Eat Drink Meet, a website and app that helps users discover nearby pubs, bars, and restaurants, has unveiled its list of the most welcoming venues to escape the winter chill this festive season.
The watering holes which go the extra mile to deliver a memorable Christmas experience were selected from thousands of venues by Eat Drink Meet’s curators.
Inviting spots in London included the Coal Hole in The Strand – but in tenth place was The Old Bull and Bush in Hampstead.
They said the pub in North End Way was both stylish and dog-friendly, with lashings of Christmas cheer combined with proximity to Hampstead Heath.
It also offers festive menus with a range of Christmas classics and seasonal twists such as chicken, leek and Davidstow cheddar pie, 12oz pork tomahawk, and Christmas pudding.
At the bar there’s a range of warming tipples, real ales, fine wines and winter cocktails, and there’s a cosy bar with open fires – making it the perfect place to unwind after a busy day of Christmas shopping or a winter walk on Hampstead Heath.
The East Drink Meet app and website allows users to filter options for the likes of dog-friendly pubs, or landmarks nearby, live music or comedy and pub quizzes.
Listings also detail whether they have gardens or outdoor dining options, riverside views, fireside armchairs, and even electric vehicle charging points.
The pub’s owners Premium Country Inns gave The Old Bull and Bush a makeover in 2023 including a cosy new look with comfy leather and velvet seating, and a revamped menu.
The colour palette is autumnal green and brown hues, there’s a bay window overlooking the terrace and nearby Golders Hill Park, and a dining room popular with Heath walkers and families for get togethers and Sunday roasts.
In Victorian times, the pub and its huge tea gardens were a popular day trip for Cockneys. They would flock there on bank holidays and summer days – as described in music hall star Florrie Forde’s famous song – Down at the Old Bull and Bush.
In face a licensed establishment has stood on the site since 1721 when a farm building was converted into an inn.
It was a drinking spot for painters Hogarth, Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds, but the current building dates back to a major rebuild with extensions in 1923.
The Old Bull and Bush is in North End Way, Hampstead, NW3.
