Address: 139 Highgate Rd, London, NW5 1LE, United Kingdom
Phone: +447375755539
Rating: 4.7
based on 187 reviews.
Beer Selection
Pros:
"The beer here is bloody amazing, there is such a massive selection and it all tastes brilliant."
"This place has a very good selection of independent hand drawn ales, all at a very fair price £3.60 for a pint."
"If you’re a craft beer fan, you must visit this place. They constantly bring in new, tasty beer, ale and cider from local breweries."
"Loads of great cask, keg and a plentiful cider range."
"Unrivalled selection of real ales and cider on tap, with the selection changing regularly."
"Great selection of British craft beer and cider."
"Just an incredible rotating selection of craft ciders, most of which are outstanding."
Cons:
"We ordered 3 pints of expensive real ale, which came very cloudy and flat."
"The beer selection has a strong microbrewery focus."
"With some of the ciders, you are charged by the ABV... you don't know what you're drinking or how much it will cost."
"I ordered four different beers (2 of which I’ve tried several times before), and the 4 of them had very faint aromas, so something seemed to be going wrong in the cellar today?"
"The beer selection as okay at best (it is on a rotating basis so I'm sure a place that touts 18 taps will likely go through bouts of awesomeness and also bleh)."
"Since then the prices have doubled. A pint there cost £7."
"I paid £12 for two stouts, which were indeed delicious but dearer than average."
Atmosphere & Ambience
Pros:
"It's like a home away from home - you will walk in and be met with a familiar warmth like when you first get back home on a cold winter's night to a busy and happy house."
"It's a cosy, traditional pub with a shabby but friendly interior."
"Very lively/busy pub, with great music."
"Funky music from the past in the background."
"Atmosphere is the best I have experienced in London."
"The Southampton Arms has a wonderful atmosphere with dark wood furnishings."
"Great old school feel to this pub with a good selection of beers, some very interesting vintage framed photographs hanging on the wall, great music playing from a record player (no Spotify or Apple Music here!), and friendly staff at the bar."
Cons:
"The place is literally falling to pieces with an unsettling odour that reminds me of a mix between sewer, aged vomit and soured beer."
"The loo is a bit shabby but not a deal breaker."
"The toilet was grotty, the ceiling was marked and everything just had a vague dirty layer to it."
"The Southampton arms just felt old and dirty."
"They have the worst toilet ever seen."
"The garden is very smokey when the weather is nice as lots of people smoke there."
"Avoid the black mold in the men’s room and you will have a great time!"
Service & Staff
Pros:
"The staff know about the beer and you can have a taste."
"Left a helmet here and the barman ran out in the lashing rain to return it to me."
"The staff were absolutely lovely."
"The staff are always brilliant."
"The staff is so helpful and, no matter how crowded the bar is, more than willing to talk you through their selection."
"The staff could not have been more helpful and friendly."
"The staff were super cool and friendly even though they were super busy that Saturday afternoon."
Cons:
"We waited over an hour for these and it wasn't even very busy."
"Staff could’ve been a little friendlier."
"awful customer service. Bar Staff were unable to have a calm, human, adult conversation after we were poured the wrong pints."
"However, they have at least one stroppy staff member working but don't let that put you off."
"The bar manager refused stating there was nothing wrong with his beer and we should either drink it or leave it but either way he wasn’t changing it."
"Terrible attitude from bar staff."
"But worse, the staff are unbelievably rude."
Payment & Accessibility
Pros:
"They've long had a wide range of real ales and recently started accepting card payments."
"Most importantly, they accept card!"
"Don’t bother getting any cash out, they now take card."
"And the best bit, despite what it says on the website they do take card."
"Now takes card! And the real fire place is great for a cozy winter night."
"They have pints under £5 which for a non-Londoner was welcome news."
"Be warned it's cash only so none of this contactless nonsense, but you do get change from a tenner when you buy 2 pints."
Cons:
"Just cash, no cards."
"Only downside is they take cash and no cards - very annoying as the places nearby where you can draw cash all charge for withdrawals."
"The bar doesn't accept card which may feel quaint to some but really it's 2018 who doesn't accept card."
"Bank cards are not accepted, which is quite frustrating."
"They only take 'real money' so your contactless is no good here."
"Take cash as they don't accept plastic and the nearest machine is miles away."
"This is a very small and old pub which doesn't take cards at all unfortunately."