King's Cross Pool Hall With 25 Tables: Hurricane Room

Hurricane Room, at 2 King's Cross Bridge, London N1 9NW, is a two-minute walk from King's Cross station and spreads 25 tables across several levels beside the Scala building. It is open every day from 10 am to 2 am. Non-members pay £3 admission and £17 an hour per table, with cues and chalk included, while members get in free and pay £14 an hour. The mix covers American pool, English pool and full-size snooker, which makes it one of the few rooms in central London where all three games share one roof.

Most London pubs with a pool table offer one small English table and a queue of coins on the rail. Hurricane Room was built the other way round. Its King's Cross club splits its 25 tables into nine American pool tables, six English pool tables and ten snooker tables, so a group can start on the smaller English tables, try the bigger American ones with their wider pockets and heavier balls, and finish on a 12-foot snooker table.

Two of the American tables are match tables, a Brunswick Gold Crown 4 and a Dynamic, the kind of equipment used in tournament play. The club adds a surcharge for its American match tables and its snooker tables fitted with AI scoring, which track the score automatically; the amount is shown when you book rather than on the price list.

If you have only played in pubs, the difference is worth knowing before you choose a table. English pool uses red and yellow balls on a smaller table with tight pockets, while American pool uses numbered solids and stripes on a bigger table where the cue ball travels further. Snooker, played with 15 reds and six colours on a 12-foot table that dwarfs a seven-foot pub table, is a different discipline again, and an hour is rarely enough to finish a full frame as a beginner.

The Hurricane Room brand says it has been established since 1985, and it now runs two London clubs, here and at Colindale on Edgware Road. Membership works at both. The King's Cross site is the city-centre branch, and its snooker league has been running since September 2021, passing 20 seasons since then.

The location says a lot about the club's audience. King's Cross is a commuter crossroads, and the club pitches itself at people who want a proper game near a mainline station: office groups after work, students from the nearby universities and travellers killing time before a late train north.

Table prices are charged per table per hour, not per player, and include cues and chalk. Guests pay £17 an hour and £3 each to get in; members pay £14 an hour with free entry. Student and senior members pay £12 an hour before 6 pm, which is the cheapest way to play here.

The club's own worked example is useful: one table for two hours with four guests comes to £46, which is £34 of table time plus £12 of admission. Split four ways, that is £11.50 each for two hours of pool, cheaper than a round of drinks in most King's Cross bars.

Membership costs £35 a year, or £17.50 for students and over-65s with ID, and early renewal costs £25. Membership also includes admission after 11 pm. Anyone joining should bring ID on their first visit. A 2026 promotion offered three hours of play for the price of two, so it pays to look at the offers page when booking a long session.

Under-18s are welcome until 7 pm with an adult, and after that the club is adults only. That makes Saturday mornings the family slot: from 10 am to 1 pm the Saturday Juniors Club runs for ages 6 to 17, coached by John Woods, a good way for a young player to learn snooker properly rather than picking up bad habits at home.

Tables can be booked online or through Hurricane Room's iOS and Android apps, and booking ahead is sensible on Friday and Saturday evenings when office groups arrive. Members can rent a cue locker, and the club runs leagues and coaching sessions for players who want to improve. Payment for tables is per hour of play, so ending a session early saves money.

The bar and lounge are air-conditioned, and the kitchen serves food from Pizza Union and Honest Burger, two London chains that suit eating between frames. A digital jukebox handles the music, and 11 large screens carry Sky and BT Sport, as the club lists them, so on a big football night the club doubles as a sports bar with tables.

That combination is the real appeal for a group outing: someone who does not want to play can still watch the match with a burger, while the rest of the group plays on the floor above or below.

The Scala, the former cinema and music venue next door, is the landmark that tells you you are in the right place. From there it is a short walk to St Pancras International, whose restored Victorian train shed is worth a look even if you are not catching a Eurostar, and to the British Library on Euston Road.

North of the station, Granary Square and Coal Drops Yard have turned the old railway goods yards into a district of restaurants, shops and fountains along Regent's Canal. A walk up there before a game, or for dinner after, turns an evening of pool into a proper night out in King's Cross.

Hurricane Room King's Cross, 2 King's Cross Bridge, London N1 9NW, beside the Scala. Open daily from 10 am to 2 am. Two minutes from King's Cross St Pancras station. Guests £17 per table per hour plus £3 admission; members £14 an hour with free entry. 9 American pool tables, 6 English pool tables and 10 snooker tables. Under-18s with an adult until 7 pm. The club takes enquiries through the contact form on hurricaneroom.co.uk.