CITIZENS

020 7738 2348
October 2015
Young Chelsea
Kensington, Chelsea & Westminster Today 27
online: www.KCWToday.co.uk
The Blues
Kitchen
By Max Feldman
Whilst sitting at (or leaning
drunkenly on) the bar in
Camden Town’s The Blues
Kitchen, it’s possible to feel that you’ve
somehow fallen into the Louisiana
bayou. The walls are strewn with torn
and faded posters of blues legends, whilst
the lighting is as low and smoky as you’d
expect from a place whose foundations
are rooted in whiskey. Throughout the
day a mutant selection of blues, early
rock n’ roll and soul is a constant pulse
through the bar’s cavernous interior,
before live bands and DJ’s take over
after 9pm. Theme bar/restaurants can
often feel tacky and artificial, but the
artistically weathered interior and the
sheer staggering variety of alcohol on
offer more than balances any potential
misgivings (considering the strength
of most of the bourbon, it does its fair
share of unbalancing as well). Even those
of the most cynical persuasion might
find themselves loosening up when
sipping their second zombie from a glass
pineapple. As most cocktails are under
the £8.00 range, it’s hard not wish more
drinks couldn’t be served in crystalline
People you are
guaranteed to
meet at Freshers’
By Rosie Quigley
Student nights during Freshers’ week
may not seem worth it the morning
after but they’re every student’s right
fruit.
In addition to drowning you in
whiskey the Kitchen also has a large
dining area in the front, with a focus
on American cuisine. Whilst this does
include the expected massive burgers
for which the American continent has
become (in)famous, the menu also
ranges into much more unusual territory,
offering everything from cornbread and
Buffalo wings, to gumbo and pan fried
of passage. Getting riotously tanked is
promoted by members of your students’
union who excitedly dole out neon
wristbands and flyers to ‘Your Mum’s
House’ events. Next thing you know
you’re doing shots with your friends
who you met just hours ago. One thing
leads to another and you find yourself
professing your love to a traffic cone.
The rest is a sambuca-scented haze
and all you have to remember the
night by is the foul kebab taste in your
catfish. The food is reliably smoky and
fans of slightly spicy southern flavour
should feel at home. Whilst a bit pricey
for bar food with most mains averaging
somewhere around £10.00, many of
the small touches like cutlery being
presented in 50’s style condiment tins
adds charm. From around 8pm onwards
it becomes increasingly difficult to find
a table however, and those not booking
would do well to arrive early. Due to
mouth. Cue a week-long
hangover. It’s as though
no one actually wants
you to attend the lectures
that you’ve essentially
paid thousands of pounds
for. Anyway, whichever
university you’re studying
at, here are some people
whom you are guaranteed
to meet during Freshers’.
The Mature Student
He looks as though he
should be at a parentteacher
meeting or playing
golf to escape his midlife
crisis. Instead, he’s
swigging on a WKD and
fist pumping to Taylor
Swift. But you can’t help
but admire this guy’s
spirit and silently register
his unflappable energy as a definite
#LifeGoal.
Homesick Helen
While everyone is enjoying the
hedonistic delights of their first taste of
freedom, this person is gazing forlornly
into her vodka and coke, and texting her
mum. You can bet your student loan that
she has a special comfort ‘blanky’ in her
dorm room.
The Secret Freak
the bar’s shuttered windows and moody
lighting (and inexpensive cocktails),
it is incredibly easy to lose all track of
time, which can be either good or bad,
depending largely on whether you have
to get up early the next morning.
One of the main draws that
distinguishes the bar from its
competitors in Camden and beyond,
is that at 9.45 every night the stage
overlooking the mid-sized dance floor
is occupied by a revolving door of live
acts. Genres wind through rock’n’roll,
country, blues, soul depending on the
night in question, but people whose
tastes leave them stranded in the era
of dubstep and Miley Cyrus will find
plenty to enjoy. Whilst there is generally
a fee on the door for live music nights,
simply arriving before 9pm guarantees
free entry so it’s easily dodged. Most
nights attract a late 20’s crowd rather
than the beards and ponytails that blues
bars can sometimes attract. The Blues
Kitchen’s atmosphere of dim lights, hard
tunes, cheap spirits and stuffed alligators
engenders a cool blues oasis in an area
over populated with bars that are trying
too hard or not trying at all. For those
with a love of whiskey, retro music and a
mythological view of America’s past will
find little to give them the blues.
Blues Kitchen
111-113 Camden High Street, London,
NW1 7JN T: 020 7387 5277
You met them earlier when there
was an absence of vodka and they were
lovely and wholesome. But as the night
progresses this person has snogged half
the university and is, drink by drink,
launching their sexual awakening.
The Lad
The Lad is always prepared with top
notch banter and a plethora of padded
gilets. This bantersaurus rex is as cheeky
as they come and is always up for a
‘messy’ night out. He can usually be
found pursuing very ‘naughty’ antics.
He’s also listed his Fifa ‘15 personal best
as a skill on LinkedIN.
Nutty Nigel
You’re pretty sure that this guy hasn’t
slept or eaten since Monday, and it’s
now Friday and he’s an unsettling
shade of grey. He subsists on a diet of
grated cheese from the bag, Fosters,
and whichever tablets he can score.
Most probably wearing a bucket hat.
Approach with caution.
University is one of the most broadening
experiences of your life and you will
meet many strange people along the way.
You may even befriend a few of these
weirdos and enjoy cheap beer together in
a sub-temperate student house one day.
So embrace the weirdness of the journey
you’re about to embark upon; it doesn’t
last forever!
Photograph © Frank Caird Photograph © Blues Kitchen