The Water Rats

One of the worst pub in London.
Food is completely absent from the menu (except two cheeses) and they usually provide you packs of crisps if want something.
They don’t have a lot of beers and you can’t use cards if you order something in the part of the pub where people play music
Prices are exaggerated for the service and for the musicians that they host
Don’t go

This place appears to have been given a massive revamp since I saw it last. I had always meant to venture in as I thought it looked pretty cool, and spotted a sign above the door saying Bob Dylan had once performed there.
Alas I never visited during its original incarnation, but over the weekend called in to a venue that looks completely brand new. The front area is filled with sensible seating, everything is very clean and slick, while still seeming friendly and inviting. The cocktail menu looks really interesting, as does their new food menu.
We just stopped in for a quick drink but when I saw the menu we had to get the veggie sharing board — it was really, really good. Seriously top class for pub food. Worth checking out!

A gig venue, not really a place you can go after work we found out, as it was £4 entry to have a drink and carry our laptop bags, maybe we went on a particular busy day. There didn’t seem to be many workers in suits in there.
If you are in the area and want to see a band, I’m sure this place would be great, if you are wanting a quiet drink, probably best to go to The Queens Head.

This is a long established bar that used to be the base of the showbiz charity of the same name, I don’t think that there is any connection anymore, and it seems to be managed by one of the chains.
It basically is in need of a lot of tender loving care. It is mainly a music venue now, and this is reflected in the state of the interior and the bar and toilets which seem to take a back seat to the music.
The venue is pretty dark and the toilets need a bit of care. They serve a range of draft beers and bottles which are all priced similarly to other venues in the area. Staff are pretty indifferent. It serves a basic range of cheap food, but I have never seen anyone eat there — I noticed that it also opens for breakfast now.
For music fans who go there I’m sure that it is a great venue, however as a drinking venue it has seen better days. Its probably worth a quick trip to take in the history but probably not worth a longer stay it has seen better days.

Struggling over rating, In the end I really enjoyed myself, was a fun night, but not cos of the bar.
Pricey, small and well dressed for King’s Cross. The place looks like Frankenstein’s Penthouse, but the bar staff were nice and relaxed after a while. Sometimes you get a bad vibe from staff, as I got here, but when they realised I wasn’t there to mug anyone. great bands and a great vibe, not a big fan of the two room thing like at Nambucca and other places, where you have a bar and a stage in separate rooms, can see how that works.
The Toilets were actually in King’s Cross train station as it was a ten minute walk through the catacombs before you could find it, and thats after trying 20 different doors. Not fun when your abut to break the seal. other than that not much to say really. it was too dark.

As a music venue it’s a fine place. Or it could be…
Having a DJ — well, I say DJ, but what I mean is someone playing songs off a laptop — in the bar room at the same time as a loud rock band is playing on stage in the other room is crazy. You can see the band on stage on the TV screen so why not have the sound on as well. Having two completely different songs playing at the same time gave me a headache!
The other thing to put me off the place is the beer. The Flowers IPA tasted like cold tea. What’s the point of serving an ale if you aren’t bothered about looking after it properly so that the drinker gets what he expects and deserves. And at nearly £4 a pint I expect and deserve better than that. My friend and me simply were unable to finish it. It was THAT bad.
It was good when our friend’s band was on. Being in the live music room and seeing a fantastic band was a great pleasure. But as soon as they were finished we went to the pub across the road for a drink instead. It might have been a Greene King pub, not the best brewery by far, but it was a hundred times better than the slops being served up in the Water Rats.
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NOTE: This venue is due to re-​open soon (October 2015) under new ownership/​management. The above review should be disregarded. If the new Water Rats is markedly different, and I would expect it to be vastly improved, I will delete this review and write a new one.

The Water Rats have live music regularly — well done for that. Everything else is just a bit pants though. The beer is a bit on the flat side and expensive — about £4.00 for what’s likely to be a crap pint. And as I mentioned, lot’s of bands play here but that doesn’t mean they’re any good. Some have been good, many haven’t — it’s all just a preference really.
The live music happens in a back room, as opposed to the small bar area out front where they have a flat-​screen TV playing some music channel or other. What is quite grating is when a band is playing and they leave the TV music on too, pretty loudly. You end up hearing a tuneless amalgamation of which no rhythmic sense can be followed and just disorientates while you’re trying to maintain a conversation. Not helpful or enjoyable. Not to mention the staff pressing us to pay entry to see the bands playing last time despite making it clear we were only there for a drink. Four staff members and not a smile between them.
I’ve been in a few times and never enjoyed the pub. I’ve liked the people I’ve been here with and I’ve liked a couple of the bands I’ve come to see but I’ll always be happier going some place else.
TTFN,
Ian

Let’s start this out. I never, or rarely, give five stars.
Lay out the facts. I spent £10 to see the bands and then another 3.60 for a pint of Strongbow. Water Rats is not cheap. I’m sitting here, typing a full day later, with my ears still ringing. My head hurts from the sound and I’m flipping tired — BUT I LOVE THIS PLACE.
I hardly like all the bands late play, but this was one night where every single musician/​band was incredibly talented and obviously going to get big. Let me list them out for your watchful eye: Tom Morley, The JONS (utterly wicked), Joanna and the Wolf, and Wilder. Not a single one disappointed, and each band stayed after to talk to the crowd. I love settings that don’t create some «I’m talented» hierarchy.
The setting itself can range for an intimate groups or «free-​range» individuals. There’s a nice separation between the music venue and the rest of the pub, so naturally it’s less likely to have people spilling drinks everywhere and if you don’t feel like listening to one band, you can retreat to a quieter place. As for the music venue itself, there’s a good amount of space, spare seating and a raised platform for people in the back. IT’s a considerate venue.
On the plus side, the bathrooms are clean and ready to get tagged (I saw a few 2010 markings on the walls for The JONS). This is perhaps easily the most fun I’ve had at a gig (and I’ve been to so many since I’ve been here) and I didn’t get drunk — I remember the night so well, and I will remember it forever.

A really genuine, intimate venue with character and history.
The layout and acoustics are great for gigs.

Small music venue, but totally amazing. For seven pounds we got to see FIVE bands play and they all put on great sets. They always have the live music going, and drinks are fairly priced, too! The bar in the front is pretty big, and it shows the stage on tv screens, so you never miss a part of the show. It was awesome, and I would definitely, definitely, DEFINITALY go back!

I’ve never played here myself but I saw a friend’s band play there last night. They’d booked EIGHT bands to play, presumably to get as many people through the door as possible to watch their mates, but to squeeze in that many sets the first band had to start at 7.15pm (and not all bands got time for a soundcheck). I personally reckon this is a little bit too early for a Saturday night, especially when it’s still bright and sunny outside. Speaking of which, the room in which the bands perform was swelteringly hot.
The drinks weren’t too pricey, but after struggling to open a bottle of red wine, the (friendly) barman ended up pouring the wine from a rather conspicuous-​looking open bottle from the top shelf. To be fair he did warn me that the wine wasn’t exactly the best, but it did look distinctly dodgy.
So, a cool place to check out new music if you’re that way inclined, but don’t expect to be blown away by much else.

The Water Rats suffered from being appallingly hot when I saw Shelleyan Orphan there in, er, December 2008. Despite being pretty cold outside, the room was sweltering, to the extent that I almost passed out during the support and had to go out into the bar to sit down. The staff allowed me to take a chair in, and then it occurred to them that they might want to turn the air conditioning onwhich they did for about ten minutes, and then turned it off again. We had to nag them to turn it on permanently, after which it was much more comfortable.
Another problem is that the stage lighting features some rather cheesy moving coloured lights which frequently shine directly into the eyes of the audience and make it rather difficult to look at the stage. It’s probably better if you are nearer the back (the room has a step up to a higher level at the back of the room so there should still be a decent view from there), but I was standing just a few feet from the stage and was blinded by the intermittent yellow glare for about half of the numbers.
On the plus side, the sound system is pretty good and the bar area is quite pleasant. I would just recommend not going in the middle of summer or you may risk heatstroke

I went and saw a friend perform here. It’s a dive bar meets a dive venue. The sound was really good for the performance, but there wasn’t a lot of seating for us the just relax. You had to go outside to smoke, no patio, but everyone kind of just huddled outside together and had our own smokers area.
It would probably be interesting to see a more packed show here.

The Water Rats is a decent music venue down the road from Kings Cross Station. Entering through the front you might be mistaken for thinking that this is a regular pub but at the back is a small theatrel in which the live music events take place.
The theatre is tiny and makes for very intimate gigs. The stage is not raised much and so if you are in the middle of the crowd you might struggle to see the action which can be a little frustrating.
The pub at the front is quite handy if you are seeing a showcase event and fancy taking a break from the gig. I quite like having the option of a change of surroundings, especially if one of the artists isn’t very good in which case you have a place to escape to. The standard of performer is usually quite good. It is the kind of place where artists on the verge of breaking through appear.

One of the best small venues in town, it seems to be sorely underused these days, what with Shoreditch dominating. Nevertheless, King’s Cross is a good location.
The layout is somewhat similar to the Dublin Castle, with a bar leading on to a separate venue. The split level in the venue area helps with viewing. And the separation of the two areas means that, if the support band is useless, you can retire to the quieter room for a decent drink.

Water Rats is a small live music venue which puts on gigs every night of the week. It’s a really popular venue, mainly featuring ‘up and coming’ bands and emerging musical talent.
I went to see a friends band there and paid £5 with my name on the guest list (the doorman informed me that it’s £7 — £8 off the guest list).
The bar area is quite small and could be hard to get a seat, but people seem generally happy standing as it’s only for temporary breaks in between bands. The music room has red walls and old simple gold chandeliers whilst red curtains are draped at the back of the stage. It has a fantastically intimate feel when the bands come on, and you can really take in the music with all your senses.
It did get unbearably hot during the set and I had to leave the room to take a breather at one point. The air conditioning was finally turned on, but not until the last hour, so I suggest you prepare yourself with removable layers. The toilets were also rather stinky… I had to hold my breath going in. But if you can cope with these two minor negatives in order to have a good musical experience this place certainly puts on some good gigs.

For two full years I lived in the vicinity of King’s Cross and this famous music venue and pub, but only did I ever venture here last night for a friend’s gig. I now regret not having ventured here before. The Water Rats in divided into a pub and music venue in the back, slightly resembling the format of the Dublin Castle in Camden. The pub and the stage are the perfect size to come a see a small gig. I was also pleasantly surprised that the sound in the back was very good.
My only criticism would be perhaps to have a bit more seating available in the pub area and to lower the music. I would also say that for what it is, the Water Rats is not the cheapest pub. It does however have that clear King’s Cross grungy feel to it and if you ever get the chance to see a band that you like here, I am sure you will enjoy it.

Water Rats is an amazing place to see live music, and is a staple on the London tour scene. With a decent sized pub area at the front of the venue, it’s in the back that the sweet music is made and played.
A large stage that dominates the room is facing you as you walk into this area, with very little seating a lot of room for dancing.
You can usually pick up tickets on the door (depending of course on the popularity of the band) at the cost of around £5, beer is cheap and the place certainly has that seedy Kings Cross feel.
I saw an amazing band her once years ago who starting chanting «Toast the toaster»; it was one of the most entertaining gigs of my life! A good spit and sawdust venue to see up and coming (or down and going) bands.

A great small venue about 3 minutes walk from Kings Cross. A two room space, Water Rats often plays host to 4 — 5 bands a night, with totally different audiences going in and out of the gig room as each act finishes. One price gets you in for the whole night though.
The front room is spacious and often really busy after work as you can go in that part without paying. Crowds spill out onto the pavement and a DJ plays good pop /​indie.

I recently went here for the first time and I thought it was a really good venue. Very atmospheric and intimate, and a great chance to see bands before they escalate into other venues like 93 Ft East and The Scala.
The front bar is a great place to hang out prior to the show and they have a good variety of drinks being served.

Très bonne ambiance
Un pub qui se transforme en salle de concert le soir pour voir des groupes rock 100% british, on y trouve des photos d’Oasis à leurs débuts car d’après les adeptes de ce club c’est ici qu’Oasis a trouvé une maison de disque donc pour les adeptes Oasis est connu grâce à ce pub. C’est ouvert jusqu’à 00h c’est sympa et les soirs de concerts c’est 5 livres. Vraiment top.