The Holly Bush in Camden - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

Unbelievable food. Beautiful old school pub, good but a little slow service. Very friendly staff. Will definitely return. The Stonebass ceviche was incredible as was the Halibut and the beetroot tartare. The burger was also very good. Well done!

Very nice pub in a very private corner of Hampstead. They have great pale ale. Unfortunately we didn't eat. Very kind service.

Sad to leave this review for a place I've been frequenting over a decade, but one of the poorest experiences last night. Booked a table for international guests for a final night in London. Incorrect order, inconsistent portions, but most egregious was the 80 minute wait for mains to arrive with no update from staff on the kitchen crisis. Hopefully, this is a temporary rough patch and not the new normal.

Really nice cosy pub with restaurant upstairs set up for finer dining, but also bar food downstairs, lots of different rooms to sit and enjoy drinks in - didn't order food

Very expensive pub - 21 pounds for one large house white wine spritzer and one pint of ale. Most expensive I’ve paid in London so far!

Very charming pub with a good atmosphere! Great place for a nice pub meal and a beer 🍻

Posh pub hidden in Hampstead back roads. IYKYK ! Worth seeking out!

What a wonderful old traditional pub in the heart of hampstead

Have been to the Holly Bush and couple times now, it’s a lovely little pub hidden away. The staff are super friendly and the Sunday Roast is super good! We sat upstairs this time; the atmosphere is definitely a bit better downstairs due to the acoustics of the room. Hard to hear anyone. So try get a downstairs table if possible :)

We had a blast here. Friendly and professional service, delicious dishes, fun vibe. Everything was an well executed.

What a great pub, tucked back on a side street. Food was good, beer was good, vibe was good…it was all good! You feel like you’ve discovered a secret gem only the locals know about.

I was quite disappointed with my experience at this restaurant. The food was of low quality and not up to the standards I expected. Additionally, the prices were quite high, making it poor value for money. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this place.

The restaurant one floor up offers food, which is slightly above pub quality. On clear days a couple of the tables also have a view over London. The food is OK and slightly more expensive than your regular pub food.

We really enjoyed visiting the Holly Bush. They have a separate restaurant area from the bar area. We did both on two different nights and had a wonderful time in both parts. They have a great selection of beer on draught, and you can find funny, chatty bartenders. The restaurant has a very good menu, and the food is very good. The staff is very attentive and friendly. Note for North American tourists: this is a traditional British Pub. Draught Beer is chilled, not ice cold. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but you will be need to adjust your tastebuds accordingly.

The Holly Bush never disappoints.

I recently visited The Holly Bush and loved its Victorian charm and dog-friendly policy, making it a perfect spot for a cosy evening out. I've added it to my barguide.london site too!

Often the taproom gets noisier than I would like, but all around a classy old pub with great Sunday menu.

Beautiful decor. Great service. Thoroughly recommended 👌

A few of us were passing by and popped in for a drink. Nice looking pub with a pleasant interior, however they don't appear to know how to pour a decent pint. The Ale was insipid and the lager was flat. Will give this place a miss next time.

A beautiful English pub about a 5minute walk from Hampstead station. Aesthetically from the outside it’s picturesque and the interiors are also lovely. Menu is rather pricey and fancy for lunch but they also offered a burger and fish n chips which was off the menu. Wait staff were not particularly welcoming but was happy to be on my own.

Massively overpriced roast dinner, that was quite frankly disappointing. The Yorkshire pudding was burnt and for £25 I would expect a half decent roast dinner unfortunately that was not the case. Lovely setting and atmosphere but overall underwhelming.

Beautiful location, atmospheare, food and drink. A visit Is mandatory!

Lovely pub with great food. Terrible Guinness.

Great neighbourhood pub with good grub. Not worth a long queue so be sure to book in advance. Stunning place 😁 in a lovely area

I went here with my family for Sunday roast as we like the area and had enjoyed the same before. The pub itself has nice character and a good, relaxed vibe. When we arrived our table wasn’t ready but we were able to wait in the pub area and get some drinks. The food was great - we had roast beef which was really nice although a little tough. A steak knife would have made things a bit easier - it was hard to get the attention of staff for this after our food arrived. The seasonal veg was great and the huge Yorkshire pudding was amazing. My dad enjoyed the fish and chips. Dessert was ok - my trifle was more cream than anything else though and in future I would probably forgo it; I was already pretty full from the roast anyway. Drinks were very expensive, even by London standards (2 glasses of wine and a soft drink was almost £40) although the food was reasonably priced. All in all it was an enjoyable day out for a roast.

Roast beef was tough to cut through, asked for a steak knife. Bit pricey, not really value for money.

The salmon starter was to die for, I felt like I was at the Ritz!

Great stop for a pint after a Sunday walk around Hampstead Heath! Great staff and selection of beers.

12 years I go there - still love it

Worthy of its reputation. Great food, cleverly assorted wine list, attentive service. We had 3 different types of Sunday Roast and all of them hit the spot. Reasonable prices.

A cosy pub with a nice selection of beer...good service with great staff.

The Holly Bush Pub and Restaurant is a great pub reference in London, the place is pleasant, the people are friendly, the food is good and they have great beers, I highly recommend it.

Cute little pub to have a Sunday Roast. The upstairs dining room was a nice place to sit on a warm day with the windows open. Unfortunately, the pork portion I received on my roast was non existent. Not exaggerating when I say it was a paper thin slice of meat. Not worth the cost in my eyes

The Holly Bush is a quintessential English pub nestled in the charming area of Hampstead. Its welcoming atmosphere, combined with its traditional décor, transports you back in time. The pub is perfectly located in a picturesque setting, making it a lovely spot for a relaxing drink or meal. The food is hearty and the drinks selection is excellent, complementing the overall warm experience.

We were impressed with the quality and the presentation of the food, it was a truly fine dining experience throughout. We had 3 courses and found the dishes very creative, especially appetisers and desserts. Service was excellent.

Outstanding food and service. You can taste passion of Head Chef Diego.

Really nice pub and restaurant. The picture doesn’t look like much, but I know my meat and the lamb main course was really good, and so was the pig cheek starter. I will return.

The atmosphere of this, somewhat tucked away little pub, is charming and romantic. The drinks are expensive, but that's what you would expect from the area, so it's not overpriced for what it is. I can't speak for the food as we only had drinks, but the atmosphere was lovely. The staff did seem a little preoccupied, but that could have been down to the time of day. Would I go back? Probably yes, but there wasn't anything that stood out as special, so if I found a pub in the same area with a nice beer garden, you would probably find me there instead.

Very disappointed in my fish and chips , but I'm more frustrated with myself for not complaining, staf was on point and my partners sea bas was really good. I don't think we will be returning again for 1 corse each and a bottle of wine £120 .

Had a lovely experience. The service and the ambience were very nice, and the food was amazingly tasteful. If you are a chocolate person you should definitely give the tiramisu a try!

Had a fantastic meal here. Top service, lovely food.

Red Wine, fish & chips & good service with pleasant traditional decor in a hillside pub. What's not to like 😊

It is located in a lovely place, very cute and pretty looking pub and good vibes.

Perfect place to enjoy a good beer

Has to be the best pub for a Sunday roast lunch. A friend had to book the table a few weeks in advance but boy was it worth it. Amazing super friendly and inviting staff. From the host to the waitress I have never felt more welcome in a place. Obviously the roasts are great, but I must say to also leave space for the desserts. They are not your standard pub desserts. Next level in taste, and quality.

Came here for dinner with a few friends, made the mistake of ordering the rack of lamb. I normally love lamb but it looked and tasted like 3 mini pork chops. Most of it was fat, the amount of meat was miniscule and this cost me £34!! Absolutely extortionate for what it was. Left the restaurant hungry. Upon arriving and leaving we had to push our way through a large and rowdy group of drinkers that had spilled out onto the pavement outside. Needless to say I wont be returning.

Served by the rudest man. The amount you pay here you expect to get some vaguely decent service. More than £100 each to be treated like scum on the bottom of his shoe.

The pub is very quaint and the pub food slightly upscale

Came here for a Sunday roast at 12:15 The pub is a beautiful building with lots of cosy rooms. The staff were incredibly friendly and attentive. For starters we had the salmon gravalx and beef dripping brioche with nduja mayo. Salmon was delicious and I could not fault anything from the dish. Would maybe like the nduja mayo to have a little stronger nduja flavour. For mains I ordered the roast beef and my partner had the pork. The roast beef was cooked beautifully with it being super tender and flavoursome (they definitely don't skip on the quality of meat here) The roast pork on the otherhand was my main disappointment as it was very dry and overcooked. There was minimal crackling and near to no fat for moisture. All the roasts came with Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, cauliflower cheese, red cabbage, cavelo Nero (black cabbage) carrots, parsnips and of course gravy. I was impressed with the variety of veg here. I'm not always a huge fan of cauliflower cheese but this was delicious. The Yorkshire pudding had a lovely soft bottom with crispy tops. The roast potatoes did look a little sad at first as they were very pale and I was worried that this may be another roast where the potatoes let the meal down but (Big But) they had so much flavour that I wanted so many more. All the veg was cooked superbly The wine selection was good and we enjoyed a bottle with our meal. Service was lovely and the waitresses were extremely polite Overall even with the upsetting pork I will still highly recommend and me and my fiancee had a wonderful time. Would recommend just maybe don't order the pork.

Underwhelming dining experience. Limited plant based options. Expensive. On the other hand, staff very helpful, pleasant and efficient and a lovely location tucked away in the back street.

I have rarely eaten so well! A gastropub, with impeccable service and extraordinary dishes! Well done and thank you for this extra ordinary moment! Surprising (and so much the better :)) that there aren’t more tourists… Truly immersed in an authentic pub, in a great setting 😊

I can't say enough good things about my visit here. Stunning food: lovely atmosphere and friendly staff. Beautiful, traditional pub, just off the beaten track: in a stunning part of Hampstead.

when we were there in December 23, there were amazing steaks on the menu 😻😻😻but when they opened this place in January, the menu had already changed and there were no steaks ((((portion size was similar to portions from restaurants taken away by Michelin ((((beer is delicious , wine too) prices are normal

I liked the cauliflower dish and the Fuller's beer is great. I came for a reunion with my school chums which made for a great evening.

The building itself is sympathetically used, with considerable changes in layout to the last time I visited (over a decade prior). Whilst this makes for an enjoyable space in which to spend time, I was deeply unimpressed with the quality of food when set against the prices charged. We ate as a table of four, drinking 3 pints of ale, 2 Bloody Marys, and one bottle of red wine. We all ate the small (small) appetiser from the specials board — allegedly burrata, but dry, unappetising and more like old mozzarella. Our mains were two burgers — small, and entirely lost on a plate that contained no side salad or sense of effort in presentation — a very small lamb dish with mashed potato, and a vegetation tart with wilted greens — the cheapest, largest and most appetising option as it turned out. The total? £240. To me, that represents an inexplicably poor quality of gastronomic experience for the price paid. I’d stick to the (fairly expensive, even for London) pints.

The best thing going for this pub is the young Australian barman serving drinks behind the bar. Friendly, polite and makes a decent cocktail.

Amazing 28oz côte de boeuf in a decent pub! Spacious pub just like fine dining with great beer! Staff are very friendly! A place must visit in Hampstead!

Great traditional pub for locals. Always nice to be there for drinks and food.

70th birthday lunch. Very expensive but a decent standard. They also allow dogs. I think the Caviar starter at £75 a portion is designed to lure in local millionaires with more money than sense, but £100 a head isn't too bad really.

We were spoken to very rudely by the tall blonde woman who oversees the restaurant area, she was quite offensive and we have never been spoken to so badly in a pub before for doing absolutely nothing wrong apart from quietly having a drink. It was so bad that had to complain about her to the manager and will not be returning.

Very tasty food and nice and calm atmosphere

Lovely lads on the bar. One of them was on his first shift.

Service is great, cocktails & wine are good. The food was surprisingly underwhelming. We'd booked for a late afternoon Sunday Roast, & definitely recommend booking as it was packed! I love the vibe here - such a buzzing energy of groups of friends, couples, families. It's a great place to finish off a walk around Hampstead Heath. We sipped cocktails watching the sun set in the little terraced nook before venturing into the dining area for the roast. For starters, we sampled the beef fat brisket brioche with nduja, which was severely lacking in flavour and disappointly forgettable. The pumpkin velouté was light & flavourful but also lacking in something that made us feel disappointed. We all had the beef for our Sunday roast (asked medium rare) which was somewhat tough. Gravy lacked flavour, Yorkshires were ok, the quintessential roast potatoes were tasty but not crispy in the slightest and parboiled at best. Stand-out was the veg, however, and I don't think we've had a better carrot! The atmosphere, wine, & everything else was what made this is a great afternoon but the roast was nothing to revisit and apart from the carrots, I would not recommend.

Not a good experience for the price, the wine was thin and lacking taste, the meat was chewy and they tried to overcharge us £36 for other drinks we didn't order. On the plus side the service was good. Overall though the place was a poor standard.

This pub is having a laugh with its prices. Yesterday afternoon (Monday 12th February) and ordered 2 large glasses of Sauvignon Blanc. The charge was almost £30. Well £28.80 to be honest. I was shocked to say the least. Now I know there is a mark up for drinking in a pub, I accept that but there is a limit. I know this pub is famous and Hampstead is an expensive area but come on, this is unfair and unreasonable. I asked how much for the bottle and was told £40. We looked up the bottle and found it sells for £9.50 in tesco. I should of just said I'm not paying that and walked out but they had poured by now. I kick myself I didn't just leave. We all know a large glass is little more than 2 big mouthfuls but this is a massive liberty. As we walked to the table a member of bar staff heard me complaining, good. I wonder how this pub would justify such prices. I certainly will NEVER come back here again.

The service at the Holly Bush is amazing. The front of house staff make you feel very special. Thank you

Took my family there to experience their first Sunday roasts and fish and chips. Glad I chose this pub, great food and beautiful interior.

Amazing and cosy pub with excellent drinks and amazing staff. No beer garden yet a seating area out front.

Very enjoyable visit last Saturday. Great atmosphere, quiet location. Quite traditional but stylish. Food good but probably best to book as it was constantly busy. Would definitely go back again.

Very good Fuller's pub about 5 minutes (steep uphill!) walk from Hampstead Underground Station. Three cask beers on handpump when we visited. A few covered seats outside. The pub, which was built in about 1797, is Grade II-listed and is on the Campaign for Real Ale's London Regional Inventory of historic pub interiors. Very busy on the Sunday afternoon we visited, primarily with diners.

Tiny portions of average food with ridiculous prices that wouldn't be out of place on Bond Street. £5 serving of broccoli overcooked to mush and cold, £20 for a vegetarian ravioli main with literally 5 small piece of pasta. Food all came at different times and some was forgotten. Staff were friendly enough but most looked like a rabbit in headlights. It's a shame as this used to be a great spot after a nice walk on the Heath.

The service is lovely and the food - divine. It's really a gourmet restaurant not a traditional pub. This is my 2nd time, and won't be my last. Absolutely superb, kid, pet, carnivore, vegan ans vegetarian friendly. Thank you so much!

This is one of the pubs I would keep secret true classic classy London pub one of a kind 👍

A bit disappointed by our experience at the Holly Bush. We ordered the beef filet which at 36£ was the most expensive item on the menu. We expected a sizable piece of beef but all we got was a bite-sized thin medallion with a coffee spoon of purée and small side of grounded beef. Very deceptive considering the price, although it was very good. Not sure the minced meat added anything though, we would have preferred to have the whole steak. We were still hungry after finishing it. The desert (toffee cake) was excellent. Overall still a disappointing experience. We were looking for a typical English pub experience but it was like it was trying to be posh. Very nice service nonetheless.

Expensive and not much customization. That soesnt take away from how good everything was though. The potatoes are done very well and the sirloin is delicious 😋 I highly recommend getting deserts for the table.

The food was fantastic! From the vegetarian dish to the fish to the meat, all were delicious! Well worth the price. Service was professional and friendly too. The pub is cozy and warm. Thanks for this lovely time!

The Holly Bush was once a local favourite, however, since moving further afield don't get a chance to visit as frequently. However, as per usual the food was brilliant and the service, attentive, yet unintrusive. We visited on a Sunday, so naturally, a roast was on the cards. I opted for the pork, which was lovely. My only gripe is that the portions of cauliflower cheese seem to be getting smaller each time! All in all, if near by, stop in for a drink and a bite. But if you're looking for a good roast, book now, and come from as far as you feel comfortable!

Lovely classic old, cozy pub Tucktaway in a quiet neighborhood above Hampstead Heath. Highly recommend.

Terrible service, staff don’t know how to pull a pint

Lovely pub with great food. Booked for a big group for New Year's Eve and we got a whole room.

I came here on a recommendation from a friend.. The staff were super friendly and helpful and the Halibut and chips made for a perfect lunch

Good food good service nice ambiance

Nice looking pub in classic Hampstead location. We were a party of 7 and they didn’t have half the menu. 3 people ordered squid and they said they only have enough for 1. They didn’t have oysters or charcuterie - their signature dishes. They didn’t even have olives or still water?!?! The service was bad - they never asked us if we want drinks, we had to ask 3-4 times to get refills. They never cleared away old glasses. The toilets were DISGUSTING, worse than some festival loos tbh. I know this is a pub but if they have caviar and oysters on the menu, and you ordered a 78£ cote de boeuf, you expect more, and rightly so. Never again for anything other than drinks.

Incredible food and service. But given the price point of the food, would expect slightly better interior and less smelly toilets etc.

I was expecting a very touristy place as the pub is quite well know on social networks but I was totally wrong ! We went there for a few drinks in the evening and the atmosphere was great. Many people who live, or work in the neighbourhood. Good beers and ales available, like in any Fuller’s pub, (my favourite), same with gins and tonics. We didn’t try the food but I definitely recommend a stop for at least a few drinks in this lovely pub, in a pretty district of North London

Rubbish experience here on a Sunday evening. Despite a 7pm booking was told half way through main course that the bar was closing, and on finishing eating main, that the kitchen was now closed (this was about 8pm) and there would be no possibility of dessert. Don’t bother taking the bookings you nutters if you not going to keep the place open long enough to allow people to complete their meal! On getting the bill I also had to ask them to remove an errant charge added to my bill. What a joke! Had some mediocre experiences in London but this took the cake. Food that I did get to eat was nothing special either. Avoid avoid avoid.

We went here for a Christmas do. The atmosphere of the pub is great as is the service but the food was just average. We were a party of 15 and everyone preordered their starters, mains and deserts. Tbh, everything tasted below par. However, their Sauvignon Blanc was amazing! I'd go back just for that. The pub gets quite busy so it does seem to be quite popular for drinks.

Real old London. Excellent food. Friendly and professional service. White linen tablecloths.

Early on a Friday evening, and the place is busy and warm and laughing, friendly in a way posh places often aren’t, and with that something that all great pubs have that’s difficult to put your finger on. Love? #13 #34

Pub is cosy though it got overwhelmingly hot and loud. Service felt rushed and inattentive and chaotic as multiple people were serving us, often asking the same things. Portions were good, but food was far from its price point. Nothing special, just a menu full of French buzz words to make it sound more reasonable for the prices. Mulled wine took ages and it came with generous bits of orange pulp in it, which made the drinking experience beyond unpleasant. Paid nearly £100 for two for a very mediocre dinner and an overall underwhelming experience. The prices felt more suited to an actual restaurant, not a pub. Far from the cosy pub dinner we expected. Sorry, won't be recommending this.

Bit over crowded, its Christmas and its crazy..But lovely pub, would ofcourse return again next time im in town.

Great. A lovely British pub, serving traditional food — all of that in one of the greatest parts of London. The place makes you feel home in a minute, the food gives you even more goose bumps. Simply great, with the fish & chips a proper classic .. comes with a light batter, pea chutney and sauce tartare. And is a must have if you’re visiting Britain. The chicken was a great choice, too. And so were the desserts we enjoyed. Service was super friendly, would recommend it any day.

The Venison was good but served with almost no sauce we had to ask for more and the meat was not warm. The service was very pushy and wanted us to order drinks, they asked several times even though we said we were waiting for another person to join.

Just a cheeky drink for us today, however we had the roast here on our last visit and it is elite. Pretty happy to find a Burgundy by the glass here today and we enjoyed a few drinks and conversation tucked away in the back room while the locals bathed in the sun out front. Great pub 🍷

Old small cozy bar with great service and beers

We came for a wedding reception so can't really comment on the usual menu but what we had to eat was wonderful and all the other guests agreed. The only thing I mark them down for was that they served lovely looking medium rare steaks but they didn't have any steak knives so many guests struggled!

Love, love & love this place!!!

Longest waiting time: 1 hour to get served. No excuses

Lovelly little place, havent tried the food yet but drinks and snacks perfect

Post-funeral reception recently was superb. The buffet was delicious, especially crispy coated fish with tartare sauce and chips, inventive salads and yummy cheeseboard. Staff couldn't have been nicer or more helpful. Pub full of character. Definitely worth a visit.