EBG Rating: 7.6/10

Choice/Quality of Drinks:
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Beer focus. 15 taps with an array of styles that will fit most tastes, ever changing. These include cask lines, always a rarity around Europe, so don’t miss out.

Style/Décor:
❤️❤️❤️
Based on a corner, with a layout that follows the lines of the building. Seating, in an L shape around the bar. A mixture of normal furniture and high tables/chairs. Some exposed brickwork around the bar.

Atmosphere/Character:
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Lively, particularly when sport is going on live, and the evening opening ensures a tempo.

Amenities/Events:
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Food, snacks, Live TV, takeaway, limited outdoor seating.

Value For Money:
❤️❤️❤️
All-in-all, reasonable value considering the quality of wares available.

Description:
Beer bars tend to be the refuge for Italians who want to escape the social climbing of wine/aperitivo spots and need a break from the homespun family-oriented Osterias too. Here is a casual spot to taste a great beer and hang out with your mates.

Having visited, it comes as no surprise to read the bar was inspired by the owner’s visit to the UK. It has that sort of simple, direct set up. Go and get what you want, find a table.

They have truly committed to the beer offering as well, 15 taps with an array of styles that will fit most tastes, ever changing. This makes it just as worthy as the better marketed and slightly overrated Lambiczoon. These include cask lines, always a rarity around Europe, so don’t miss out.

Oddly, the passion also extends to Napoleon Bonaparte, which is where the pub gets its name from, after a Belgian tavern where both Napoleon and Wellington’s troops stayed before, then after the battle of Waterloo.

At its worst it can be brash, service can be middling, but that is normally not the case, and those seeking a good beer and local life can’t miss this place out.

(Added May 2025)