please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Still pretty much unchanged for the past 20 years. Proper draft Czech beers for less than your pint of Carling up the road.
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A classic London place and a distant cousin of the Bohemian Beer Hall in Queens, New York. This is more catering for the post-2004 community but is nonetheless nicely traditional. Lots of Pilsner Urquell on tap plus Budvar dark in bottles (take note: premium lager is still very much just lager so this is needed) and the food has those pallid dumplings and knuckles that visitors to the CR will be familiar with.
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Astonishing place! Great atmosphere and friendly welcome. Now £3.50 per half litre. Nonetheless great. The food is excellent and served in huge portions. In fact many options are available as half-portions. 10/10 - definitely a must visit.
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As close to a Prague beerhall as you could hope to find in London, it is primarily a non-pretentious gathering place for expats. This is not a contrived hipster affair, this ensures a nice atmosphere and one quickly forgets you are actually sitting in West Hampstead as the sound of drunken Czech fills the air. However, the bar staff are most welcoming to English speakers(the barman once told me that they're proud that we would choose to visit) which is pleasant as these kind of national bars are typically rather suspicious of English visitors.
They serve Pilsner Urquell and Budvar on tap at £3 per half litre, with a reasonable selection of other top Czech beers on bottle. The food menu is typically Czech and reasonably priced, the quality is so-so however.
Very easy to miss this place as it is literally a converted house, however they have made the most of the interior with the various Czech/Slovak retro materials on the walls. The architecture is somewhat dated and there is a definite retro feel to the place. They also have a very spacious beer garden.
Recommended.
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Wonderful place - Pilsner Urquell and Budvar on tap. Decent Czech food. There's even Slovak slivowitz for the brave/foolhardy.
This is very much a Czech and Slovak haunt, and Anglos are very much in the minority. Provided you're fine with that you'll fit in well.
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Pretty much a large rambling house with the front rooms for dining (pretty much like a dining room in a big house) and a room to the back as a bar selling Urquell and Budvar on draught at a reasonable price. Also has a nice garden out the back. Doesn't open till 5pm most nights
anonymous - 3 Sep 2012 19:15 |
Glad I paid a visit here with a couple of friends, very community orientated pub/restaurant which is bit of an enclave of the Czech & Slovak Republics. Menu was Czech with translations - I tried the Goulash washed down with a Budvar & then finished off with a dark Budvar. Watched the Spain v Czech European qualifier but had to leave in 2nd half to get train - shame the Spanish got two late goals - the Czech goal got a loud cheer. Great place, very friendly.
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@weston & highlandpaddy.
It's immaterial whether the place is authentic or not.
The Weights and Measures still applies, and a pint is a pint (of liquid.)
Other than that, it sounds like an interesting place to visit. I will.
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Probably about 70 - 80% Czechs & Slovaks with various English friends along for the experience. An interesting building reflecting its history dating back to after the 1st World War and the creation of the Czechoslovak state. A beer hall type affair with popular table top football being played in the corner. Czech beer from the majors and authentic Czech & Slovak cuisine, I had the duck & dumplings in a cabbage sauce, it was much better than it sounds and all for �8.
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If you don't know the area you may miss this place because it is basically a house with a bar in it; this would be a mistake as the Czech beer is excellent (served in the old-style, dimpled pint glasses you don't see these days) and the staff/owners are very friendly. (when we were in, one of the owners sat and spoke with us, out in the little beer garden.) Yes, the beer comes with a big head on it but this is an authentic Czech establishment so that's the way it should be - don't come here if you object to that. You probably wouldn't spend a whole evening here but is definitely worth popping in for a drink.
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Excllent place, nice to have proper Czech lager in an authentic environment. Wish they would turn the TV down however (which always seems to be showing some Czech soap opera).
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I find it ironic that somebody going under the name of fullerspubcollector should complain about paying �3 for what is a very decent beer. In my local Fullers establishment a pint of Kronenberg costs �3.60.
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Basically a large house that serves beer and food. Its like being at a party in someones house, except you pay.
A 'pint' of Pilsner Urquell cost �3. Problem for me was that it was poured with an inch of froth on the top, which may be how they drink it in Czechoslovakia, but this is London, so got them to replace the 'air' with beer. I won't be going back.
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Wonderful beer, heavy - heavy - food, lovely atmosphere, helps if you speak Czech/Slovak, but equally doesn't matter if you don't. Tremendous history, founded (so they say) at least in part with a gift from President Edouard Benes. Quite hard to find, thankfully.
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Very friendly and unassuming place. Czech lagers are �3, although they are not pints (European measures I think). Food is cheapish, although it seems to be "pork belly" with everything.
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interesting place, a good deal of history, going back to the war.
good mix of eastern european's and locals. excellent draught beer (budvar/pilsner urquell) and very good for food.
won't be everyone's cup of tea, but i like it.
mps77 - 30 Jul 2007 13:27 |
Love this place. Simple and unpretentious, (which makes a change from the West Hampstead of today), and focuses on the things that make a bar great - drinking and atmosphere. Food's good too.
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one of the more distinctive establishments in london. great pilsner in proper old pint glasses. really fun and definately different. Looks like a social club/hostel from outside but don't be scared to go in, you'll enjoy it!
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Went in here to sample some local atmosphere during a Czech World Cup game and I was impressed - serves a very decent pint of Czech lager.
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Would like to have tasted the food before it went "downhill"; the pork knuckle was incredible. Good beer too.
anonymous - 8 May 2006 12:43 |
The food isn't as good as it used to be but if you want a really good strong pint of Czech lager in a strange kind of working mens club setting then its worth popping in.
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My mother is Czech and have been here only twice, first experiance was a great one second even better. We went there in Sept this year and are going again tonight. If you want authentic, this is the place, familiar loud uncles and smooth heartwarming beer. No its not perfect or pretty like english pubs but hters a bareness which makes it a welcoming place. Leave your ego at the door, this is raw beer guzzling fun !!
Jana - 19 Nov 2004 10:04 |
Had a bit of a remake. Big screen in one of the rooms and the restaurant has reopened. Saw some of the weirdest meat dishes ever.
anonymous - 1 Nov 2004 11:31 |
The Czech Club has been in West End Lane since the war and has an interesting history. It IS different but in many ways so much more welcoming than many bars currently in West Hampstead. If you want loud crap music, gnatts piss lager and pretentious clientele there's plenty of choice nearby.
anonymous - 21 Jul 2004 20:49 |
This place is really weird. Probably the norm in Eastern Europe, but extremely incongruous with West Hampstead
anonymous - 21 Jul 2004 16:12 |
can walk past this and miss it but its well worth the effort to find a most bizzare time is to be had but sschhh dont tell everyone lets keep it our little secret lol
kevin - 28 Feb 2004 15:04 |
Pilsner Urquell back on tap. I've noticed that the sometimes overly noisy people are more often not the english groups. Wonder why that is.
anonymous - 23 Dec 2003 16:43 |
Bit like a students union. Usually very busy on weekends. Can be very smokey. Decent place for a pint though.
anonymous - 21 Aug 2003 17:26 |
Easily missed, it's found in some kind of Czech hostel. In fact, it's more hostel than pub, but it's perfectly acceptable to just wander in and get a pint of old unpronouncable in a handled beer glass whilst watching Czech satellite TV in a plain, brightly lit room.
Eastern European women abound, which is nice, and one would wager that they're probably Czech. Worth mentioning that one person's reasons to like it are the same as another person's reasons to hate it. If that sounds odd, try it out.
I occasionally go back only to see if I'll ever bump into that gorgeous blonde who randomly asked me if I liked Czech beer. She's probably long since back in Prague, but I'm smitten (and pathetic) enough to keep returning. The weird thing was, she seemed to have a grey back, or so Dave and Rob keep reminding me. Wert.
Ruby - 16 Jul 2003 00:59 |
