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Detail Pages
The Black Lion, West Hampstead, NW6
NW6
NW6 1RD
Pub Type
Metropolitan Pub Co (Greene King)Reviews (Current Rating Average: 4½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about The Black Lion
A large elongated boarded room with the bar in an internal corner effectively forming a bit of an L shape. Lots of exposed brickwork, a modern oval rooflight and lots of B&W photos of stuff on a ceiling beam, wall mounted angle-poise lamps. A chequered tiled area around the bar, seating is mixed with some booth styled areas to one side with button backed benches. A garden is to the rear although I didn't look, to be honest I couldn't be bothered. The pub is as bland and ordinary as it gets, the photos are just a pub by numbers item, one unusual point was the selection of games, including here possibly uniquely Subbutteo. Bet there's been some disagreements over that after a few pints. Beers were GK IPA and OSH plus Royal Arsenal Hop Stuff APA (£4.20). I have to be honest and say the beer was in very mediocre shape.
The whole experience was rather forgettable and dismal, a bland and uninteresting pub in a bland and uninteresting part of London.
On 1st May 2017
- rating: 4
[User has posted 1708 recommendations about 1681 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about The Black Lion
Renamed from The Lion back to the original Black Lion around 2012 and not to be confused with NW6's other Black Lion a short walk from here, this was a second time in here the other day after my one visit back in the late 1990s when the pub was much as described below, a place where one visit was quite enough.
This area is considerably more gentrified than it was nearly 20 years ago and this has rubbed off on this pub, perhaps a little too much, certainly for the purists. The floor is modern bare boarded and although furniture is fairly conventional, the walls are all bare brick and dotted with wall-mounted Anglepoise (or similar) lamps; the black and white chequerboard tiled apron to the bar is more conventional. Lighting is quite muted as is the jazz soundtrack wafting over the gramophone. Clients are a mix of ages but are generally quite hip.
Ales: Hardy & Hanson's Rock on with Rudolph (is this the same as Rockin' Rudolph?), a reversed clip and Twickenham Brewery's Naked Ladies at a steep £2.20 a half and really not good.
I'd come here again as there is in effect nothing else in the vicinity, but the prices and ale quality are a deterrent.
On 3rd January 2017
- rating: 4
[User has posted 1985 recommendations about 1951 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about The Lion
Yesterday was my first time in here for about 5 years and the place was unrecognisable. For better or worse I'm not sure as I was never a big fan as it always used to be full of drunks and there was an air of depression. Maybe the refurb has swung the pub too far in the opposite direction for my liking.
Barmaid was friendly enough, but noisy outside seating with a bus stop five foot from the table we were sitting at. I did notice the beer garden at the rear a little later and it looked a lot more appealing than the position we had chosen, but alas it was a little late.
There's not a great selection of draught and no real ales, but plenty of bottles and spirits which I'd imagine the usual clientele preferring. This place is nice enough if you like gastro pubs, but I'm afraid it's not for me.
On 17th June 2008
- rating: 5
[User has posted 5250 recommendations about 5218 pubs]