The Holly Bush, Hampstead — Restaurant in London

Came here for a Sunday lunch, it was extremely busy, lucky we had booked ahead. I ordered the crab ravioli starter which although it tasted nice I couldn't believe it was literally one piece in a bowl with the butter sauce, if I hadn't been savouring the flavours I would have finished it in 3 bites.

This came out relatively fast then we waited about 40 minutes for our mains. I had ordered the roast beef and my partner the chicken.

The meal was good, the beef was nice and tender, cooked medium(if you don't like pink meat you'd be grumpy) the Yorkshire pudding was huge and they provided us with extra gravy. Unfortunately both of us noticed our cauliflower with cheese was cold and my partner's Yorkshire pudding was cold also. I don't know what the red stuff was on the plate, might have been beetroot but it was so strong in flavour it was a bit off putting when eating with the other items. The stuffing on my partner's plate tasted very odd, almost store bought as I've had more roast chickens than I care to count and I've never had one with the taste or consistency like that, it was almost a like hockey puck, it was also rather cold.

The atmosphere was a bit confusing as the food was essentially a bog standard pub Sunday lunch but the prices and the portion of the starter made it seem as though it was aiming for some level of fine dining. It was also very very loud, I could barely make conversation with my partner over dinner and oddly some very bright flashing Christmas lights came on in the middle of the meal that produced something of a strobe effect while we were eating.

We finished our water but there didn't seem to be anyone floating around to enquire if we wanted more drinks of any kind. For a 2 mains and a starter and drinks coming close to £90 which is $150 back home for me, this meal was pretty steep for what it was. When I asked to have the service charge taken off they didn't enquire why but my partner did witness a staff member tell another we requested it off and when we were walking out she ignored us.

Overall the food was okay but honestly not worth the price considering the atmosphere...

Horrible service and inedible food

They probably buy reviews online because it should be 3 stars at most. I usually don’t write reviews, but I had to share our terrible experience at this pub. We decided to visit because the place has a cozy vibe and used to be good, but honestly, it was a disaster from start to finish.

First, the wait between courses was absurd. We were there on a Tuesday evening when the place was barely half full, and yet, we waited a full 45 minutes between each dish! Absolutely ridiculous for a nearly empty restaurant.

The service was also incredibly slow. The male waiter took forever to take our order, and after finishing our meal, it took him even longer to clear the plates. We had to practically flag him down for everything, which is just basic customer service.

The worst part was that we came specifically to try their apple tarte tatin, which we ordered immediately upon arriving. But after finishing our main courses, the waiter told us it would take 25 minutes to prepare!

Why couldn’t they just make it when we ordered it in the first place? We ended up sitting there for nearly 1 hour and 40 minutes and still hadn’t seen our dessert. When we asked about the delay, instead of offering an apology, the waiter became defensive and told us that such long waits were “normal” in a restaurant! Really? A 45-minute wait per dish and an hour-plus wait for dessert?

To top it off, they had the audacity to add a large tip to the bill, which was absolutely unwarranted considering the appalling service. The food itself—lamb and cod—was mediocre at best, bland and forgettable and so overpriced!!! 32£ each!!!

This was hands down the worst dining experience I’ve had in a long time. I would highly not recommend this place to anyone, not for the food, the service, or the general lack of...

UPDATE: Spoke to our friend who took us there 2 years ago when we had a fantastic experience. He said it is now a corporate pub and has become notorious for poor food and the manager chastising any guest who complains. Having experienced both these situations strongly advise not to pay attention to the "review bots" they are using to pump up their ratings. Classic red flags, every negative review is followed by a barrage of positive reviews all by "local guides". Avoid this place!

We have been here a few years ago and had a great experience but frankly this was one of the worst dining experiences in a long time. The service is abysmal. We were hardly attended to, had to flag down wait staff consistently. We ordered one bottle of wine for 3, we were never offered any more drink service after that. The menu has huge potential, well thought out ideas but there is a total lack of execution. Entree of crab ravioli was totally raw, the pasta was just a gummy mess, and the veloute was stone cold. Asked for it to be recooked to which they obliged, second time round was barely any better. Then waited 40min for main course. Côte de bouef was frankly nasty. It appeared to have been defrosted in a microwave or under hot water with a gray layer on one side that was watery and odd flavor (hallmarks of defrosting inappropriately) We asked for fries for the teenagers, told they didn't have enough and could only get them with the steak. When they arrived, the server refused to put them down in front of the kids and said they had to go with the steak. This was the culmination of a thoroughly unimpressive afternoon. Spoke to the manager who blamed us for being rude to the server. He did then spend some time discussing with us, but by this point, the expensive afternoon had flopped. Unfortunately, we have to say don't...