please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Restaurant, but as it is listed in Camra guide to best bars in LDN, I thought i would check it out.
Glad I did, as I discovered for the first time, London Session Bitter by the London Brewing Factory. Fine pint.
Food is good, but expensive.
Photos on my walking blog - http://bit.ly/21Jz75P
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A non-handlers den
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I used to come to this pub quite regularly but haven't been for a while so was eager to see how it had changed. It is still a good lively pub but after ordering 2 bottles of Sierra Nevada I got the bill - �4.60 for a bottle is absolutely ridiculous! A pint is a pricey �5 at other pubs but at least it's a full pint. When I asked the guy who served me how can they charge that much (even in Waitrose it's only �1.80 a bottle) he told me 'We've got such a cool pub so we can charge those prices'
Shocking
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Not really a pub. Food is good but jesus, you pay for it. Agree with sidneyh about the clientele - straight out of a Boden catalogue or just back from a gap yah. Staff mixed - some nice, some think they're too cool to serve. Drinks pricey to match the grub but ale was in good condition. Come for dinner (if someone else is paying) but for a proper pub head down the hill to the Southampton Arms, if there's room.
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full of porky middle aged suburbanites, pink socks and brown suede loafers. nice pub, shame about the clientele. Anyone local, as they say? No, thought not.
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The Bull and Last succeeds brilliantly as a restaurant with really interesting ingredients and high quality preparation. It's always full although as far as I know the recession isn't over yet. But I agree that it's not the best pub qua pub in the area - even as a gastropub. I went in at 10.30 the other night hoping for a pint and a scotch egg but because the kitchen was closed they had no bar snacks. Still, this is where I would book for a really memorable meal out at a reasonable price for the quality. The rest of the time I can be found in the Southampton Arms....
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I visited on a Friday night. There were two ales on: Mad Goose and Hooky Bitter, both in very good condition, �3.50 per pint. Pay attention to the prices on the wine list as the glass price rises steeply. It's a very food oriented pub: most tables downstairs are set for dining and only a couple of tables and some bar stools remain for non-diners. There's another dining room upstairs. Reasonable range of malts and bourbons.
I didn't think the food was particularly over-priced, and it was certainly good stuff! We had three starters: trotter wontons; crispy pigs' ears; duck hearts on toast. All three were very tasty and between �5 and �6.50, which I thought was OK given the quality. For main courses we had wood pigeon and beef bourguignon (�15), both very good. Service was good at bar and table.
It's more restaurant than pub, and not the best choice if you just want to drink, but if you want good grub with a nice pint, it fits the bill.
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Very gasto-orientated with good - though overpriced - food.
Decent atmosphere makes for a welcome retreat after a walk on Hampstead Heath.
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Ridiculously overpriced food (don't they know we're coming out of a recession?) and highly expensive drinks. New beer on tap at �4.20 a pint. Food looks great but seriously nothing to write home about. Staff not very friendly and always looking stressed. Male Management Ok, the lady not friendly at all (wouldn't hurt to smile). Waiting time for drinks takes forever as the staff seem to want to get food out (without any smiles or flavour to the food).
Southampton Arms, The Vine, Grand Union or Dartmouth Arms just 5 minutes walk away. Recommended to go there is you want a decent "beer (or food) in the evening"......
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Gastro pub.
Overpriced.
Three ales from regional brewers.
Gets crowded and cramped.
Southampton's better.
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�3.50 for a choice of Young's Gold (too warm) or Black Sheep. The "get it everywhere these days" Doombar and Hookey Bitter clips were turned around. Addlestones Cider as well.
Ok bur wouldn't rush back. Bar snacks (scotch eggs etc) looked ludicrouslty priced to me - but I'm not a Hampstead person!
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Went for a dinner with a large group of people this past weekend. Overall the place looks nice and the food is decent but the service lets it down. The bar and wait staff are a pretty spaced out bunch, they dont seem capable of carrying more than two plates at a time in the upstairs dinning room. This is not great when you have to serve a table of 16 people as half the dinners have finished eating by the time the other half get served. One highlight of the night had to be when the barman thought it necessary to inspect a fiver for signs of counterfitting in front of a customer, even asking the manager to have a look. Another annoyance is the large sign outdoors telling punters they cannot drink around one of the corners of the pub and the glares I got from staff while standing there smoking will haunt me for the rest of my life.
Walk a few minutes down the road and you'll find better more welcoming pubs with staff old enough to have full driving permits and maybe even the ability to tell a good fiver from a bad.
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The scotch eggs and sausage rolls are truly amazing, not only this but this pub can back up its great food with a good selection of well-kept beer, with one rotating pump. Great taxidermy and a beautiful framed map, nice big windows let in plenty of light.
My only critiscism is the reservation system here, on trying to reserve a table over the phone one sunday I was told it was not necessary, but on turning up found most of the tabels in the bar area had reservation notices. So we just waited for one of the centre tables to come free. Have turned up that bit earlier ever since and have had little trouble being seated, although the weekends are ALWAYS very busy.
If you can get seated the food is brilliant, if not, you can stand and enjoy a great pint.
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I lived one street away for 5 years and there isn't a worse pub in the area! Just go around the corner to the dartmouth arms where the beer, food and staff are decent.
On one occasion, the bar staff asked us to move tables (to the one right next to the loos) because their mates were a bit chilly sitting by the door. We were offered a scotch egg to make up for it?!!
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Looks great, but lord save us from pretty boys & girls waxing lyrical about scotch eggs.
Serve me a pint will you?
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This is now a restaurant, not a pub. It does serve a fair range of beers but you can tell by all the cutlery and glasses set out on the tables what this place is all about - just 3 small tables in the centre of the bar are left free for drinking, and they're always taken up. Consequently the bar often gets congested too. I know there's an upstairs room there and if they turned that into a dining area - which I thought they were going to - and left the bar for drinking, it would be much better (though I suspect they wouldn't agree).
As you might guess it isn't cheap but compared to the prices charged by similar places round this area, nor is it the most expensive these days (I'm talking beer here only). But the main thing I really dislike about the Bull is the overwhelming air of smugness that permeates the place now - it was never like this before the present owners took it on. I wouldn't call the staff rude but neither would I say they are friendly - 'businesslike and aloof' is how they come across to me.
I can't comment about the food from my own experience, but my partner and her friend ate their a couple of months ago and were thoroughly underwhelmed by the whole experience. They said they'd rather go to any of the other similar establishments in the area, for the food, service and ambience - and I can think of 6 within a 10 minute walk of the Bull. I have to agree that for a drink, I'd rather go to any of the others as well.
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We attended on quiz night (Sundays from about 7.30pm): the pub was very busy, unpleasantly so when we walked in at about 7.10pm and found people queueing two or three deep at the bar. Things calmed down somewhat but the pub was still pretty crammed - I think the number of tables they have crammed in is a bit over-ambitious.
The food was very good, albeit at gastropub prices, the highlight perhaps being a very decent cheeseboard from Neal's Yard. Ale-wise there were five handpumps, three dispensing ale: I had a pint of the Hook Norton Gold and it was pretty good. They also had another Hook Norton ale and one other which I forget (Adnams maybe?) Service was good and friendly, and the table service for food was appreciated given how busy the place was. The atmosphere was good, although rather north London-y; the interior of the pub is nice with a splendid large map of London on the back wall. The quiz was fun too.
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I have eaten in here several times since it has reopened - the food is great. Slight victim of its own success, you now have to book a table for an evening meal on busy nights (though I think they do hold back a few small tables). Much better on a week day lunch time. Friendly staff too. But if i'm not eating I'd rather a pint at the Dartmouth Arms round the corner.
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Went off this place for a bit but its growing on me again, looks lovely. Must get around to eating here sometime, the food looks nice. Good to see the ales back on form too. Well done guys.
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The Bull & Last has just re-opened after a major refurbishment. A reasonable range of real ales including Hooky Bitter, Old Speckled Hen & London Pride along with ciders, lagers and an extensive wine list. The menu looked impressive although I didn't eat there. Friendly staff. I wish them well.
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The new owners have made a huge difference to this pub, it has regained its relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere. The menu is great too, changes regularly, always interesting. Great after a hike on the Heath, good stuff!
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this pub has changed hands again and the new owner James has made it better already. New chef has already improved the food (recommend the chicken) and the ambience is akin to how it used to be.
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Since my last review, the managers (Mandy & Masssi) have returned to Australia and the everything has gone to pieces. The food's awful now. I won't be darkening their doors again. Try 'The Dartmouth Arms' instead! - Tim
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Its a bit expensive and up its own back-side, it wishes it was in Highgate proper, but pleasemt enough.
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nice and friendly
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Very informal and friendly. Attracts a wide variety of customers throughout the day for their simple but delicious modern Italian food and excellent wine selection. Also a quieter upstairs dining room from Thursday 'til Sunday. Not much here for 'real ale' drinkers but a good selection of well kept beers both cask and bottled.
Tim - 3 Aug 2004 16:56 |
fantastic cluttery restaurant with a great atmosphere. the food is contempory italian cuisine that attracts the crowds.
anonymous - 3 Jul 2004 18:39 |
Used to be quite a good pub but not cheap by any stretch of the imagination.
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Now a gastro-pub. Fullers London Pride available. High-ceilinged pub opposite William Ellis School. Outdoor seating comprises benches in the street. Quite crowded in the summer. A little on the pricy side, like many pubs in the area. Also try the Dartmouth arms nearby (down the side street then turn right into York Rise).
Andy Millen - 8 Jul 2003 19:13 |
