The Horseshoe, Hampstead — Restaurant in London

Well what a pub. I chose to come here for the first time as it was listed on Time Out's best roast dinner lists and I fancied a good one. It didn't disappoint.

The roast was absolutely gorgeous and probably one of the best I've ever had. The meat was cooked to perfection, potatoes crunchy on the outside and fluffy in the middle. The giant Yorkshire was melt in the mouth and the veg and gravy were cooked to perfection and seasoned well. I honestly couldn't fault it at all. Came in at circa £20 which may sound expensive to some but the portion size was huge so it was well worth the spend and good value for what you're getting.

I washed my roast down with a delicious signature Bloody Mary which was so full of flavour. I thought the drink could have been slightly larger as it was already in a smallish glass and that was almost full of ice so not much to actually drink for the price. But I still really enjoyed it.

The pub itself is nicely laid out and I like the fact they haven't cramped everyone together. It was super clean and the toilet facilities were nice. The staff were a highlight for me. Very attentive, polite and talkative (in a non-forced way).

We had one error where we ordered a pint and it never arrived. The staff member must have forgotten to put it through the till. As we'd already finished our dinner we cancelled it and asked for the bill. The staff member was very apologetic, even though we didn't think it was a big deal, and to our surprise they'd knocked 10% off the bill as a sorry. Now that is service!

Highly recommended. I know I'll be returning...

Let’s see.. great starters, staff had good knowledge of the menu and were able to advise on dietary requirements without fuss.

We looked forward to ordering our mains and enjoying the rest of our evening.

Sadly that wasn’t to be, evidently the kitchen closes at 9pm. Okay, fine.

But it’s a detail that not a single member of staff thought to indicate to us, as we perused the menu further and waited for the last of our party to arrive (which we had indicated).

Actually, that’s not entirely true - we were informed at 8:58pm, two full minutes ahead of the kitchen closing.

We scrambled to order our mains, our order was taken.. only to be informed that it was too late - the kitchen was now closed.

The manager made it clear that this was in fact our fault, because it states so on the menu. He made no apology for the fact, and failed to concede that it might have been appropriate to draw our attention to this detail. Particularly as it was abundantly clear we had every intention of continuing our meal and enjoying our evening.

The manager had an air of arrogance in his refusal to accept fault of any kind, but did concede to waive a reasonable portion of the bill, after I suggested that we leave without paying at all (not something I’ve ever genuinely considered)

To his credit, he did offer to provide a voucher for some future occasion, still without hint of apology - we chose not to take them up on this offer.

Unfortunately...

I reserve this rating to two star.. it's my second time here..

The staff, I cannot say much about both times I was served by girls who have their head on something else rather than work.. first time around the server didn't acknowledge us and was not aware we were there and place was not busy.. she was too much into her chatting.

Second time around another server who thinks she is something of a fashion model and wants to be like a PR Manager but not work behind the bar pulling pints. Attitude and I didnt even say anything. She was just too busy trying to hookup with another customer. Not saying I am jealous but I am past that age group. So millenials you are welcome to come here and eat your avocado and drink craft beer and spend your hard earned money on exaggerated experience.

I cannot give this place a third go. It is rubbish and I cannot begin to come here again even if offered to review for free!

Oh to top it up; the skilled bartender did his bottle spin party trick and splashed my girlfriend..Too much Info! She is a lady and doesn't like this behaviour. He needs to go back to cocktail school. Not sure if it help him or this down right wankish place but why not where else the money they make should be spent on..perhaps customer...