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Disappointment of the week with Mobyduck
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Detail Pages
The Flask, Highgate, N6
Highgate
N6
N6 6BU
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Flask
Fullers tied house,and very historic but spoilt by heavy use by tourists and diners on my Saturday afternoon visit.There is a generous outside seating area,with a covered section with space heaters and this is an overspill from a small interior,which is on multiple levels,with the main bar to the left,while a small island bar in the Parlour bar was not being used.There is a real fire here,and around a corner there is a low room with a vaulted brick ceiling which was atmospheric.However all tables were occupied by diners,including children and space was at a premium.The menu was pub grub but at gastro prices and I made the obvious decision not to linger but have a shufti and a quick half.
At the bar there are 5 handpumps offering a guest in St Austell Proper Job along with Fullers London Pride,Olivers Island,seasonal Wise Men and ESB (tired and £2.45 a half).There were a few craft keg options,but I had lost my enthusiasm by this stage and left disappointed.However folk were still piling in,so it must be doing something right.Not on my list for a revisit.
On 6th January 2018
- rating: 5
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about The Flask
13th April 2015:
This is a very famous mid-17th century coaching inn located in the heart of beautiful Highgate Village, situated on the edge of Hampstead Heath; it's also just over ten minutes' walk from the tube.
There's a spacious patio out front minus the ugly marquee which has been replaced with heated cabinas as well as open air benches.
A multi-roomed, split level historic pub for traditionalists which is surprisingly small. Food certainly served, but it's more posh pub grub than true gastro.
There's the usual choice of Fuller's beers as well as guests; on my last visit: Gale's Seafarer, Windsor & Eton's Windsor Knot and something from the Hackney Brewery; all were in good nick. There are also premium keg beers including from the Camden Brewery as well as premium lagers.
I've been coming here for the best part of 30 years so don't exactly intend to stop, but the service could be better (too much time is devoted to serving tea or coffee) and I don't much care for the very recently hung wallpaper which shows building façades(??). Definitely worth a visit at least once.
Edited 5th September 2015:
Paxton IPA on offer and very good. Many - most? - tables reserved for diners. Three points deducted due to my visit being ruined by the barking greyhound.
Edited 9th April 2016:
We went in the other night - a beautiful sunny evening - and were surprised just how quiet it was. I realised why when I was charged £5.35 - yes that's FIVE POUNDS and THIRTY-FIVE PENCE - for pint of East London Brewery's Jamboree. Another point deducted, I can't see myself coming back to what must be London's most expensive pub.
On 9th April 2016
- rating: 3
[User has posted 1983 recommendations about 1949 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john gray left this review about The Flask
Lovely quaint pub for traditionalists and a great outside area for people like me.Great selection of beers now Fullers have embraced the guest beer idea(no not them pretend guest beers from Gales)They had 3 of their own beers and Redemption -big chief(good) and ELB -Cowcatcher ipa (very good)Lots of keg beers and bottles as well.Impressed mightily and will be back.
On 13th April 2014
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1023 recommendations about 1009 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about The Flask
My last visit here was before Fullers took it on board. The place has now become a more customer friendly pub with a faster and better service. It used to be a very snobby sort of place and also was quite clicky - so what a good turn around to see us ordinary folk in here having a pint and a bit of grub! Still quite pricey though.
On 26th March 2011
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about The Flask
A historic warren of a pub with several connected areas, one of our party likened it to walking around inside a galleon. Seemingly once two separate buildings looking at the frontage, the larger area dates from 1665 according to a plaque on the wall. Levels change as you move around inside and you need to mind your head in a couple of areas where the beamed ceiling is rather low. Lots of dark wood including panelling. The main bar is at the far end of the pub and was serving Pride, ESB and Discovery plus guest Butcombe Bitter, but there is another bar/servery towards the centre with a form of glass sash windows as shutters however this was closed at the time (there didn't appear to be any handpumps here). I assume that this is an overflow bar for busy periods.
There are various bits and bobs in the way of decor/interest including pictures of various earls and duchesses, one of an unspecified King Henry, a framed collection of butterflies and a display case containing an assortment of hip flasks.
There is the usual claim with ancient pubs like this to be one of the most haunted.
There is plenty of outdoor seating to the front which was a popular spot on a sunny lunchtime, and the area is brightened up by some attractive planted baskets and troughs, although the wisteria didn't look to be in the best of health. There is also a large tent here, a sign of the times for the smokers of course, but I felt this distracted from the appearance rather.
A pleasant spot for a pint on a midweek lunchtime but I expect it to be rather less appealing at busy times when I imagine tables would be at a premium.
On 23rd March 2011
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1707 recommendations about 1681 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Flask
Spent an afternoon in Highgate recently and after a stroll around the nearby famous cemetery, we decided to pop into the Flask for a drink and something to eat. We found a very pleasing, dark panelled, multi roomed pub which, despite being full of diners on a Saturday lunchtime, gave me the impression that this would make for a pleasant local. The dining set-up meant that most seating was in the form of smartly upholstered chairs around formal table arrangments, but I spotted some more relaxed seating options in the area nearer the bar, where one or two punters were lounging over the morning's papers.
Beer choice was restricted to three Fuller's regulars (Pride, ESB (£3.45) and Discovery) and one guest (Butcombe Bitter). My ESB was nice and came served in the correct glass. I had the sausage and mash for lunch, which was excellent - the sausages were as fine as any I've tasted for a long time and they fully justified their relatively expensive price tag. Staff offered table service and were very friendly and attentive.
As with a lot of old pubs, there was a sign above the bar explaining that the building is supposedly haunted, claiming in fact to be the most haunted pub in London.
I think Rex sums this place up well in his review below. The place has found an interesting niche between 'up-market gastro' and 'cosy traditional', which in theory should make it appeal to a wider audience. Well worth a look.
On 12th November 2010
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The Flask
This is a Fuller’s pub, which during my lunchtime visit had on Pride, Discovery, ESB, Bengal Lancer, and a guest of Liberation Ale. I went for the Liberation Ale of course, which turned out to be very quaffable hoppy light coloured ale from the Channel Islands. At £3.55 a pint it was a tad pricey, but I didn’t expect this pub to be cheap. There’s no pub grub in here either. There are daily printed menus, offering such basic staples as “wild boar and girolle terrine with toast and cornichons” – which I guess must be some version of pate and toast. I had a Coronation chicken sandwich (at £7.25), which came in a smallish brown bread rustic baguette with some leaves and chips. It was of a very high standard, very enjoyable, with all manner of caramelised onions and stuff mixed in with the chicken, and was more substantial than it looked. Goodness – I do hope that I’m not slipping down the slippery slope to gastrophilia!!
The pub itself is a maze of nooks and crannies, giving separate drinking and dining areas, rather reminiscent of the Holly Bush over at Hampstead. Some of the dark wood panelling is very old, giving it a place on CAMRA’s list of heritage interiors. There are some picnic benches at the front of the pub. The unadulterated interior of the pub lets it maintain a very traditional feel, but clearly the food is very “ultra-gastro”, and the ale prices reflect this very upmarket area. But for all that I enjoyed my visit to this pub. There were no one-armed bandits or the like that I saw, no raucous music or tedious radio stations being played (just some low volume blues). I don’t think it’s the sort of place to stand at the bar sinking pints (there’s not room for more than two or three punters at the bar in any case), but I would be very happy to pay a return visit.
On 11th November 2010
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about The Flask
I think that I picked a bad time to visit this pub as it was a sunny Saturday afternoon and the Highgate masses were out and about. The outside car park area and the marquee that was situated in it were both packed, so I was happy to find an almost empty pub. I was fortunate to walk in at just the right moment as I was served a pint of Pride almost instantly and I managed to easily find a seat in the small bar area. Butcombe Bitter, ESB, and Discovery were also available alongside standard and premium lagers.
I think I'm going to arrange another trip to this pub on a week night when it is less busy.
On 13th May 2009
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5233 recommendations about 5201 pubs]