! Can't ask for fairer than that! read more

rating is for the soundtracks night they do every saturday - it's just amazing. there is literally nothing better than skipping around the dance floor singing the baywatch theme song at the top of your lungs - it just makes for a great night. i did my birthday party here this year and even though some people were apprehensive about heading all the way to north london i got so many compliments on choice on venue - all types of people no matter taste in music, age, etc. just had a great time. read more

Pretty fun pub just outside of the Camden Stables. Really cosy, Christmasy atmosphere with a gin happy hour.

The Monarch is a pub in chalk farm really cool....there is live music every day and usually it's free and the food that they served is awesome.....I love the places where you can listen new bands and come inside the london underground scene!Thanks Monarch! read more

I celebrated my birthday here a while back and I would do it again in a heartbeat. From the outside the bar actually looks smaller than it really is as it goes pretty far into the back. I liked the little upstairs area where you can sit with the friends, but the dancing area or crowd area for concerts is a bit small, but then you're in camden. The bar is pretty big, but on sat nights (during soundtrack night) it does get really crowed. Yet I would go back here any time to dance to soundtrack tunes or listen to a band. read more

I found this place wandering around for good music. It was the highlight of my latest trip to london. Everyone was very nice and the place was packed for a great music show. It wasn't too heavy metal but more of what I grew up on. It was like going into a time machine for me to all my high school friends and band mates. read more

I've only been here for Skeptics events, when it's super crowded and difficult to get a comfortable view of the speaker. Food and drink OK

This place is lovely, a great bar/pub to congregate around with friends. I came here to see Life in Film, in fact I think everyone came to see Life in Film, which accounted for the rather empty pub afterwards. There's great seatings/seats, a wonderfully clean bathroom (biggest plus!), and very good quality food. I'd say, come here on a good band night. read more

What a cool spot. I had walked by this place dozens of times and on a whim ducked in for a pint. It is much larger than it appears and seems like on a night could get pretty rocking. Great music for an afternoon beer with friendly staff. Didn't have any food, looked pretty standard. read more

Loved this place! Our goal as travelers from the USA was to find a great pub with local atmosphere and food. The Monarch did not disappoint. The staff was extremely friendly and the locals were eager to engage us in conversation knowing we were from the States. The smoked chicken pie was a winner as well as the pints of Cider! Thanks Keshan and Laura! read more

Recommended by a friend, we are from the USA and don't have places like this around us. What a great bar, atmosphere, food and drinks. My god, it's Wednesday night and there's great live music !!! I love this place.!! Wish I lived closer, I'd be here almost every night ! read more

My favourite camden pub, friendly staff, decent food and a good range of drinks available. Check out Soundtracks on a saturday night, where the DJ's play only music from movies. Amazing fun and something different to do in London. read more

i like this bar for a pre-gig drink in camden. it's big enough that you will always get a seat, and it's not ridiculously expensive either. i actually had a sublimely good vodka cranberry in here on saturday. i know it shouldn't be a difficult drink to get right, but sometimes bars get it soooo wrong. not here! read more

Horrible customer service. My friends and I went here the other night and were greeted by a not so friendly security guard. After a couple of rounds we decided to go outside for a smoke, and when we tried to reenter the same security guard strong armed one of my friends and said we couldn't get back in. We asked why and he said, "because I said so." We talked to the manager and he did nothing, and wouldn't/ couldn't give us a reason as to why we weren't allowed back in. We've decided to not go here again, but just wanted others to know about the possibility of being "kicked out" for no apparent reason. read more