The Golden Lion, which lasted about three years or so has given in to a dispute with the brewery who owns it. I wasn’t told precise details, but in a conversations with people close to the last management it seems to have been on the basis of changes in rent.
The Golden Lion was one of the nice pubs in the area, with wide and friendly deco, specialising in comedy acts for GLBT customers, but not to anybody’s exclusion. Amongst the attractions was a regular and popular Saturday gala night by cross-dressing or trans-sexual performers. Only last month the room upstairs was hired out supposedly permanently to become a Portuguese restaurant. Now the pub and the restaurant begin to collect dust.
I hope that the friendly atmosphere of the Golden Lion, whose customers rarely if ever caused anti social behaviour, will be continued by its possible next manager, and that it will not become a hang out for alcohol zombies. This means that the pub, if it is to remain open should ideally remain a theme based event, with daily performers. Most needed in our area is a venue that targets "British Asian / UK-Indian" customers. A comedy hang out specialising on comedy with at least some British Asian / UK-Indian emphasis would suit the region very well, and address an overlooked deficit at Kings Cross, but that’s my personal take on it. If , and I don’t know all the details, the brewery pushed up the rent level because of the "St Pancras Factor," the decision was certainly wrong, for as remarked in earlier postings right now we need help for Kings Cross businesses to survive, especially in the peripheral regions of Kings Cross.
Golden Lion, Kings Cross Road: Closed down.
Kings Cross Environment 
Very, very sad to see this lovely performance venue close. I saw me mate’s play on one of the Golden Lion’s “A Pie A Pint and A Play” nights – 5 quid in for the lot. The St Panc effect hits again – and it can only get worse for us lot in the Eastern Bloc, AKA the wrong side of the tracks… Help!!!
I am a bit confused. *If* the St Pancras effect is pushing up rents, the rents will only stay up if their is demand. If there *is* demand, then the area East of the stations will *not* be the wrong side of the tracks. What there will be is displacement of businesses – whether that is a good or bad thing is another debate.
Its sad to see the closure of The Golden Lion but it doesn’t surprise me in the least. I own Canal 125 on Caledonian Road. We have the same landlord as The Lion and faced closure recently too. It was down to the inflated rent that we are charged. We have been given a concession for the next few weeks while the landlord decides what to do…or lines up a new tennant and then puts our rent back up.
Many of the businesses in the area pay too much because of this ‘St Pancras factor’ but although investment in the area is high, I have not noticed an increase in business in my venue. It has in fact dropped due to increasing competition.
I think we will see more small businesses close in the next few months in King’s Cross
Hi had the best nights entertainment ever in the golden lion myself and my husband were on a trip to london and stayed at kings cross so sad to hear its closed down…………Miriam ireland