The Institute Bar in Camden

Perfect spot for cheap drinks and food. Deals on cocktails (£12 for 2), pint and a pizza (vegan available) for around £12. Lovely outdoor terrace. Only 20mins walk to Kings Cross. Free water at the bar and free water fountain near toilets.

Good drinks, however, said that closing at 00:00 but I could not go pee at 23:50... not really considerate, I was a paying a costumer

Aggressive people trying to start fights in the line allowed in as friends with new security who was also aggressive and rude! As staff at UCL, we go to IOE often. We’ve never had issues before but it seems a new security guy has changed that. As we were waiting in line, an older man started an argument with one of our colleagues and was being rude for no reason. We told him to go infront of us with his partner as we were a big group and wanted no problems. He went to the front, told his friend (the security guy) to let him in because HE felt unsafe. He was then let in and he stood at the top, yelling down at us for no reason (again). The security did nothing. One of our colleagues was talking to another security guard about how we are happy to wait until we can all get in (there were 10/12 of us) but was rudely interrupted by the security guard (with the aggressive friend) telling our colleague not to talk, he wants to talk to the other security guard now. He was extremely unprofessional, rude and was allowing his friend to be aggressive towards us. We decided to leave because we did not want to spend money at a bar with staff like this. As a student bar, it should take extra care of students and staff to ensure we feel safe. We definitely did not in this case.

Staff was terrible; messed up with drinks and once I complained, I was kicked out by security… absolutely terrible experience and reflection on UCL employees abusing power.

Best of the newly refurbished UCL student bars. Pint for a £3.50 in 2024 is a steal! If you don't have your student card on you and need to avoid the IOE turnstiles, you can enter through the terrace facing SOAS. They do lovely pizzas as well.

My night was made by vrinda and her expert bartending, great knowledge of cocktails, and overall unbridled enthusiasm for alcoholic drinks

Don't go there. Some bouncers who just started their job might take you badly and hit you. Very not gender friendly. Stay away from the dwarf bouncer and you'll be fine.

Excellent vibe and great place for a chilled after work drink - possibly the cheapest pint in London! Recently refurbished so a lovely place to drink. Possibly the only place in London you can still get a pint for under £4

Great atmosphere, good student deals, always vibey and quite busy but never too long of a wait.

Highly recommended. Large Terrace. Pool tables . Plenty of seating. Low prices. Excellent quality customer service. 👌

Great uni with cheap drinks and a fun atmosphere!

They were so great! My mom and I have birthdays a week apart, so for her day we booked a table here.

They need to chill, got told off for breathing practically.

Sooo cheap, but very studenty (obviously) sometimes the bouncers are a bit rude so watch out what you say

Cheap drinks great for students

Food was great, but I could’ve used your g&t to water my Aloe Vera instead.

Can be a little overcrowded with limited seats as well as food menu. However nice atmosphere, reasonable prices and friendly staff. Just wish they had more indoor seats.

New comment: This used to be my favourite UCL bar for a number of reasons, but I have changed my rating from 5 to 1 star for the following reasons: 1. The regular bouncer does not have a friendly face, but he is really nice (bearded, wears glasses). He is quite efficient on keeping the place safe, which ultimately is his main job. The other bouncers (which I won't describe) are not friendly, they are rude, uneducated and abuse their position. 2. Half of the bar staff is great (particularly women). They are quick, kind and educated. There are (at least) two guys (which I won't describe) who are terrible and ruin the collective effort of the other bar employees. The last time I visited (7/10/22 8:30pm) the two guys at the pizza end of the bar were doing everything but serving the crowds: one of them talking on the phone while ignoring customers, plus being super rude when I asked him for service. The other one was a bit off, disappeared for almost 10 mins in the kitchen only to come back with free drinks for his friends who were not queuing at all. Later, he would serve everyone around me and was actively ignoring me. When I finally was able to order (perhaps 25 mins into queuing), he was not happy that I ordered 4 jars of beer for my Society. 3.The prices are higher than in other UCL bars. I am guessing this is to keep the bars equilibrated, but still it feels like the service is too bad for these prices (in contrast with the other bars). I understand that the bar is operated mainly by students and that finding employees is hard, but this bar is quickly decaying from the friendly and safe space for students to an aggressive environment. Also, employees should not be allowed to work under the influence of alcohol/drugs. This is a disaster waiting to happen. This bar needs to change its working system to something that can be easily monitored: organised queues, online ordering and real managerial supervision. Old comment: Great student pub. Probably the best in the area.

The largest student bar in the uk great atmosphere

Worst customer service. I was waiting in the bar for ages and the bar staff were serving drinks to people who got there after me. Terrible experience, you’re better off going to any other place

I love this place for its great priced drinks and food but seriously the bouncer is on some kind of power trip. Me and my friend both in our late 20s and unfortunately do indeed look it were turned away at the door without IDs around 7pm. He refused to look at any suplementary ID aka student ID or digital versions. Stating "he would do the same with a 45year old." I mean really how ridiculous! Since when was "challenge 45" a common mantra? It just seems a completely overtop/ inflexible view to take for any bar/ let alone a student bar.

Great as always for catch up with friends.

Good place But the timetable is wrong New: Monday-Wednesday: 21:30close Thursday-Friday: 10:30close

Totally in love with this place. It's close to my office, it's very cheap, and the crowd is vibrant (mostly UCL students). They have some pizza options and they serve blue moon, which is hard to find in your average pub. I like it ok a Friday after work, where everyone is enjoying their time and the music is great. I must admit, it can be a great place to work too, particularly if you go right after they open their doors. It's quite and they have spacious tables. The staff is friendly but the place can get very crowded and then things get messy. They limit the number of people when it gets populated, so don't get there too late.

It's cheap. Watch out for the unfriendly bouncer though!

Great bar for casual drinks with friends, and their pizzas are really good! It's a university bar, but don't let that discourage you as the atmosphere is very friendly and it seems to be mostly visited by postgraduate students or university staff. They also have some space outside and a couple of pool tables.

Great atmosphere, great prices, friendly bar staff, delicious pizzas

Nice chilled vibes and reasonably priced drinks.

Drunk for a fiver. Dead drunk for a tenner. Clean straw to lie on.

Awesome student prices, but absolutely swarmed by university and non-university patrons during peak hours, which is hard to overstate. Seating quickly gets snapped up and the area around the bar is in need of more space given the popularity of the venue. Outside terrace in need of some portable heaters, or perhaps attendees need better winter clothing; or both! The music selection is invariably very cheesy dad-rock and eighties hits, if that's your bag. For me it's tiresome to hear after the third visit or so! Possibly a way of saving on music licensing?

Had fun there, and the people are very welcoming

The alcohols and especially beers are cheap in there.

Took over 40 minutes to serve me and my boyfriend, kept serving everyone around us but not us. Then when we went to pick up the pizza it was put under the beer taps which leaked onto the pizza.

Cheap and cheerful! Seriously, the price for drinks are perfect for student living💫

Great, lively, cheap! Whats not to like.

Best and cheapest pints in London

Cheap drinks and food and surprisingly good quality

excellent prices weird bouncers

Better than my student bar I'll tell you that much

This is a beautiful bar. The space both in and out is huge. There's generally good service here except, during the pandemic, if you don't have a smartphone, don't even bother because they will not serve you as everything is online. That said, once you manage to successfully place your order, The service is quite fast. They have got a great selection of beers including Brewdog on the tap which isn't very common in London pubs

Simple, easy and cheap drinks. Nice and quiet.

Terrible experience. Staff are rude and discriminated against me. Worst of all, they are aggressive and I left having being pushed for asking what his problem with me was. Do not go to this bar.

Nice pizza and good pizza&drinks deal!

That was tricky bruh 0.5+0.5=1 OMG

cheapest drinks in the area. nice student vibe and there are two pool tables

Chilled bar with good prices. Outside areas

Nice atmosphere and cheap drinks 🍺

Cheap bar, nice drinks, great for students! They have 2 pool tables there :)

Great area but security was extra rude because I brought my own can. He came to all of us, pointed on me with the finger and said to all my friends, that if i do it again, then we will all need to leave. He toke my full can from me. Not sure, if he is legally allowed to do it.

Great bar. Lovely vibe. Good price and the lighting is nice

Can get quite busy on the weekends but the prices can't be beat! Very spacious and love the outdoor terrace!

Relaxed environment and cheap drinks!

The best of UCL's student bars. Your shoes don't stick to the floor, and a pint is still pretty cheap. All in all a winner.

Good prices. Nice beer selection, I may have to pop in today after work.

Nice beer selection and good prices

Friendly staff at UCL bar without the rediculous london prices. Good selection of drinks for. Student bar. Nice outside area.

Good, chilled vibes. Drinks are dirt cheap too

Great place for graduate students in London

Excellent students bar friendly place!

Cheap student bar. Looks like the inside of a leisure centre. Cheap though.

Great staff and security. Good music and cheap bar. Two pool tables and foosball