2 /5 R P: Let’s be honest - this place is not great. A lot of the reviews appear to be paid/fake, so it is time for a real review that will resonate with anyone who has been here in recent years. The pub trades on its beautiful location and history, but everything else is now bad. A slow but steady deterioration has occurred over a period of about 5 years. The beer is poorly kept (truly awful Pilsner Urquell, worse than at a football match, and mediocre Guinness, all served in the wrong glasses). The service is surly at best. The food is bland. The interiors have not been updated for 15 years. This would have been an acceptable standard for a “gastropub” two decades ago. It is not acceptable today. All Hampstead locals know that it is rubbish, but people keep going because the location is pretty and it’s near the Heath. A sad establishment. We can only hope that it is taken over by new management.
