We've been living in Hampstead for the past month and a half and have fallen in love with its quaint village feel. This area of northwest London is extremely historic with many listed buildings and blue plaques.
In addition, our new neighborhood is also home to Hampstead Heath—an excellent and massive public green space—as well as charming high streets and winding alleys and backstreets. I digress, but you can read more about why we love our new neighborhood here.
Anyways, both the high street and narrow back streets of northwest London are home to an amazing variety of dining options from classic gastropubs to avant-garde bakeries to bistros serving haute cuisine.
In this post, we're going to focus on the pubs of northwest London—but stay tuned for future posts about other types of noteworthy places to eat!
Pub Life in Britain
Without a doubt, pub life is a huge part of British culture—and one we've fully adopted! When looking for housing in London, we were actually told by one Brit to base our final decision on the "local" (translation: the neighborhood pub), rather than the home itself.
While we didn't strictly follow this advice, we were very happy to discover that our new area had a diverse selection of charming pubs. Especially once we realized what a quintessential role pubs play in British life.
Pubs have been a part of "British" culture since Roman times when taverns were popular places to mingle and eat. Later referred to as "public houses," and eventually "pubs," these establishments are not bars in the American sense.
Instead, they are usually restaurants with a variety of traditional British (and sometimes international) cuisine available throughout the day. It is completely normal to see children and dogs in pubs as most are very family-friendly.
Sunday Roasts
Honestly, no visit to the UK would be complete without a Sunday roast at a local pub either. Sunday roasts are something that almost all pubs offer and are extremely popular. Our local pubs are always filled to bursting on Sundays with large groups—including families—gathered together to enjoy one another's company over a variety of roast meats (often vegetarian options exist), potatoes, vegetables, and Yorkshire pudding (which is not a "pudding" at all, see here).
Sunday roasts are a delicious way to enjoy British culture regardless of your age, dietary restrictions, or the size of your party—you just might want to call ahead to make a booking!
Choosing the Right Pub
With so many options, we know it can be a little daunting to choose the right pub. Different dietary and group needs are also a major factor to take into account when picking a pub.
In our case, this usually means screening all dining establishments for gluten-free and vegan/vegetarian options and checking to see if we can bring our pub-loving dog, Spark, with us.
Fortunately, to save you the time of scanning the internet, in this post we've included info on each pub's accommodation of restricted diets and dog-friendliness. In addition, we know it can be tricky to grab a table in popular pubs so we've included whether each pub accepts online bookings along with appropriate links if they do.
Rest assured, though, all of the following are excellent options for historic charm, delicious food, and a glimpse into what makes British pub culture so unique.
Make sure to check back often as we'll continue to add pubs as we keep exploring our new home!
The Duke of Hamilton
- Neighborhood: Hampstead
- Category: 18th-century pub with beer garden and live jazz music
- Location: 23-25 New End, London NW3 1JD
- Dog-friendly: yes
- Vegan/Vegetarian options: yes
- Gluten-free options: yes (including some desserts, pictured above)
- Online bookings: yes, here
- Great for:Â live music, quiz (trivia) nights on Mondays, Sunday roast, dessert
The Holly Bush
- Neighborhood: Hampstead
- Category: 18th-century classic pub
- Location: 22 Holly Mount, London NW3 6SG
- Dog-friendly: yes (downstairs only)
- Vegan/Vegetarian options: yes
- Gluten-free options: yes
- Online bookings: yes, here.
- Great for:Â an evening pint or Sunday roast
The Spaniards Inn
- Neighborhood: Hampstead (near the Heath)
- Category: 16th-century pub in a Grade II listed building with garden
- Location: Spaniards Road, Hampstead, London, NW3 7JJ
- Dog-friendly: yes
- Vegan/Vegetarian options: yes
- Gluten-free options: yes (some main menu items can be made GF with alterations)
- Online bookings: yes, here.
- Great for:Â historic charm, a pint or lunch after a stroll through Hampstead Heath, Sunday roast
The Stag
- Neighborhood: Belsize Park
- Category: 19th-century gastropub and beer garden
- Location: 67 Fleet Road, London, NW3 2QU
- Dog-friendly: yes
- Vegan/Vegetarian options: yes (including Sunday roast)
- Gluten-free options: yes (some main menu items can be made GF with alterations)
- Online bookings: yes, here
- Great for: Sunday roast, lunch, dining outside in nice weather
The Wells Tavern
- Neighborhood: Hampstead
- Category: traditional gastropub in a classic Georgian building, the "favorite pub" of the New York Times
- Location: 30 Well Walk, London NW3 1BX, England
- Dog-friendly: yes (including a special doggie menu for which all proceeds are donated to Street Vet supporting London’s homeless community’s companions.
- Vegan/Vegetarian options: yes, vegetarian
- Gluten-free options: can sometimes be accommodated on a case-by-case basis
- Online bookings:Â bookings available here for weekdays in bar area only. Weekends and bank holidays are walk-in only
- Great for: Sunday roast, lunch, or a pint after a walk through the Heath
We look forward to trying out many more pubs in northwest London and elsewhere.
Stay tuned, next stops include: The Flask and King William IV.
Also, let us know in the comments if you've tried out any of these pubs or if you have any suggestions for us! We'd love to hear about your "local" too.
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