The Blues Kitchen goes American

Having replaced the woeful Oh! Bar a while ago now, the Blues Kitchen has capitalised on the wave of blues and jazz revival that has seen a number of similar live venues pop up across North London.

Every night sees live music on offer, from Northern Soul to Rock 'n' Roll and, of course, Blues. Commendably entry is free, only incurring a weekend charge after 10.30 to capitalise on their 3am late licence.

There's an excellent selection of Bourbon and Whiskey, rather let down by a generic selection of beer; if they wanted to keep it authentic America produces some excellent ale, so there's no excuse really.

Service is also pretty good, with friendly, proactive staff - the test presumably comes on a busy Saturday night.

The only bugbear is that the place seems to be a rather sanitised version of the speakeasy atmosphere they're attempting to recreate. Two thirds of the bar is officially a restaurant, offering 'Soul Food' - BBQ, Jerk chicken, Burgers, between £8 and £15. You can drink there, but be prepared to be turfed out for diners.

Indeed the stage and drinking area seems somewhat hidden away, lest the loud music offends the diners. When the bands aren't playing, the piped music is too quiet: only on a trip to the loo enabled us to identify it as some excellent blues. Presumably they turn it up later. Still, it seems their heart is in the right place and we'll happily come back and sample the live music anytime.

NEAREST STATION: Camden Town station

FEATURES: function room available,DJ, live music, open after 11:00pm, separate restaurant

The Blues Kitchen
111-113 Camden High Street, NW1 7JN