King William IV, Hampstead, NW3

An imposing brick built pub on a corner plot in the centre of Hampstead’s High Street, it consists of a single room wrapped around a central bar counter and a pleasant courtyard garden at the rear. Service at the bar was somewhat chaotic with the landlady running around all over the place without actually seeming to achieve very much and other staff members needing constant instruction on what to do. Décor wise it’s quite traditional with dark wooden boards on the floor and fairly dark paint tones such as maroon and deep blue, as well as some flock wallpaper. A couple of fire-places housed wood burning stoves and there were a few pictures of old Hampstead dotted around the walls. A plasma was mounted up in one corner, although this was not in use on our visit. The menu consisted of an extensive selection of “pub grub” dishes such as chilli con carne, fish & chips, burgers, salads and platters, although these were priced a bit above your normal pub prices with most dishes, even the salads, coming in at £11 or more and a burger costing as much as £21 (although this also included a sausage and chicken). A dish of linguine with meatballs at £11 was well over-priced with the meat balls on the verge of being incinerated and the ragu sauce tasting as though it had come out of a tin. It’s the sort of thing I’d expect to get in a Hungry Horse and pay about a fiver for. A goat’s cheese salad was perhaps marginally better, although it was not especially tasty and somewhat on the salty side. Beers on this occasion were Flying Scotsman, London Pride and Directors. The solitary cider was Strongbow, unfortunately. Overall this isn’t a bad pub, but I certainly wouldn’t eat there again when there are far better places just a stone’s throw away. In fact going on the queues, I would suggest the creperie right outside would be a far better bet.

Just down from Hampstead tube station. 3 real ales and food served from a central bar with 2 serving points.

Situated on a street corner half way down Hampstead’s tree lined High Street is The King William IV, a pub with a long history as a famous gay pub. Externally the pub very much resembles a Georgian town house – a sturdy looking square building with shutters on the upper floor windows. A central island bar serves two adjoining rooms. The front room is furnished with standard tables and chairs and has little of particular note. There’s a TV up in one corner, but this is not a pub with any apparent interest in televising sport. The back room is similar in style and décor, but there’s a pleasant wood panelled area with a mini alcove by the bar. There’s a fine moulded ceiling and an old wooden bar back with inscribed lettering –“King William IV Tavern” which looks original, but overall it’s a rather functional and unremarkable interior. Formerly a pub with a strong gay emphasis, I detected something of a shift away from its roots and a definite desire to attract a much wider cross section of customers. For instance, there’s no longer any rainbow flag evident and, apart from a gay men’s health charity collecting box on the bar and some condoms high up on a shelf, based on my Sunday afternoon visit, there’s no obviously gay emphasis and the desire to broaden its customer base seems to be having some success. Outside at the back, there is a new beer garden with a tapas bar which, according to the pub website has “plush furniture and a Mediterranean feel”. On a wet and windy Sunday lunchtime, I felt disinclined to venture outside to get a first hand look. Beers on were London Pride, Greene King IPA and Courage Directors – not exactly a range to set the pulses racing. I didn’t sense any particular interest or focus on real ale and the London Pride – at a pricey £ 3.80p – was very average. On the basis of my short visit, it was difficult to see where the pub is positioning itself now. There was no discernible local trade or feel and, although there’s a reasonable food menu, it’s not a food orientated gastro pub. There’s better pubs within easy walking distance