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Disappointment of the week with Real Ale Ray
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The Holly Bush, Hampstead, NW3
NW3
NW3 6SG
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7½ of 10) see review guidelines
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Holly Bush
Utterly charming pub,almost mews like in a very upmarket area high above the busy shopping area that is Hampstead village.Fullers tied house and they have preserved the heritage,features abound and there is great wood panelling,etched glass and a traditional multi room layout.On entry there is a wait to be seated lecturn,ignore this and go right into the tap room with traditional furniture,notr large so expect to make room for incoming punters.This is the place to sup and there is an alcove area beyond a small skylight.
The left hand side,back rooms and first floor are all dedicated dining areas,also with features but difficult to clock if you are just drinking.
There is an external long old seating bench but outside drinking elsewhere is discouraged as local residents don't want punters drinking in their doorways.
Ale options on my trip were London Pride,Hophead and ESB (NBSS 3.5,£3.40 the half).CAMRA rate it 2* for heritage ,my feeling is that it is borderline 3* so very well worth the steep climb to enjoy when in the area.I will most certainly return .
On 17th March 2024
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]
Delboy 20 left this review about The Holly Bush
A decent pub not far from the tube station. A Fullers pub with the full range on but I had a Dark Star Hophead which was fine. Seemed to be popular as it filled up during my short visit. Glad to have called in.
On 18th June 2023
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 1656 recommendations about 1556 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about The Holly Bush
Tucked away in one of the most beautiful Queen Anne and Georgian enclaves and serving the community since 1643, is one of London's most famous and historic pubs: The Holly Bush. As a former local, born and bred, this has been one of my all-time favourite pubs which I've been visiting for the best part of 35 years, over which time I've seen changes major and minor.
The room to the rear wasn't originally part of the pub. In the '80s it was curtained off and used for poetry reading. It had t 'n' g panelling and an upright piano. Now it's pretty much used solely as a dining room which reduces much-needed drinking space. An anteroom is now home to an ancillary till for the dining area. A second and central anteroom now houses a stainless-steel sink with cleaning products; visible to all, it's a terrible eye sore.
The snug still has a real fire but it, along with the rest of the pub, has been painted magnolia. Where once there were original gas lights until around 1990 (which hissed!), there were hideous Japanned lamps which looked like they came from a dungeon, though at least the ugly wicker colonial-style ceiling fans have gone. Happily, the lamps have gone, replaced with ones which are altogether more fitting, looking like blown glass. The floor is new, untreated and bare boarded but is aging well. Furniture is fairly conventional, the pretentious oxblood armchairs which looked like the property of Sherlock Holmes have gone, as have most of the fake Victorian sitting room décor. As an added plus, the log fire in the main bar is now active for the first time in my memory, though the pub doesn’t benefit from the stupid names now applied to the various rooms: ‘Whitestone Room’?
Clients are a mix of locals, celebrities and many tourists/incomers. The bar staff seem to change on a weekly basis which doesn't make for good continuity and can be a bit clueless but they seem decent enough, though they are hardly burdened by working in a challenging environment.
Ales: the standard Fuller's line-up with a few guests (more likely Fuller's acquisitions such as Gale’s) with a pint of the hilariously named Castle Rock’s Crafty Flanker Pale Ale weighing in at a hefty £4.80 for a beer that’s around the 4.0% ABV mark.
I haven't painted a brilliant picture of the pub, but nothing's perfect - it can get rammed at peak times too. This place though is probably about as good as an urban pub is ever going to get, hence the high mark.
On 12th February 2018
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1983 recommendations about 1949 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Ian Mapp left this review about Holly Bush
One of my favourites in London.
This visit was the first time I have eaten here.
£25 for a steak. To be fair, it was delicious.
£12.50 for the cheesboard - but alas, my expense policy was blown on the steak.
ESB served in the proper chalice.
Love the feel of this pub. Photos at my blog - http://bit.ly/2cRaZHD
On 15th September 2016
- rating: 8
[User has posted 277 recommendations about 276 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blackthorn _ left this review about Holly Bush
A pleasant and attractive looking pub located slightly off the beaten track but only a short stroll from Hampstead’s High Street, it’s worth taking the trouble to track down as it’s one of the more traditional pubs in the area and seems to cater for drinkers just as much as diners based on a recent Saturday evening visit, although it was getting a little late when we visited so may perhaps be different earlier in the evening.
It’s a multi-roomed layout, probably four in total although we only investigated the front two. The right hand bar at the front is where the bar counter is. There was much wood panelling on the walls and a small snug off of here with just a couple of seats. The left hand bar is given over to seating with red button back banquettes around much of the perimeter and small tables and chairs elsewhere. The colour scheme was a mixture of brown and pale yellow and there were dark wooden boards on the floor and etched glass windows to the front. An old fire-place was off to one side with a couple of shelves of old books up above.
The menu looked to be a step or two up from your usual “pub grub” with most of the dishes being priced at £15 or more, and even fish & chips coming in at £14.50. Other options included beef pie, roast partridge, grouse leg, cod with squid & tapenade or a sea trout salad. We didn’t eat ourselves, so can’t say whether these prices are justified.
Beers on this occasion were Oliver’s Island, Lancaster Red, ESB, London Pride and Butcombe. The solitary cider was a rather pleasant Mortimer’s Orchard, which makes a pleasant change from the usual dross around these parts.
On 16th September 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1947 recommendations about 1860 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about Holly Bush
Another of London’s most famous pubs located in Hampstead, and famous for its interior which gets it in the CAMRA’s National Inventory, and also for the long line of historical figures who have supped Ale here, including James Boswell, Samuel Johnson, Oliver Goldsmith, Charles Lamb and the famous painters George Romney and John Constable who lived nearby, and in the case of Romney, lived next door.
Sadly , as reported below, this is primarily a food oriented pub during the day time and with the exception of the small front bar section , all the wonderful small rooms are laid for dining. And the pricing strategy employed for both the food and the beer is, “if your local populous are some of the richest in the country, milk them for all they are worth.” So as others have reported, you should search it out for the experience but then move on if you want a proper drinking session.
Again the five handpumps were dispensing four Fullers ales and the Butcombe Bitter as a guest ale, and the Butcombe and Seafarers were kept well enough…
So on the drinking front an OK pint in a fine pub interior. But the Holly Bush immediately accelerated itself to the very top of one of my particular pub lists, namely the most expensive locations for a Scotch Egg. Yes they are freshly made from real sausage meat and are cooked to order and possibly to perfection so that the egg yoke is still runny when you cut into it.. BUT £5 for a Scotch Egg !!!.
Yes folks, the £5 barrier for a scotch egg has been breached, which is no mean achievement considering I personally hadn’t broken the £4 barrier yet..
On 20th March 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2110 recommendations about 1992 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Holly Bush
Another hidden Hampstead pub, I made a point of trying this one due to its internal architecture (a characterful warren of wood-panelled rooms and partitioning) which has it listed in CAMRA’s National Inventory. It’s a Fuller’s pub with a crisp whitewashed exterior. Four Fullers ales plus Butcombe Bitter at the bar; my Brithop (A Fuller’s seasonal) was below-par and for the price paid (considerable!) very disappointing. Food is pushed quite heavily here to the extent that we were curtly asked at if we were eating. The other barman was probably one of the most pretentious, self-absorbed numpties I’ve ever seen working in a pub. So the actual pub is great but the naff beer, irritating staff and high prices killed off a lot of the goodwill I was willing to bestow. Worth going once to admire, then move on.
On 6th May 2013
- rating: 6
[User has posted 5072 recommendations about 5055 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
John Bonser left this review about The Holly Bush
Up a short, but steep, flight of steps, virtually opposite the former Horse and Groom on Heath Street, is The Holly Bush, one of the best known of all Hampstead’s pubs. It’s situated in an attractive part of Hampstead which is a conservation area
Until recently a free house, it’s now succumbed to the Fullers juggernaut. The old Benskins branding outside has sadly disappeared, but internally the pub appears unchanged
A traditional interior features matchboard panelling, bare boards and some original partitions and glasswork. It’s a warren of corridors and adjoining rooms and, although the large room at the back is not original ( formerly private living quarters ), the solid looking wooden furniture and decoration is largely in keeping with the overall look and feel of the front bar. It’s a Grade 2 listed building and has been a pub for over 200 years.
The small curved original bar counter is in the front room where there’s an impressive large Benskins mirror and an unusual tiny alcove with one table called The Tavern Bar. A larger room on the left has window glass revealing that this was once a Coffee Room. Several Ind Coope mirrors remain, reflecting the demise of Benskins long ago.
Principally a food pub, even on my recent Saturday lunchtime visit, a good number of tables in all areas were reserved for named pre-booked groups. The ubiquitous A4 size clipboarded menu reflects the aspirational, upmarket leanings of the pub and the area’s affluence – eg Hampshire lamb rump, slow braised shank, kidneys, carrots, kale - £ 16.95p. The usual clueless non English speaking waitresses hover round trying to look helpful and efficient in the usual unconvincing fashion.
On the real ale front, perhaps predictably, the range has reduced and Fullers beers now dominate the pumps. On my visit, 5 beers were available, of which only Harveys Best was a non Fullers beer ( the other beers being Pride, Bengal Lancer, HSB and Seafarers ). Reflecting the strong food emphasis probably, the Harveys Best was a wallet busting £ 3.90p. The pub is, however, in the 2012 CAMRA Good Beer Guide.
This is quite a well known Hampstead pub and, with a traditional characterful interior, it’s still worth a look in, out of curiosity if nothing else. However, even disregarding the high beer prices, it’s not the place for a long boozy session
On 2nd March 2012
- rating: 7
[User has posted 560 recommendations about 560 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about The Holly Bush
This place has very recently been added to the Fullers portfolio so there were three of their ales on as well as Harveys Best and there was also an unused hand pump. There was also a selection of standard and premium draught, but unfortunately on my last visit the Pride was not at its best. I also had to wait at the bar for a while before one of the eight, yes eight, staff members standing behind it managed to pull themselves away from their conversation to serve me.
The bar area is quite small for the size of the pub meaning that it can become quite crowded, but the pub is a maze of rooms and little tucked away areas. The upstairs area used to be a restaurant, but I’m not sure what the plans are for it now although Fullers are known for serving up food in their pubs so I’d imagine that it would stay the same.
This is a highly rated pub and although it’s not my favourite in the area I can see the attraction and it is worth a look.
On 6th March 2010
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5228 recommendations about 5196 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Richard Sharman left this review about The Hollybush
Superb multi roomed interior with original wooden fittings, bare wood floors and engraved glass. Top notch real ales and quality food. Friendly service and good atmosphere. 1st choice if you're in Hampstead. 5 mins walk from the tube station.
On 23rd September 2009
- rating: 8
[User has posted 43 recommendations about 43 pubs]