The Open Guide to London: the free London guide

Getting there: From Euston Station, turn away from the trains and walk across the left-hand side of the courtyard at the front of the station, towards the buses. The pub is on the left.

The Head of Steam is a real ale pub which appears to be doing fairly well. As a rule, at least three ales will be on at any time, and this can rise to six or more during beer festivals. They also do decent cider — just the one (a Westons) the night we were there.

Beware, though: cellarmanship can be patchy, and it's not unknown for only one in three of the beers to be worth drinking.

The pub is located on the concourse by Euston Station, near the east end of the bus station; the main body of the pub is upstairs and overlooks the bus station. About 1/3 of the pub is a non-smoking area (the raised platform at the south end). A very odd kind of background music.

Remember when ordering to ask what the code for the loo is - the toilets are downstairs, and to prevent their being used by undesirables, they are secured with a four-lever push-button combination lock.

They also do very good rates if you want to buy a barrel of beer for a party and CAMRA members get 5% off the listed price for a barrel.

Other Reviews

• Oxford Pub Guide review