The Horseshoe, Hampstead, NW3

Corner pub old exterior but very modernised inside and more than a bit food oriented. Just two pulls but only one with a reasonable Five Points Best in operation. Staff young and a bit clueless but well meaning, the one who served me picked up a straight half then changed it for a bloody handled jug. He also needed to be persuaded to actually fill the glass to half a pint not 200ml; short measure and London prices? I think not. Stripped brick walls, board floor, interesting range of prints and pictures. Banquette seating and there’s raised area at the back. Basement toilets.

Modern looking street corner pub in the shopping area of Hampstead.The interior is L shaped with substantial high tables along the Heath Street windows,some high tables opposite the bar and then lower level dining type tables elsewhere,including two raised sections at the far end. The fittings are modern and the muzak was a little too loud.It was proving popular with diners on my Saturday lunchtime visit,including family groups.The food is not cheap ,Sunday roasts £22 but the quality did look good for a mediam main of £20 but the small plate options were more reasonable.The terrestrial TV was on mute and sensibly reserved table signs indicated the time of arrival and allowed me seating options inside. Two handpumps serving Twickenham Grandstand and Naked Ladies (NBSS 3.5) but not much craft keg.There was some outrageous bar blocking by a couple with two buggies,but once the manager came back on duty they were dispatched to the rear seats with their bawling offspring. A function stop for an ale but not much to tempt another visit,unless food is your aim.

Just a short walk over the road from Hampstead tube station, the Horseshoe is a large, open plan pub underneath the Pentameters Theatre. The pub was previously operated by Wetherspoons, before converting to a food-led venue with an onsite brewing operation which eventually became the Camden Brewery before moving to a larger premises. Today, the pub has the kind of super-bland interior that high end gastro pubs seem to specialise in. A corner entrance leads into a brick floored room with a long servery down the left hand side. The bar has a stone topped counter and the keg fonts positioned in the centre of the bar back with large beer boards above listing the full range. Large arched windows along two sides of the pub allow plenty of light in which acts only to highlight the drab grey and cream colour scheme, broken up only by a couple of blackboards here and there plus a few quite appealing Camden Brewery art prints. Small backless bench 'booths' have been formed along the front wall and there is a long and rather uncomfortable looking wooden bench down the right hand side with standard tables and chairs through the centre of the room. Heading further back you find a large cabinet full of various bottles and cans, in front of which a long table and benches can be found. Perhaps the only cosy spot in the entire pub can be found in a screened off area to the rear where a few more tables have been squeezed in under whitewashed walls. Music was playing at a fairly loud volume throughout my stay, made worse by the high ceiling and lack of soft furnishings which created an echoey environment. The beer boards suggest that the pub's allegiance is still very much towards Camden Brewery, with seven of their beers available in keg format along with a cider option. Camden no longer produce cask ales, so the two handpulls offered guest options in the shape of Reunion Talwar and Haresfoot Lock Keeper. The latter was a staggering £5.50 for a pint of 4.0% ale and the Talwar was an unbelievable £6.00 a pint (4.5% abv). The keg beers for once represented the cheaper option but I didn't really fancy any of them, so I took a deep breath and ordered a pint of the Lock Keeper. The barman showed great professionalism by keeping a straight face whilst charging me £5.50 for what turned out to be a very mediocre pint that was clearly suffering from a lack of throughput. I was quite looking forward to visiting a pub that has played an important role in the renaissance of brewing in the capital, but any enthusiasm was soon sapped when I saw the prices. I think that most drinkers accept that London is an expensive place to drink and that neighbourhoods like Hampstead are going to be at the top end of the price spectrum, but this is just blatant profiteering, more so when the beer is sub-standard and the pub is irredeemably dull. A massive disappointment all round and one I will not be repeating.

Official site of Camden Town Brewery - thehorseshoehampstead.com

Official site of Camden Town Brewery - thehorseshoehampstead.com