This is a gorgeous, quaint little family friendly, but sophisticated and adult orientated country style pub in a quiet backstreet just off Heath Street. I lived in Hampstead for 22 years and this was always my favourite pub, and the food was of a brilliant standard. In fact, when Jamie Oliver used to live next door, he came in so it can’t be bad!! The clientele are smart but friendly and there is never any trouble, at least not that I have witnessed. They have a good choice of drinks, and some interesting changes from the usual generic, predictable brands. Another lovely thing is enjoying a drink outside in the summer as the sun sets, with the cute hanging baskets making you forget the hustle and bustle of city life.

I spent 10 hours here yesterday for a birthday gathering. We booked a table for 12 people from midday onwards and stayed until 10pm.

It was fantastic. We were in the back room downstairs, which has no natural light, but still feels quite spacious and full of character. It did get a little warm during the busiest part of lunch (around 2pm) but the ceiling fans helped.

I was worried the place would get ridiculously busy and cramped but it wasn’t too bad at all. There was a great atmosphere, and even when rushed off their feet, the staff were very pleasant and friendly. They had some great real ales (although their guest ale had run out), a good wine list and plenty of non-alcoholic options for the drivers among us. (Try the apple and mango juice).

The food was pretty damn good too. The Sunday roasts were average but nothing to complain about. But I also had a baked brie with toast soldiers and cranberry jelly (delicious) and a highly recommended chocolate dessert with lovely ice cream. Perfect.

I recommend booking a table. We took along some playing cards, trivial pursuit cards and the board game ‘Articulate’ and had a great time. You don’t need to book too far in advance either. I booked on Friday afternoon and there was no problem fitting us in (around a huge oval table).

This pub is really good. Old world feel with distinctly gastro menu. Friendly service and some cracking ales. I might have given it 5 stars if it were not for the intensely loud man sat next to us who insisted on droning on about property prices for an hour. In the end we had to leave! But, if he hadn’t been there, this may have been a 5 star experience.

This is one of my favourite pubs in London. It is so cosy and cute, with lots of little wooden tables and chairs, almost like a pub out of lord of the rings or something. the staff are so friendly and always want a chat even if your not a local. unlike a lot of hamstead pubs, its not overly pretentious or snobby. i havent tried the food but it does like really good, and if its as good as everything else in the pub then it will be wonderful!

This is a top-notch pub. It’s like a country pub, but wedged in a back lane on a hill in Hampstead, just steps from the Northern Line station there.
It has several rooms of different shapes and sizes, and a lot of original wooden tables and benches. You get a good mix of ales and lagers. The food is very good here, and there’s a dining room upstairs in the evenings if you want to focus on their culinary expertise. Sunday roasts are popular here, as is the whole weekend. People often spill out onto the pavements at these times.
Easily the best traditional pub in Hampstead, and one of the nicest in North London.

This is a real Sunday pub. The Sunday roasts are amazing, if a little expensive, and I really enjoy heading here after a stroll on the Heath. It's a kind of country pub in the city, and offers a quiet and pleasant atmosphere just metres away from the main road in Hampstead.

Although pricey, this place can get inundated with students from time to time, but generally the mood never gets rowdy. The staff are pleasant and happy, and I've never encountered even a sniff of trouble in here.

The large tables in the back are good for meet-ups with friends, but there are more intimate tables in the front dining room, which are quite snug in the winter.

Like every decent London public house the Holly Bush is approximately seven hundred years old and it hasn’t changed at all since it opened, so they say. Well it surely hasn’t changed since my first visit and that was yonks ago.
The staff is friendly, there is a good beer selection, you can sit outside if you like, it’s a listed building with original gas lamps, wooden flooring, they serve a bloody good sunday roast, dark brown ceilings, open fires, reasonably priced, did I mention the word decent?Quite crowded at weekends, but what can you do.

This is a lovely traditional pub, tucked away in a tiny street, a few minutes' walk up the hill from Hampstead underground station. Cited by some as one of the best pubs in London, I'm not sure I'd go quite that far, but it is very nice, and the best pub in central Hampstead. The atmosphere is almost Dickensian: wooden floors and wood-panelled rooms sprawl away behind the bar, and it has real fires blazing in the winter. Actually starting life as a stable around 1650, the pub is a Grade-II listed building.

With a very good selection of well-kept real ales, the extensive food menu has a good reputation, and it's not too pricey for this neck of the woods. (I much prefer it to the food at the nearby Horseshoe gastro-pub, which I find pretentious). They do a nice pot of olives as a bar snack, too. At week-ends you can book ahead if you want to eat (advisable).

It can get rather busy, especially at the slightly cramped bar area. Parking nearby is very limited indeed, and although most of the pub is on the level, there are a few steps to the lavatories, and the doors to them are not wide enough for wheelchairs. The hill up from the station is also rather steep - but that adds to the Dickensian feel...