My wife and I visited this pub a few weeks back, during our UK visit from the U.S. It used to be called the Old Black Lion when I was a young Aussie bartender, some 50 years ago! The exterior has been refreshed and the interior, other than the bar itself having the same footprint that it had 50 years ago, has completely been refurbished. We had lunch there: I had the steak sandwich and a peach-flavored lager..marvelous. The outside back patio was amazing and would be a little slice of heaven to have a beer out there on a nice day. Wonderful to be back! read more

Great food and an awesome atmosphere. Recommend highly. Fish and chips and the Lamb Burger were both excellent.

As usual this pub is warm and friendly. We use to go there at least once a week ton either enjoy a beer, a sweet treat or for their perfect Sunday Roast. Food menu is complete and the soup of the chef is always perfect ! Sunday is also the quiz day. Fun ! read more

The Black Lion - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

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This is a cute pub in West Hampstead. We had a large party and luckily the Black Lion took reservations. The pub itself is cute with a great patio. I had a Pimm's, which was very tasty. We tried many different dishes between the 6 of us including the fish and chips, the saffron risotto, the various dips with bread, the ravioli, and the duck salad. The food was a bit of a mixed bag. The risotto was not super flavorful and the duck salad was dry. The rest of the food was good, especially the ravioli...those were amazingly tasty. If you're in the neighborhood, this is a good place to stop. PS the price points were a bit high, but not outrageous. read more

Came for a lovely Sunday roast with the fam. We got served by the best waitress iona. Such a lovely waitress, gave the best service and was extremely helpful. Would come again just for the service. The food was also amazing! read more

Located in the middle of West End Lane, (not literally, geographically!), is this gem of a pub. In the evenings or when the sun is out this is one of the best places you can be. The decor is upscale; it is rustic and very tastefully decorated. There is a terrace at the front and a split level fully decked back garden, which is perfect for a few drinks in the sun. I live locally and go here often as they have a great selection of beer and a really chilled and relaxing atmosphere. Service is quick and friendly and they even remember your preferences if you come here often enough! In the summer they do a barbeque in the back garden which is delicious and recommended if you go with a few friends. I have eaten here only once and as it's an upscale gastro pub it wasn't cheap; I had an Angus rib-eye steak, hand cut chips with pink peppercorn sauce, which came to nearly £20 alone. It did taste great though and was thoroughly enjoyed. The only thing I can criticise this place for is that if you come here and the place is busy but the restaurant area is completely dead, they still won't let you use a table unless you're eating there, which is quite silly. If you're in the area and need a nice place for a drink then stop by The Black Lion. read more

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Some places have bad food. Some places have bad service. This place has both. This is a bar. It is not a pub. Nothing wrong with that. Drinks and some sport is fine but that is all this place does remotely well. read more

Very confusing that there are two Black Lion pubs in West Hampstead, but luckily I made it to the right one for our Xmas do ;) The ambience is nice and the table were decorated with crackers, poppers, and my personal favourite, little solo menu cards! I was a bit sceptical of the only veggie main on the special Xmas menu, but ordered it with good grace. When the tagine arrived I was knocked out; the subtlety and taste were excellently done and I could have eaten all of it, were I not saving myself for the sticky toffee pudding (which was gloriously sweet and sticky and yes toffee-ee!!) Small gripe is that the loos are definitely in need of TLC - basically a refurb is crucial for this place to hold its own in this rather posh area! The staff were attentive, despite the place being chocka and I felt like were were treated perfectly. Lovely-jubbly :) read more

Ducked in out of the rain for a bite and a pint, very satisfied and love the vibe and decor. Good prices.

Preparing for drinks at another West Hampstead pub, I decided to go for dinner to the Black Lion. The pub was quite busy on that Thursday evening and the overall atmosphere was very good. I like the interior of this pub, not too old fashioned and also not too much trying to be cool. For my dinner, I ordered a burger. It looked nice and tasted ok, but some little thing, a random flavour, did not taste right for me. Also, I found the bun a bit too sturdy, which made the burger a bit difficult to eat. The chips were fine. On the plus side, after getting involved in a conversation with a nice girl at my table who was there with colleagues for after work drinks, I stayed for another glass of wine. When I ordered my second glass at the bar, I was very happy that I could pay even an amount below £10 by card. Actually, I paid £10 by card and got the change back. I think that's a very good way to deal with this limitation and I acknowledge that they provide this service. Overall, I like the interior and the attitude to service at the Black Lion. It is a nice busy place and most definitely worth a visit. read more

This is a lovely pub, tastefully redecorated a few years back and renamed "The Black Lion". This is a pub with a great vibe, good music, friendly staff and a great back garden area and another outside area our front that very inviting. Lots of leather couches and wood paneling make this spacious pub a very nice place to have a drink with friends. The food I would say is very good but not outstanding and a touch over priced. But the restaurant earing area is very pleasant with candle light tables at night. I think it's the best pub in West end Lane personally but it has close second places nearby. West Hampstead always has plenty to offer including great pubs. read more

Very nice place for drinks. Much better than the Alice House a few doors down which is a bit cliquy and drinks are easier to order. Much more space with a lovely back garden, which during summer is completely packed due to its popularity. Food is very nice there if a little pricey for a pub but worth it. Overall this IS the best pub and possibly place to go out for drinks on West End Lane. read more

My experience with the Black Lion Nw6 is limited. Had a pint in the back patio area. Suffice to say the selection of beers is good and the inside and outside seating is copious and attractive. The amount of front terrace and back patio seating is truly a distinguishing feature. The inside atmosphere is welcoming and warm. Didn't get to experience the menu, but hope to rectify this soon. read more

Very nice pub in West Hampstead. Nice garden, good burgers.

This is an awesome pub. Always has a buzzing atmosphere, cold pints, shows the rugby and lets dogs inside... WHAT MORE COULD YOU WANT?! In summer, the garden and BBQ are a perfect place to spend a lazy afternoon with friends. read more

Unpretentious, with a good crowd and a great Sunday quiz night with a good mix of patrons. Staff are ok, drinks are what you'd expect. Lots of tables and space to spread out - great place for smallish groups of friends out for a drink or a bite to eat. Overall, a solid local hangout for those in the neighbourhood. read more

This place is legendary! Its been through a few different guises, but it does serve excellent beer (not cheap mind) and its a lovely venue. Nice toilets, good people! Thumbs up! read more

Nice pub in general but let down by the 12.5% service charge they add to the bill - even though you have to queue up at the bar to order your food and drink! Barman didn't ask me whether I wanted to add it when I ordered/paid, just did it - then when I queried the unexpectedly high bill, pointed out that it was printed (in tiny writing) on the menu. The waitress who brought us our food didn't bring enough sauces for us all, so then we had to go up to the bar and ask for more. Not exactly service worhy of a tip. read more

I visited this pub earlier this year on a lovely sunny Sunday with a small group of friends. I ordered a lamb roast dinner, which I must say was bloody amazing. Yes, it's expensive posh pub food, but it was damn good pub food. read more

Poor quality ingredients, cold food, wrong orders and sooooo slow... Staff very pleasant and extremely apologetic.... Quite simply this place should stick to just providing drinks. read more

I have lived in West Hampstead on and off for about 6 years. I knew this pub when it was just the Lion. It's been revamped fairly recently and after some time out of the country I came back to try it out. First experience was nice enough, Saturday breakfast, good food but a bit cold, good cappucinos, friendly staff. We sat in the garden and ended up moving inside because we were attacked by gangs of aphids. Second experience, not so good. Sunday night quiz I got there early to get a table for myself and 10 friends who live locally. All the booth tables were reserved except one, so I sat down at the unreserved table and ordered a drink. After about 30 minutes, a member of staff came over with a reserved sign to tell me that the table was reserved. It can't be, was my reply, I've been here for 30 minutes and there was no sign when I arrived. She was quite persistent so I asked to speak with the manager. The manager arrived and explained that the table was reserved but that she had removed the sign at lunch time for other customers and forgotten to put it back. I could have some other tables pushed together if I wanted, but when I looked around there certainly didn't seem to be enough room for 11 people to sit comfortably together. When I said that I wasn't happy with that I was just told, sorry you'll have to move, the table's reserved. No genuine apology, no attempt to make me feel welcome as a customer, a real attitude problem and no acceptable solution to what was the manager's mistake. I would have probably moved happily if she had given me a genuine smile and explained she'd had a busy day and made a mistake but they'd do their best to make us comfortable somewhere else. But instead I got an aggressive reply and a shrug. There are plenty of nice bars on West End Lane like the Gallery and the Alice House. Or the North London on Kilburn High Road with a good wine list. The Railway's closer, it's got nice beer, good attitude and a pool table. So you know what, new Black Lion, my 10 friends and I are not coming back. Nul points. read more