Lock Tavern, London

McMullen's MD Heydon Mizon has announced the acquisition of this pub. Knowing McMullen's preferences there is a good chance they have acquired the freehold. Hopefully some cask beer will now appear. From Beer Writer Will Hawkes, "run until recently by the East London Pub Company, which went belly-up last year - 2023).

East London Pub Co has taken on Camden live music venue The Lock Tavern for its fourth site. The company said the pub in Chalk Farm Road would have “a full schedule of live music and DJs on a weekly basis”. It will invest more than £500,000 into the restoration of the venue, which will take place over six months and aim to “[preserve] the original atmosphere, much-loved aesthetics and traditional interiors”. It will also introduce a new bar, roof terrace and rear garden. Bradley Lomas, who leads the company with Patrick Frawley, told the Evening Standard: “The Lock Tavern has a fantastic history and we are looking forward to breathing new life into this Camden institution and honouring its musical heritage. The pub has been around for decades and host to some of the UK’s best up-and-coming and established talent, which is why we want to ensure music remains at the heart of this venue.” The pub will close briefly on Wednesday, 29 August and reopen two days later. East London Pub Co, which was founded in 2014, also operates the Ten Bells and The Gun, both in Spitalfields, and Edgeley Road in Clapham.

There is a consistency in this pub not being particularly close to the Lock as it wasn't particularly close to the railway, its previous name! It is opposite the Stables market and has two drinking areas, one on the ground floor, where a long bar stretches along the right-hand wall, and one on the roof overlooking the road. Attracts in the main the 21-35 age group with some pre-clubbers at nights and an assortment of tourists attracted by the local tattooists and piercing establishments in Stables market. Food is served lunchtimes and evenings with Sunday roasts. Roughly midway between Camden Town and Chalk Farm tubes, not far from the Roundhouse.