The Blues Kitchen Camden

Great vibes, amazing live music, and delicious food! The atmosphere is lively yet relaxed, perfect for a night out. The staff were super friendly and the cocktails were spot on. Definitely a Camden gem! will be back!

Our server was Elena and wow!!! She was just so wonderful and lovely! Made us feel so at home and cared for. In addition to them, all the other staff we talked with were nothing but so sweet and kind and full of energy. The food was so amazing and delicious, especially the pork belly and the wings! The cocktails were so unbelievably good and the entire experience left us feeling amazing. We will definitely be back! Thank you so much!

The sharing rib meal, a feast of corn and crab butter, creamy mac n cheese, chips, and a refreshing dressed lettuce wedge, was so utterly delicious that it completely erased the memory of the poor service. The beef rib was sensationally tender and tasty. The drinks and cocktails leaned towards the pricey side, but if catching the live entertainment then it's excellent value. Highly recommended food. My Guinness had a clover imprint in the foamy head! Beautiful decor added to the ambience.

Went with a group of people. It's decor reminds me of pub meets bar. We sat in a cramped booth, needs to be more spacious to access and exit. Blackened salmon was perfect, served with four tiny potatoes. Need to look at ratio and size of portions. The tortillas were disappointing, in terms of quality, broke apart when making wraps. Beef on the bone was nice with accompanying splendid sauce. Drinks were pretty amazing, made well by experienced bartenders.

Highly recommend this place for the entertainment of the live music. There were some amazing musicians and singers and the whole night was truly brilliant. We didn’t eat here this time, just came for the music. Getting a table in front of the stage is totally down to luck but if you can get one, you’ll have a great night! The only thing that wasn’t good was ordering. Our first round was a vodka, lime and soda and a pint of Camden Hells. This came to £19.40 which I thought was very high but stupidly didn’t query it. My partner bought the next round with exactly the same drinks but he was charged £14.40 which sounded more like it. I was going to speak to staff to get it rectified but as the place was so busy and we were so lucky to get a table, I never did. I would just say to check what you are being charged. It could have been a simple mistake but when the drinks produced are what you’ve ordered, I struggle to see where the mistake came from. Aside from that, this place is a fantastic way to spend an evening in London!

My wife and I went for a rare child free night for our anniversary celebrations and we had one of the best night out we've had in YEARS! Firstly the staff and the service was incredible. Friendly, attentive without being over bearing.. just perfect The food was amazing.. wings especially good as was the burger. Finally the Sunday Jam was PERFECT.. Great assortment of acts, mixing it up and jamming. The standard of the performers was exceptional and the informal jam setting was just right. Lovely crowd and lovely vibes. Honestly, this is one of the best nights out in London.

Great place! Full of friendly people! However the dance floor is long so if you're at the far back it might be difficult to see the band. The food is good. Recommended after Manchester branch, which is loads better.

We would've given this place five stars overall if it weren't for the atrocious value for money. The service was fantastic, and the food was great and different from anything we've tried before, but the fact that a single toasted sandwich cost £15 was impossible to overlook - simply too much money for the portion size even by London standards. It also didn't come with chips, so we had to pay an extra £5 for a little pot...they were amazing though!

Place seemed cool from the outside, but it exceeded my expectation. The food was great, the beer was cold, and the service was friendly. I'd recommend a reservation because it fills up. Also - they have live music, although I'm not sure of the schedule. I was there from around 8-9:30pm and there was a band warming up, but they didn't start playing while I was there.

This was the first place I visited when I arrived to London and we were starving. So we naturally gravitated to an American bbq place since that is what we eat back home. We ordered the double smashed cheeseburger and the smoked bbq ribs which had Asian inspired seasoning on it. My cheeseburger was just ok. Although it had its own special sauce, it still tasted bland. Same for the ribs. It's definitely not true American BBQ. In terms of the place and service, 10/10. I loved the decor which displayed various jazz, blues and funk artists throughout time. The staff was really friendly and sparked up conversation when they realized we were visiting. We were there for lunch so I can't speak to the live music at night. Overall, I can see this as a go to place to hang out with friends and for the live music but I wouldn't rush to come here for food.

The vibe and ambiance was great. The staff was warm and inviting and made us feel welcomed. The food was delicious and well worth the visit. We will definitely be returning. Great to find some solid options while perusing London. Don't miss out on this gem.

I ordered the brisket dip sandwich and it was wonderful. I've never had the dip they served (in the US), and I was a bit skeptical, but it was delicious. Usually these come with an au jus, but I'm going to see if I can find what they use and try it here. I going the service their really really good! It really felt like they cared I was there and were happy to be there as well. The staff seemed to all get along, joking with each other. The food was great, the service was great, the atmosphere was great. I look forward to trying something different if/when I get back over there.

I still need to try Blues' gumbo but an Orleans-themed brunch will have to do for now ;) I so enjoyed coming here and it definitely made me miss home a bit. The flavours and decor are New Orleans/ Cajun / Jazz themed, with cocktails and music to match. Several evenings a week have live jazz and blues bands playing and there always seems to be something fun going on at Blue's. Check their website for what's on on any particular day and book a table ahead of time in case it's a busy night. We came for a boozy brunch on a Saturday and it was lovely. Not too loud and there were bottomless deals on prosecco, mimosas, and bloody Mary's. We ordered the honey butter cornbread to start (YUM). Order several if you have a large table. For mains, we selected the Szechuan wings, creole crab benedict, spicy chicken sandwich, and buttermilk ranch salad. The crab benedict was very yummy but you might need an additional side with it to be full. We loved the wings as well, and the ranch dressing was bomb Cocktails were fab as well (highly recommend getting one of the creative ones from the menu). Highly recommend Blue's for a brunch with friends, dinner and drinks night, and maybe even with family during the day!

Came across The Blues Kitchen while we were in Camden Town UK for 6 days. It was right around the corner so it made it convenient to just week there! Music and employees were great! Kyle was the manager and was so kind, even made sure his employees knew that we'd be back. We felt so welcome!

Yum yum yum I went on a Monday and got the ribs special you get two pork ribs and one and beef rib for 10 pounds The beef rib was huge that alone will fill the average person all the meat was tender and fell right off the bone it could have been a little bit more hot temperature wise but other than that it was your perfect BBQ

Big comfy restaurant that serves brunch late into the day. And there were power outlets at the table. How could I not love that? I wasn't feeling like pancakes, so I ended up ordering a chicken club sandwich with onion rings. And a beer. At 1:30 in the afternoon. Who's the alcoholic now? There's a full bar and for a bit, I watched the bartender plucking mint for mojito's. I was tempted, but with a busy day ahead, it wasn't going to be strong drink. It did take a bit to catch the waitress's eye to place my order and the onion rings seemed like they just went into the fryer after coming out of a mass-produced freezer bag and the whole thing was served on a massive cutting board. Odd. But it was quick and it was an excellent chicken breast club sandwich. And the beer was cold. In my book, that makes it A-OK.

Sort of ironic being an American and coming to London to have some overpriced BBQ. The ambience is dark and a bit loud for conversation, but feels appropriate to be chowing down on some meat. I didn't realize it was an 18+ only place until my friend got carded at the door. Make a reservation because my party of 3 arrived at 8pm on a Thursday and were quoted an hour wait--luckily a party cancelled as we were deciding whether to wait and were seated within 15 minutes. Servers are young, flirty, and fun but definitely on the slow side. I'm pretty sure getting our dessert took longer than our main meal! I split the two meats with burnt ends and beef brisket and a side of sweet potato fries with a friend. When the food came out, our server must have seen our faces because the brisket was very fatty, and so he offered without prompting to bring another piece. He took the plate back to the kitchen and stacked another piece on top, so we effectively got three meats for the price of two. The burnt ends were nice but the brisket wasn't anything special. Overall, I thought the meat lacked flavor and required copious amounts of extra bbq sauce (which was admittedly yummy) and hot sauce. The regular fries were done mediocrely in an American shoestring style, and our sweet potato fries, while no extra charge, were overcooked and cold. For dessert, we tried the dark chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream. The flavor was rich but unfortunately the texture was too grainy for me.

Rude and Racist bouncers Worst experience in town ever. I visited the blues Kitchen Shoreditch on 5 March 2022. I came with 9 other friends around 11 pm that evening with pre-paid tickets. The bouncers at the door required IDs, though most people in the queue didn't show their IDs and bouncers didn't stop entering. I was being compliant, and I showed my ID to your colleague. He then said I should be more polite to him next time. I was confused and asked him when had I been rude to him, then he said, "you are not getting in tonight". Your bouncers even used his left arm to block me away when I was trying to speak to my friends who had already been let in. I had a fear of imminent physical harm from them. Earlier, one of the girls in my group joked about our IDs being checked as half of the group were Asian; the bouncers insisted that it wasn't the case. However, the only people who weren't let in, my friend and I, are both of Asian descent. They accused me of trespassing "private property" while I was still outside the building and trying to get my friend to get a manager to speak to me. It was under no ground that I should be in fear of being physically assaulted. Being a 5'2 tall Asian lady and completely compliant with the ID check, I have not acted in any way impolite to your members of staff. I demanded a manager to speak to me in the evening, but of course, it did not happen. As the representatives of Blue Kitchen, your bouncers have acted in a discriminative fashion and had unnecessary physical contact with me. You may wish to look into your CCTV for investigation. I have witnesses who could testify on this occasion, I have also uploaded photo of one of our tickets (we have 10 tickets in total but 2 people weren't let in) This was my first experience at Blues Kitchen, and I cannot stress how disappointing and traumatising this experience is. Their bouncers abuse their power and act arbitrarily on who to let in. They could not give me a reason why I was not let in. None of our bags was being checked, so I also doubt if the check was done properly. I made this complaint to Blue kitchen twice and didn't receive any response so I have decided to post it here. I will also report this incident to hate crime I would have given no stars if if was possible

Two friends and I stopped in here for a drink and dinner while visiting Camden on a Tuesday evening. We were told we would have to wait to see if a table opened after 8pm (if reservations didn't show) so we sat in the bar area and had a drink. Finally at about 8:45 a table opened and we moved over to eat. We ordered an appetizer and our main courses right away. Our waiter didn't want to take our appetizer order that quickly and the guys at the table next to us actually had to tell him to take it! Our spinach dip appetizer was runny and underwhelming, but it came quickly. We ordered our food and waited for about an hour... nothing. Finally our waiter comes over and says "there's been a problem with your order, would you mind telling me what you had again?"... when pressed he said "we will give you a discount" Anyway, our food finally came. 1 burger order was wrong - the order of sweet potato fries were dry and overcooked and the watermelon salad (another order) was bitter and gross. Bruised avocado grilled and gross and soft watermelon with whole quarters of tomatoes. Sent it back and couldn't eat it and I am NOT picky. We requested the manager who basically said she'd give the waiter a good slap... Our waiter sent someone else to our table to take our payment at the end of the night. Couldn't get out of there fast enough.

*BAR SERVICE ONLY REVIEW* I was pretty impressed with the selection and variety on offer - particularly with the beers, even though I ended up just going with my old fave, Camden Pale Ale. We'd made a booking but didn't realise it was for the bar area only, which means we couldn't choose from the restaurant menu and instead had to pick from a MUCH shorter bar food menu. Quite annoying, as none of us had eaten beforehand as we all wanted to eat there, and the restaurant menu looked very appealing. However, the quesadillas I ordered were absolutely delicious and a HUGE portion, which went a little way to redeeming the choice of not being able to order from the full menu. When the music started up, the venue came alive with energy - dancing, cheering and big smiles filled the space like a perfect Friday evening, with a fantastic oldschool rock'n'roll vibe. Particularly when the band decided to jump on our table for some of their performance! The crowd seemed very friendly and staff were chatty and knowlegable about their products. They even gave our group two complimentary bottles of prosecco when they found out it was an engagement celebration!

Me: "Please can I have a Manhattan?" Bartender: "How would you like that?" Me: "Umm, in a glass?" Bartender: "Balanced?" Me: "Just put it here on the bar!" Bartender *patiently*: "Do you know what's in a Manhattan?" Me: "Yeah! Whiskey!" Bartender: "It's very strong!" Me: "I like it that way!" One delicious Manhattan and about 15 minutes later... Me: "Please can I have a Manhattan, in a glass, balanced and put here on the bar in front of me?" Bartender *with a big smile*: "Of course you can!" I love The Blues Kitchen!

I'm going to review two separate occasions, as I've been twice in relatively quick succession although be no means not the first time we'd been there. The first time we booked a table for a birthday celebration, we had some friends arriving late, but they were happy to let us wait. In the end we ordered before they arrived, mostly because they were really late! The ribs had a good bark and the BBQ sauce was good and tasty. The others enjoyed pulled pork and burgers, portions were a decent size too. When our last couple of people finally arrived, there was no problem in ordering mains for them and they also arrived quickly. No room for dessert unfortunately, but the hard milkshakes were great. Captain Morgan and salted caramel being the favourite! The second, we'd ended up there after some dessert at the Pudding Bar in Soho, both of us living fairly close to Camden Town. Not quite finished with the eve, we went there for a nightcap. Surprisingly still kicking at 11pm on a Sunday evening, it was also an open mic night, with people signing up to play guitar, bass, drums or sing as part of an impromptu group. Not all combos sang, but there was always a full backup group. Drinks went down well, and the guy in charge seemed pretty adept at putting complimentary musicians together, even stepping in as drummer when necessary. The place is loud, a little dark and has good live music and a bar to drink at before/after. For me I think it's a nice spot to meet for some drinks, although unless you book, I think walking in and expecting to find a table may be difficult.

Wow, I'm sad that so many people have had such an awful time here because tonight was wonderful. For that reason, this post might be a little long because I'm hoping to persuade you all to go back in the evenings! I walked into the bar and the live band were playing "Cry to me" (you know, the track from Dirty Dancing). That was The Blues Kitchen's "hello" and they had me. The music all evening, played by the House band, was a-maze-ing!! Let's not even begin to discuss the multiple guitar solos that were electric! We walked in at 10pm and found it to be quite busy but were still able to be seated right away by our wonderful waitress Maya. She really was so pleasant & just genuinely happy to be working there, in a none annoying way. The menu had buffalo wings and if you've ever lived in the U.S. you'll understand ones life mission to find authentic, finger staining wings here in London! U.S. ex-pats listen up, this just might be the closest to it. I did the eye test of holding a wing close to my eyes & ladies and gentleman, we had some stinging going on! The wings were spicy & had the right amount of tang to them. The blue cheese sauce is a whole different story, it was pretty disgusting. I miss Ranch sauce *sigh*. I ordered the Jerk Chicken burger, which pretty much tasted like your average grilled burger. Not sure what happened to the Jerk. The skinny fries were quite nice & the dollop of coleslaw was crunchy. My friend ordered the Steak & was quite pleased with it. I'd say the dishes were a little pricey for their quality but the atmosphere you get with your meal was worth it! Please don't be put off by the other reviews, give this place a chance. Wednesday or Sunday nights are good nights to walk in on and hear the band jam to some awesome blues and soul.

Forget Red Dog Saloon, meat mission, meat & liquor and the Diner Chain, this is by far the best American Food restaurant in London, The venue it's self is homely and cool but very quirky, the food OMG the food, hands down the best hot chicken wings I have had, bar elephant & castle in Dublin now they where good, went for the cheese burger for mains 10 out of 10 and then the cheese cake. Good job it's a Sunday and my diet starts Monday ;)

Food, service and beer were excellent. Blues Kitchen really has a great atmosphere!!! The only down side is without a reservation it will be tough to get a table on the weekend.

Place was great for drink and dinner but stay away on Friday nights. Sunday night was Optimal for quick seating.

I haven't been in the evening, so this relates purely to a meal I had one midweek lunchtime, but the food we were given was distinctly average. Lacking in flavour and very uninspiring. Friends have eaten breakfast here (ambitiously billed as the "best brunch in Camden" by a sign outside when they opened) and have been similarly unimpressed. Looks livelier in the evenings, but wouldn't particularly recommend it for lunch.

I stopped in for lunch with a couple of coworkers and we all enjoyed our meals. I went with the Korean fried chicken sandwich and though it was pretty good. Nothing about it really stood out, but it was solid overall. The chicken was fried well and it had a nice little kick to it. I will say that all the fries were like 4cm long which was a little annoying. We started with the spinach dip which was very tasty. Unlike most you'll find in the US it was essentially blended so there we no chunks of spinach or artichokes. That's not necessarily a bad thing, just interesting. Service was fine and I would come back in the future.

My last night in London, took a 20 min or so cab ride to Camden to come here for our 9pm reservation. My group had to wait a little bit due to the restaurant being very busy but it was definitely worth it. The food was amazing, the drinks were on point, and the live music was entertaining. Our waiter Bea was outstanding. She took real good care of us :) I will definitely come back next time I visit London again!

The Blues Kitchen has a lot of the ingredients for a great nightlife venue, but ends up being a slightly painful place to spend time for the simple reason it is very overcrowded. I understand why the management want as many people in as possible, but every aspect of the experience is heavily hampered by how rammed this place is allowed to get. I should begin with the good things about The Blues Kitchen though. The food is absolutely delicious. Southern inspired food means very slow BBQ'd meat which falls apart under your fork and delights the tastebuds. The portion sizes are very good too, though the prices fairly serious even for the area (£12-£15 is the average main, with a couple of options outside that range on either side). Quick Tip: I shared a three-meat BBQ with a friend (£17.50) and it was a decent-sized portion for both of us of really tasty food. Quick Tip 2: Of the three meats, the pork ribs were by far the best, though all were really nice. Another good thing: the music. I'm not even a blues fan and it sounded pretty smooth to me. And the blues crowd were absolutely loving it. Live music with appeal to the fans and the 'neutrals' alike, plus great food - should be a winning combination. So why isn't it, to the extent that I'd absolutely never go back to The Blues Kitchen? Simple: I wasn't able to enjoy the appeal of the place because it doesn't 'function' properly with the number of punters allowed in. Other than the booths where food is served The Blues Kitchen is a solid block of people for most of the night, meaning you can't really do anything. You can't get to the bar easily at all, so getting really drunk isn't an option. You can't really dance, so that kind of night is out. But because of the music and number of people it's very loud, so you can't really chat to people. And when you pack so many people in to anywhere it gets pretty hot and humid, so along with the noise it means you can't really relax. Ultimately everything becomes a bit of a chore and you can't shake the feeling you'd be having a better time somewhere else. If you are looking for a night on the tiles, then you need a venue with a bigger dancefloor. A night on the sauce needs more (and cheaper, a can of beer tops £5 here, a large glass of wine tops £10!) bar space. A night drinking and catching up with friends could be done better at home with a takeout menu and everyone bringing a bottle of something. I had a good night when I visited here recently but it felt very much despite the venue, not because of it. Maybe a weekday night would be better.

Food, Drinks & Entertainment Review: Gotta love a bit of good ole American style diner food, especially when you're out with an established couple who don't care about licking their fingers in public, whilst you're with the dude you've been in love with for a year trying to eat a burger... POLITELY. But the food is delish, which, disclaimer, makes dating hard. However, the drinks are delish too, and the music at the end will make the dude you're in love with loosen up and shake his white-boy-booty and fall in love with... well, another girl sadly, because he was drunk but... oh wait no, that's another pub. This night he did kiss me. SO yeah, thumbs up for this Camden location ! yay.

This place is AWESOME!!! I want to give them 4.5 but I can't on this app. Only deducting the half because they gave us a two hour time slot, we arrived in time and didn't delay ordering or eating but we came under some pressure after two and a half hours for not having finished. They were the slow ones not us!! That aside, the atmosphere is great, the food is fab, the servers are top #serviceisking! Will definitely go back. Make sure you are very hungry as the portions are HUGE!!

Would you like some brunch and a side of vagina with that!? Seriously, I sit down in here this morning and one of the waitresses leans over the table next to me putting her tight gusset in full view of both me and my dining buddie. Great on a Friday night out but a little stomach churning on Saturday morning with a god awful hangover. The Blues Kitchen just disappoints, I came on there opening day for "The best brunch in Camden" and was so disappointed I decided not to review it and try again when they had been going for a while. So I tried today only to receive a plate of boring hash browns, over fatty bacon and a small portion of everything. Oh and did I mention the OJ from concentrate? I paid more for a glass than I would normally do for a carton down the shop. The decor is so funny, it's like TGI Fridays for Shoreditch Twats. So disappointing from a place I had such high hopes for. It's not terrible or awful, it's just not for me, or my money. I won't be back again during the day.

I've only had great food and service at this particular Blues Kitchen. Much better quality meat than the Blues Kitchen in Shoreditch. The beef brisket and pork rib BBQ are heavenly, and their fries are fresh and well seasoned. A surprisingly amazing dish was the honey butter cornbread side dish, which had a sprinkling of chilli flakes, which combined made for a delicious mix of sweet, savory, and a hint of spicy.

Had a really decent little Saturday night out here. Can't speak for the food or table service (which is what most people seem to have a gripe about) as I arrived around 11 and ready to dance. And dance I did. Oh, man. They had great old school rock 'n' roll and rockabilly cover bands either side of a cracking 50s/60s pop DJ set. Everything from Beach Boys to Buddy Holly to girl group anthems. Lots to sing-along to and even more to hop and bop to. The place was jam-packed with what appeared to be a very laid-back clientele who were equally as pleased as myself to just be dancing and partying like it was 1959. I was surprised (and delighted) to see that the crowd was so young as well: I'm often the youngest one by a couple of decades at similar venues in the States. I'll definitely be returning for a Saturday night and am also very tempted by the weeknight offerings: free stripped-down acoustic soul nights on Wednesdays, anyone?

Love this place. More so than its sister place in Shoreditch. This is the original Blues Kitchen. And boy, is it fun. I must firstly say there is great food. Americana ribs that have themed nights (go Monday's for a cheap deal) with cool booth style sitting to match. The drinks are great though when busy at the one bar it can be a bit of a wait. But matching the food and fun vibe is the music. Classic blues, Motown and Americana soul. Really cracking late night dancing to. As well well as this they have a lot of live music which clinches it for me. It really is a great place for a birthday, to eat one evening or simply a good night out.

Amazing menu with a good selection and variety. Some very quirky dishes and the portion size is very generous. Staff on the whole are very friendly, attentive and professional. The atmosphere is lively - not a place for a quiet meal in the evening as its a bar too and gets very busy. Food does maintain its high quality during these times though, but obviously as its a bar the music is loud so it's hard to have a conversation. So not the best place for a long awaited catch up or a first date. Makes it a very good place for a drink though, or a good place to fill up and get some pre drinks before a night out. I've gone here for breakfast (served from 10am) twice in one weekend - it is that good. The pancakes are perfect, better than most places I've visited! They also have a healthy option but not one which will leave you starving, it involves a corn fritter, poached eggs, kale and avocado which is extremely tasty. There is also street parking just behind the restaurant which is handy, but remember its pay and display all week, including Sunday so check signs. Overall, I really love this place. I think prices are reasonable and the food is always good quality and tasty.

Yelpers to try this place with? ..Check! Alarms set for 6am? ..Check! Failure to wake up til 10 minutes after I should have left? ..Check! Ability to thus not look properly at directions and walk the opposite way? ..Check! So, great start to the day to check this place out, When I did groggily (I was out of cigarettes) walk in through the doors to this surprisingly large place, the first thing of notice is, well, the size. It looks like they can handle quite a crowd, so I'm curious to see what use they'll make of this! The tables are quite sizeable, able to handle the amount of seats/sofas without too much problem. There's wifi, albeit slow, friendly staff, an appealing breakfast menu, and music quite enough that I wasn't quite sure if it was actually playing or just my imagination (I like music that doesn't take over the conversational abilities of the group, but I do like it louder than impossible-to-hear!). Prices are a little higher than I'm used to for breakfast, at £7.50 for a 'Full English/American Breakfast', £4-5 for a milkshake, and.. I didn't actually look at coffee prices, silly me. Though the breakfasts come with a choice of tea or coffee (which we weren't actually offered? But judging by our bill, they included anyway). In fact, the bill looked cheaper than it should have been, but I didn't inspect it in enough detail to work out why. Will thank them rather than complain, of course! Now, Leon C, Lizzie G and I, having never had an American breakfast, decided to try this out. American style pancake, with a choice of blueberry or maple syrup, egg (you choose how you want it done), toast, hash browns, mushroom, BBQ beans and baaaaccccoooonnnn. Oh, and more butter than you can shake a loaf of bread at! They gave us, for whatever reason, a sausage instead of the beans - no complaint from me - and seemingly actually cooked some blueberries inside Leon's pancake, too. After instructions from Laura and Miriam on how to actually compile the pancake heart attack, I think we all drifted off into a little slice of heaven for a bit. I know bacon is good enough to go with, well, pretty much anything - but the mix of an american pancake, bacon and maple syrup seemed crazy! And it was! But crazy GOOOOOOD, yo! With my egg scrambled and surprisingly good, after a while of struggle, all but the hash browns and tomato went down with some ease, in spite of our little Americans telling us how un-American it all actually was. But who cares how it was? I have some fatass (and I will have one of them at this rate, too!) cravings for more of these pancakes! Seriously! Please! The coffee wasn't at all bad either, but the stars of the show for me were by far the pancake/bacon/maple syrup combination, and the oreo milkshake I had. Ohmygod. I've had oreo milkshakes in numerous venues in and around London - it's one of those things I just have to do when I see them - but I think this one actually topped them. It was a lot thicker than most of the ones I've had (which means, with oreos, constant straw removal and suckage, as well as spoon using. Mmmm, spoonage!), which is frankly how it should be. A major plus there! The only problems I had with the place was the fact it was uninspiring. With a sign above the bar stating, quite boldly, "The best breakfast in north London" (I believe that was the wording - correct me if I'm wrong Leon), I don't think I could go that far (especially being only their second day of serving breakfast). The decor of the place felt like they tried a little too much, too; With half faded/torn up posters on the wall, which just didn't really fit and was clearly (as they usually are, but this one painfully so) doctored to look that way. It's not to say that the experience wasn't enjoyable, it certainly was, but I'd need to be going there with people, rather than the kind of thing I'd head off to go to on my own (ignoring the fact I live over an hour away, of course). In fact, it's probably more the kind of place I'd put forward as a venue for brunch before a shopping trip with friends, than somewhere I'd recommend for breakfast on a remotely normal day. All in all, the place could go somewhere pretty nice with this, especially once they've been trading a while longer and fine tuned everything to perfection. I do hope it does, because I could use some excuses to conveniently end up sat here with more pancakes. And oreo milkshakes. Mm, oreo.

Second trip to Blues Kitchen, first time was the trip already reviewed by Vicky and Matt. It had it's hiccups, but I really enjoyed the food, so I'm back for round two before submitting my review. Went for lunch this time. Wasn't busy, but the service was still questionable. Asked one of the wait staff for a table for one, he responded sure and walked back to the wait station. I presumed he was looking at a seat map for reservations to determine what table to throw me at, or perhaps grabbing a menu. He talked with a colleague for a bit, then ambled back after a minute or two. ...with a receipt in hand and question in mouth: him: "so you ordered the burger, right?" me: ...um, I haven't ordered anything yet, I'm waiting for you to seat me, table of one, remember? him: "oh, yeah... um... sit wherever. ...except the big table" Same type of thing happened after being seated. He called out, I'll bring you a menu. ...it took awhile to arrive and I noticed him twice do a double take looking at my table and realizing he hadn't brought it, started to walk towards the wait station, and then somehow get distracted in the 10 feet he had to walk and forget. As for the food, less impressed than last time. I got the hot link po'boy. There was way too much mayo, so much that my first bite into the sandwich resulted in one of the links flying out of the bread like a greased pig. The chips were dry and the coleslaw (from a special recipe I'm told) was bland. On the plus side, the music and general atmosphere contributed to by other patrons was good. I probably won't come back for food for quite some time, but I think I will for the live blues purported to be had.

'All of this has happened before, and all of it will happen again...' The service? Sweet but inattentive. The food? Woefully mediocre. The space? Surprisingly large and comfortable for Camden (which is the only reason this place gets three stars).

Let's start at our default 3 stars and see where we go... * Cool vibe, nice decor. + 1 star * "Reservation for 14? What reservation for 14?" "The one you confirmed to me by email." "We don't have any reservation for 14." - 1 star * Good mojito. + 1 star * Not much mojito for £7. - 1 star * Seriously good effort at service recovery by a friendly and efficient waitress. + 1 star * Very good blackened shrimp starter, albeit portion on the small side. + 1 star * "I ordered a gumbo, everyone else has their food, where is it?" Then a 15 minute delay waiting for it to materialize. - 1 star * Flavourless and small portion of gumbo. - 1 star * And you want £20 for the food?? - 1 star A distinctly 2 star experience. It's a shame, since they're doing some things pretty well, but the management failures in handling reservations, the kitchen not coping well with large orders, and the spotty quality of the food means I'd not come back.

Nothing like a bit of good ole Blues! I had heard good things about the Kitchen, so when a uni chum asked me to met him for lunch in Camden, I suggested eating there. Was that what happened, or was he standing outside the main door when I met him, and I thought "so that's where Blue Kitchen is, why don't we eat here?" Either or, that is where we ended up! He went for the Peri Peri Chicken wrap with corn on the cob as his side, and I opted for the club sandwich with lightly spiced sweet potato wedges. I actually was indecisive, whether to have the corn or the wedges, but the waitress heard my deliberations and was super helpful, and advised that if we ordered one of each, we could share as the corn because it came in two pieces. Bonza! The food wasn't a show stopper, but it was good, and well made for what it was. The winning point for me was the staff. ALL the ladies were friendly, funny and they seemed to really enjoy their jobs, which as I'm sure you know makes such a difference, to not only the service you receive, but also to the atmosphere of the establishment. Especially on occasions like this one when the bar is far from full, but you know what, it didn't matter, we still had an enjoyable lunch.

If you are looking for great American food and amazing live Blues acts throughout the week... well, I'm afraid this is not your place. Blues Kitchen in Camden disappoints in many ways, most of which have been described in painstaking detail in previous reviews ("Would you like some brunch and a side of vagina with that!? - Lizzie, 6/3/2010). HOWEVER- this is one of the hottest places for up and coming musicians to come and jam on Sunday nights (19:00-midnight). The two hosts interchange every Sunday, and the difference that each of them brings to the quality of the jam is remarkable. The first, a loudmouthed, crazy drummer with long hair gets the crowd (both musicians and spectators) in the right mood. He also has a particular knack for choosing the right musicians to play together. (Since it's a jam, musicians are constantly rotated in and out and it's up to host to decide who plays with whom). The second host looks like he could be about 15 years old and doesn't quite pull it off. Still a good night, but not nearly as fun as when crazy drummer dude hosts. If you like the Wednesday jam at Charlotte St Blues, I would definitely recommend checking out the Blues Kitchen on Sundays. If you play the keys like me, you may need to bring your own axe as there's not always a keyboard when the drummer hosts. See you there! Daniel

I had been looking forward to this site opening ever since I heard Camden was going to get its very own blues bar. I gathered a couple of friends and we headed down for some 'Soul Food'. Now having visited America on numerous occasions I am certainly a fan of stick to your ribs cooking and I have to say Blues Kitchen didn't disappoint. My buffalo wings were a treat. My lips haven't tingled like that since my last visit to the states. The sauce was spot on. If only I could buy some to use at home. I followed with Barbeque Ribs which I have to say were huge. The ribs were pull apart tender and the BBQ sauce delicious. I didn't have room for a dessert but did help my self to a peanut butter milkshake which tasted just like a snickers which let me tell you is a very good thing. My friends enjoyed the Gumbo and the Jumbo Crab Cake. Both were huge and offered great value. The waitresses are very smiley and friendly which for Camden is a rare treat and they looked after us from start to finish. Having seen the previous two reviews I think they have certainly improved very quickly. The blues music in the background is also a winner. Timeless quality music which isn't reliant on the latest trends is certainly a much needed change on Camdens musical landscape. This place cant fail. We'll be back next week. Better hit the gym in the meantime though to work off those ribs!

Yep, three stars is about right. The food is really nothing to write home about. It'll do. Eat here with a tastecard and you'll be happy with the prices. Where this place stands out in Camden is for its live music and big open space. If you can grab a booth with some friends, get some drinks in, listen to the (hopefully) decent band and chat the night away, then you could do much worse.

Cool and funky atmosphere and good food. The booth was spacious and the four of us sat comfortably. We ordered a range of food from tuna steak, to ribs, to gumbo.. everyone loved their dish! Prices were to be expected, £10-20 per dish, but considering the huge portion sizes, definitely worth it. Would go again! But only when fueled with a huuuuge appetite

Now I wouldn't give the whole of Blues Kitchen an 'A' plus, but I would heartily recommend its buffalo wings. Also i think that you can get some good blues there if you show up at the right time. Darkness, jam music that isn't a bad Grateful Dead cover band, and real good chicken wings. yes please. Now the downside to this place is that they can't mix a decent old fashioned, although I thought it might've been a winner when I saw the setup, this is a very big indicator of real class, versus mimicked charm. And as everything does, it gets too crowded to sit and chat, or see the act. I have never been to the brunch here, or tasted the other food on offer. But when a tri-state area boy gets behind a bunch of buffalo wings, you pay attention. Either that, or my taste buds are shot, and I'll be thrown off this site much like a olden day tar-and-feather exiling starting at town hall. Still I back this place because of a signature dish done right, but qualify that with a signature drink done so-so.

Nice atmosphere when you first walk in. Came here on a friday night around 7:30pm for dinner. You should reserve a table otherwise it can be hard to sit down right away. They have a huge selection of whiskeys and bourbons and other such Amurrrican alcohols. They even have a selection titled "corn liquor", pretty novel/awesome to me. Immediately ordered a whiskey sour. Very delicious. Tried to order a pitcher of margaritas later but the waitress came back saying they don't make it in pitchers anymore and we ordered something else that was too lemonade-y and gross. Lesson learned, just order what you want no matter how much cheaper a pitcher would be. Tried to be a little healthier and ordered the chicken caesar salad. Meh. It was bland albeit fresh. Friends ordered the chili which was way yummier. And alright I ordered the onion rings too. you caught me. they were yummy. Was practically forced to get the chocolate milkshake with a shot of whiskey. okay, yum. yum and yum. Was told that the burgers were great too. All together there were only three of us eating/drinking and the bill racked up to about 100 pounds. Guess I gotta get used to that happening every once in a while. sheesh. A live band that plays regularly started around 10:30pm. You walk towards the back of the place to check em out on stage. We stayed at our table to finish the drinks. Was a little harder to talk to each other but still nice to have live music playing. Every once in a while it's nice to treat yourself to an american experience all the way out here. Your turn!

I've been here before and had bad service, also the reviews I have read are quite bad. However we had a good experience a few weeks ago. We pre booked a table on a Friday night. It was dead when we arrived about 9pm which I guess is to be expected in early Jan, but this worked to our advantage as staff were attentive and availble,and the enetertainment ie. live music was subdued to say the least which was convinient as we were mainly there for a mea, and going to a gig later on. The hot wings were amazing and the same standard as those I've had in NYC. The porions of the mains were huge too, and the waitress at our table also offered to get us cocktails. It wasn't cheap but I've been there before and knew that. For good quality american food in Camden you can't go wrong and I definitley prefer it to the diner.

I came to the Blues Kitchen for Thanksgiving dinner with a few Americans. I was little late due to the demands of the corporate world but they were good at not pressuring the others into ordering without me. The menu that night was a Thanksgiving special for a set price of £30. For that they provided a beer, a gumbo to start (a stew for people like me who had never heard of it), turkey, ham and veg for the mains and pumpkin pie for dessert. It was good value for money and I would happily eat the gumbo again and again. The best thing was the service which was very un-British and very attentive. They said that we were their favourite table for the night and gave us a tray of free whiskey shots. The normal food is American style stuff like ribs, burnt ends and burgers so I'll be back for food sometime soon!

Little gem found by coincidence exiting Morning Crescent instead of Camden to go for a walk... surprising interior, great music, friendly waitress and interesting typical American like menu.

When I was a young man, there was a weekday evening TV programme that reviewed computer games. This was back before gaming became mainstream 'popular culture' and were just the thing that little boys did after they'd graduated from Panini stickers but before they had discovered Rebecca Burley's cleavage and the intense joy of illicitly obtained cigarettes. One of the many features I remember from the show, other than the venerable Patrick Moore as the titular Gamesmaster dispensing advice on how to reach previously unachievable levels and slay end of dungeon bosses, was the hilarious Viewer Reviewer section. Each week a pasty faced young limb from the provinces would be given the first play of a new game before reporting back in the way of any normal twelve year old confronted with adults and a TV camera: "I liked this game, it was good." they'd intone nervously. "The graphics were good and the sound was, um, good". Warming to the theme, "overall this game is recommended. If you like that sort of game". Hardly Giles Coren, but then who am I to talk? The Blues Kitchen on the Camden High Road makes all the right noises, and some of the things it tries, it manages to pull off perfectly. On a Wednesday evening at 7.30pm, it's slick, reclaimed brick and artfully themed interior is packed out and booked out, so much so that we're told by the chipper and efficient front of house that there isn't a table until 9.30. We slink back across the road for another pint before being called with a cancellation. Staff are universally friendly, funky and devoid of the 'tude one might expect given the locale (and the crowds). Beers from a slim list of US crafts are pricey, but a wonderful set from house singer Katy Anderson and her band the Rumours is as deliciously well done as it is unhyped. In hindsight, I'd have opted to sit nearer, have a couple of beers and enjoy the set more. The menu is, unlike the bar, a pretty straight summary of good ol' Louisiana stylings. And the selection of burgers, fried or BBQ'ed goods and gumbo certainly fit the design theme. Like the teen reviewer of my youth though, I can't get round the fact it was all good, but 'just' good. Despite the potential to be so much better. A shared platter of sliders were fair enough, perfectly adequate support to the band and the beers, though the new house special of deep fried alligator tail fillet could have been chicken or pork given the level of cooking it had endured in it's panko crumbed prison. The mains were united in three aspects; great ingredients, cooked well but woefully underpowered with their seasoning. My St Louis pork ribs were perfectly juicy and tender, cooked perfectly over (allegedly) aromatic wood chips, but just didn't have any flavour to them. Lovely meat, but someone had totally missed the marinading stage. Cooked nude, without the thick umami kick and spice a good sauce should have brought, they were just 'nice', sadly no more than that. The same, even less forgivably, was true of the gumbo... A deep slow cooked stew of seafood, meats and spices shouldn't need to be liberally salted and peppered just to render it edible, especially when otherwise it was so well prepared. It was puzzling though maybe that's 'fine' if you're not a big fan of the duurty BBQ experience. Sadly, despite the stunning rhythm 'n' blues and the friendly staff, I can't see that I'd be back in a hurry for the food. It's a great option if you are unlucky enough to find yourself trapped in Camden of an evening and more than adequate for a night of music and drinks, but the food feels very much ancillary to that. "Overall this place is recommended. If you like that sort of thing".

I almost wish I could give different reviews for all the reasons I've come here. I guess I'll summarise it in three points: 1. The live music followed by late night dj-ing is pretty great, and people dance the night away quite easily-- it actually gets quite packed! The band does seem to come on later than advertised as some other reviews say, but that's usually not a big deal. 4.5/5 stars. 2. The food (a la carte) is pretty splendid; the portions are very worth the price and I've never left feeling anything but stuffed. They have an array of pretty splendid beers, and their hardshakes are particularly noteworthy. It can be difficult to make a booking, however, and staff can be a bit difficult to get ahold of due to the business of the venue. 4/5 stars. 3. The 10 pound rib night they have on Mondays is really spot on. You get two massive ribs and fries for a tenner, and if you book for the right time, you even get some live music! It's a pretty excellent deal. I'm not that impressed with the music they've had on these nights, but I know they have better live music on average so that's okay-- maybe I've just been unlucky and it's just not to my taste. Service has also been a bit hit and miss-- waiters are lovely when you can catch them, but a bit hard to get ahold of sometimes. 5/5 stars for the most affordable meal + music deal I've had in London. Overall, this is probably a 4.5 star review. I have yet to try something I disliked on their menu, so definitely recommend (especially the ribs)!

Industrial chic (which we all know is the new 'swanky' look in town) is plentiful with bare concrete, ye olde ceiling(e) & bar staff to match. Mellow and quiet when we arrived and stole two bar stools, then filled to happy heaving point with eaters and drinkers galore. Plus on a Sunday it's a blues jam night, so there was live music roaring while we scoffed 'wings and things' - a cavalcade of ribs, wings, chilli, pulled pork, sweet potato fries and dips whilst swigging frozen margaritas. Great vibey place for piling on calories and live music. Yum. Thumbs up! (Sticky ones)

I had a great time coz yelp is here but otherwise, Blues Kitchen, I am really sorry but you underperformed. 1) mint julep- why is not in a julep beaker? Also it was way not minty enough. And SO icy? 2) loosing our reservation. Oops. 3) ribs slathered in yummy sauce... that tasted like the steak sauce I get in IGA in canada. For $1.99. Where is the homemadeness? 4) Music too loud. Are you trying to be a bouncing bar or a restaurant? 5) Urm... you promised me live music and there wasn't. I feel upset. I feel short changed for the amount I spent there. Lucky for you the company was BRILL. (but I am not feeling charitable so still only 2 stars.)

After my first time here I would have given this place 0 stars or wouldn't even bother to write about this place, and it wasn't even the Blues Kitchen's fault... Some friends organised a party here but in the end I was there all by myself for about 2 hours when I decided I hate this place and will leave it forever! (Bad friends, not bad place I guess) Well I came back, after the World's End closed very early on Sunday night and Blues Kitchen was still open. There was some live music which was pretty cool and the people in there were really friendly and funny! My friend and me found a place to sit down very quickly and we had a good night! So this time was much better and my rating is now on OK! (Hopefully after a third visit it will be even better, I'll try the food next time for sure, it looks yummeee!!)

I came here for drinks and to listen to the live music for a going away party for a friend. who was going back to the US so we were feeling a bit nostalgic. We had a decent time here but I felt like the drinks were way watered down and this was really for 18 year olds, not people in their 30s. We ordered the mac and cheese with jalapenos (ok), and the veggie platter, which was good. I probably would only go back if i had a lot of drinks and dont mind the pushy crowds.