Heverlee 0623
Heverlee 0623

About us

The Boot looks from the outside like a pretty standard Irish tavern, complete with Irish tricolour hanging from the front. Inside, there's an obvious Irish feel, but unlike some pubs of this type, which can be intimidating to all but the most Celtic of Celts, The Boot is welcoming to a fault.

The bright interior includes pool, darts, sport on TV and a jukebox and yet don't write this off as a sports pub. They have live music, 'homemade' food on the menu and friendly bar staff. The clientele is mixed, and on our visit included a man with a booming Yorkshire voice so like Mick McCarthy it took three or four double-takes to be sure it wasn't him.

The pub is decorated with all manner of unlikely objects, from tea boxes to matchboxes to curious brass pots. It was named in the Top 50 best pubs in the 2008 Rough Pub Guide, which is commemorated in a plaque on the wall that includes a still from Carry On at Your Convenience. Kenneth Williams, who grew up in the streets hereabouts, was a notable customer.

There's nothing spectacular about the drinks on offer, fairly standard beers and wines. The Guinness is well kept, as you might expect.

A pub has stood on this site since 1724, and was mentioned as a house of interesting repute in Charles Dickens' Barnaby Rudge — indeed, we visited a few years back on our Charles Dickens pub crawl. Outside of fiction, The Boot was the headquarters of the anti-Catholic Gordon rioters of 1780, a disturbance that led to widespread turmoil in England and demonstrated the problems faced by not having a professional police force in the country.

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Facilities

Family friendlyFoodOutside areaReal aleSmoking areaCricketFootballRugbyTerrestrial TV

Pub reviews

Reviews

4.3/5

James McArthur

4 months ago

Lovely friendly pub for a game of darts, with a great music selection to go with it. A true gem to find a proper pub still in London. Would recommend and will definitely return!

Armadillo Best

4 months ago

A really nice pub in Central London, that has a nice Irish / New York style. Also is good that this pub plays 80s music, has pool & dartsa and accepts both cash & card payments.... Btw this is what I call a real pub... 💯🎱🎯

Aiden Lynch

4 months ago

It’s a pub….. nothing more nothing less. Guinness was good. The service was friendly- for a pint it will do. Negative- the smell of bleach was overwhelming throughout the whole pub. It was so strong it became overwhelming.

Jason Chinnian “Jay Cee” There Was A Time Productions

5 months ago

Just popped in for a pint, [less than a fiver!] and to watch some Champions League football. It was a relaxed student atmosphere, and they had a good selection of beers. It's an ideal spot for a relatively quiet beer when wanting to watch the football. Highly recommended if that's the vibe that you're after and I'll pop in again next time I'm down in the big smoke 👍🏾

Sam Saltwell

5 years ago

A proper old fashioned Irish pub, hidden away just a stone’s throw from King’s Cross Station in the heart of London. Friendly service, quality music and reasonable prices. Like all proper pubs they have both a pool table and a dart board. This is exactly the kind of classic independent pub we are losing across zone 1 London and really needs our support, so drop by and grab a pint. If you found my review or photos helpful, or even just if you want to support this pub, give me a thumbs up 👍🏼 Thanks!

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Opening Times

Mon11:00 – 23:00
Tue11:00 – 23:00
Wed11:00 – 23:00
Thur11:00 – 23:00
Fri11:00 – 23:00
Sat11:00 – 23:00
Sun12:00 – 22:30
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Heverlee 0623
Heverlee 0623