The Swimmer At The Grafton Arms

This place is also known, confusingly, as The Swimmer and ranks as one of my favourite pubs in London. Set behind Holloway Rd it's a well-kept secret and is mainly frequented by locals.
It gets absolutely rammed on some nights, Fridays particularly so, but the huge outside area is a nice spot to pack them in.
The food also rises above the usual pub grub and is great value, I'm a veggie but everyone I take there raves about the plate-sized steaks.
Good range of beers there including Czech and Belgian brands.

A local welcoming pub in a quiet neighbourhood, just a few steps away from the busy Holloway road. Friendly staff, wide selection of beers and excellent dishes/fingerfood to company your drinks.

Pub joy:
- It's warm and cosy
- They had lots of beers for Marc to try
- It has that welcoming happy-old-man-pub vibe
- It's close to the cinema, so you can pop in for a drink before you watch a film...

My little brother's friend told him to tell me that he loved this pub (it's a round-about way to find out about a pub...but meh) so I have been meaning to come here for a roast dinner for aaages.

I still didn't manage to try the roast dinners, but I'll definitely come back to drink and relax with friends.

Grafton Arms is actually known as "The Swimmer at the Grafton Arms" these days, just a heads up.

The pub is great, as it is a local, hometown place that manages to stay under the radar in the chaos of North London. It's only a ~30 minute walk from Camden, ~20 minutes from Upper Street, and right off of the ever popular Holloway Road.

The bartenders are great and the people are nice. The Swimmer is the kind of place that one does not go to unless one knows it exists. This keeps it from being the touristy O'Neil's and Whetherspoon's-eqsue pubs that one finds in Central London.

As for the food, I have never had a meal here, (I hear good things) but the bar keeps a nice stock of peanuts and crisps for purchase.

I had the pleasure of stopping by this little neighborhood gem last night with a couple of friends. Located off of the well-trodden and slightly dingy Seven Sisters road, this boozers hideaway is chock full of charm and delight. Great wine & beer selection - (we had a bottle of Malbec from Mendoza..ace!), fantastic food (gastro-style without any of the pretense and painful prices) and a lovely ambiance...no fruit machines or TVs in this place.!The pub is small and quaint with a lovely local vibe. Their cute front terrace was packed with summertime revelers when we arrived, but we found a cozy spot inside and took part in their weekly quiz which was one of the best that I've played in some time. David the quiz master is a total hoot...extra points for AWEsome mustache!

The swimmer is an awesome find! I'm glad that I stumbled across it....and i'm sure it won't be too long before i'm stumbling out of it again!

If u want 2 spend an arm & a leg come in here! Had some time to kill & on my way home from Holloway so I decided to stop here & have a drink & some food. I ordered steak with chips & salad & a pint of cider.left with a stomach ache & an empty pocket!can't say it was the best lunch I've had but yeah it was ok. Maybe it was just me and the mood I Was in because it was quite full and always is in the evenings whenever I've gone past. I guess it's a 'posh' pub for Holloway Road! It's got a large seating area outside the front which is nice. It's taped off from the pavement so it's good for dog owners (as a dog owner myself) & I brought my dog with me which was fine with the staff and he even got a bowl of water! I guess it's a nice place to go in the summer evenings for a meal and a few drinks with a few friends. I just recommend that you have a decent amount of money.

The Swimmer at the Grafton Arms is a bit of a hidden gem. Tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Holloway Road, it offers cask ales, a range of ciders and wines, and a selection of excellent food - I can certainly recommend the burgers, and the kitchen is right next to the bar, so they can actually hear you placing your order, ensuring your meal arrives minutes after you've ordered it.

Also, one of the most useful things about the Swimmer is the fact that it's just neat the Odeon on Holloway Road, making it the perfect place to duck into before seeing a film, or to go and have a post film drink to discuss what you've just gone to see.

This place isn't bad. Some people would call it a hidden gem, because of its proximity to the Holloway Road, but it being somewhere you wouldn't just find in passing. I wouldn't go that far, particularly as most good pubs round this way are off the beaten track.


This is a foodie pubI may have to use that awful word Gastro at some pointbut it doesn't fall into the trap of putting the food first. It is still a proper boozer at heart with a good jukebox and a decent selection of ales at 30-40p above the going price (perhaps to keep out the 'riff raff'). I enjoyed a couple of pints of Butcombe bitter, which was in good shape.


There is a smallish outside area, which is handy for the warmer months. When this is not available due to our wonderful weather then the pub can get a bit too packed.

A lovely little pub with heaps of character. It is best visited in summer due to its small size and outdoor seating area, but the staff make up for it in the winter by serving delicious hearty pies and chips. There is a good quiz here that happens on a Tuesday night. I wish this was my local, and almost bought a flat within walking distance largely on this basis blush

My old local (I'm still nearby and go every Friday night), is a fantastic, if not slighty expensive, pub. It's just off Holloway Road / Seven Sisters Road and is a bit of a gem given its location. Its main lager is Litovel Classic or Premium, which is a welcome change, but it has a number of other ales and beers on tap (Butcombe being a new addition).


Before the smoking ban came in to effect, there used to be a temporary, conservatory like awning outside which was brilliant for wet and wintery days, but in recent times this has been replaced with the giant umbrellas so the locals can have a fag.


The food is pricey for pub grub, but it's also of a much better standard than your usual fare. The steak is always a good cut and cooked perfectly, and they've also introduced venison and some more fish dishes.


Definitely worth the visit and probably the best pub in the area (the nearby Landseer come a close second).