Shoshana's Guidebook for Hampstead and London

Shoshana
Shoshana's Guidebook for Hampstead and London

Food Scene

Roni's makes the best bagels in our neighbourhood. The cafe in Hampstead Village is rather small, so I would suggest going to Roni's in West Hampstead (separate entry here) or to the newly renovated Belsize Park location (West Hampstead Roni's is simply 5mins down the street; Belsize Park Roni's is 20mins walk, 5mins with taxi/uber/car)
8 habitants recommandent
Roni's Bakery - Hampstead
44 Rosslyn Hill
8 habitants recommandent
Roni's makes the best bagels in our neighbourhood. The cafe in Hampstead Village is rather small, so I would suggest going to Roni's in West Hampstead (separate entry here) or to the newly renovated Belsize Park location (West Hampstead Roni's is simply 5mins down the street; Belsize Park Roni's is 20mins walk, 5mins with taxi/uber/car)
This is a great bagel (and cake) bakery with a cafe next door.
Roni's Bagel Bakery Ltd
248 W End Ln
This is a great bagel (and cake) bakery with a cafe next door.
This is a newly renovated Roni's location in a perfect people-watching spot with a LOT less car traffic outside than the Hampstead village or the West Hampstead locations
16 habitants recommandent
RONIS
39 Belsize Ln
16 habitants recommandent
This is a newly renovated Roni's location in a perfect people-watching spot with a LOT less car traffic outside than the Hampstead village or the West Hampstead locations
The food is nice and there is frequent in-house live music
80 habitants recommandent
The Wet Fish Cafe
242 West End Lane
80 habitants recommandent
The food is nice and there is frequent in-house live music
fantastically authentic Italian food. One of my sisters has lived in Italy for 25yrs and even her children (now young adults) LOVE the food at Bellaluna because it "tastes like home"!
8 habitants recommandent
Bellaluna
218 W End Ln
8 habitants recommandent
fantastically authentic Italian food. One of my sisters has lived in Italy for 25yrs and even her children (now young adults) LOVE the food at Bellaluna because it "tastes like home"!
B's prepares by far THE MOST delicious Afternoon Tea that you can imagine. Trust me, we have tried dozens of ATs over our 15+ years in London and most of them were an eternal disappointment. If you book in advance AND are willing to splash out, you should book an Afternoon Tea Bus Tour run and catered by B's Bakery. At least 5 old red double decker buses have been turned into mobile dainty cafes and the 90mins trip can be booked to either start from (and return to) Victoria Bus Station or Trafalgar Square and drives you and your dining party around London's sights while serving a fantastic sweet and savoury afternoon tea with a freshly brewed latte macchiato, hot chocolate or tea...yum!
9 habitants recommandent
B Bakery
6-7 Chandos Pl
9 habitants recommandent
B's prepares by far THE MOST delicious Afternoon Tea that you can imagine. Trust me, we have tried dozens of ATs over our 15+ years in London and most of them were an eternal disappointment. If you book in advance AND are willing to splash out, you should book an Afternoon Tea Bus Tour run and catered by B's Bakery. At least 5 old red double decker buses have been turned into mobile dainty cafes and the 90mins trip can be booked to either start from (and return to) Victoria Bus Station or Trafalgar Square and drives you and your dining party around London's sights while serving a fantastic sweet and savoury afternoon tea with a freshly brewed latte macchiato, hot chocolate or tea...yum!
Ignore the US address - this is an entry still referring to B's Bakery in Covent Garden. Just to let you know: they have also started to cater to the more grownup clientele and now offer also evening bus tours with Gin&Sushi delicacies:)
9 habitants recommandent
B's Bakery
241 W Main St
9 habitants recommandent
Ignore the US address - this is an entry still referring to B's Bakery in Covent Garden. Just to let you know: they have also started to cater to the more grownup clientele and now offer also evening bus tours with Gin&Sushi delicacies:)
Delicious burger+chips which go down even better with a bottle of ginger beer. Try it! You won't be disappointed:)
18 habitants recommandent
KidZania London
331 West End Lane
18 habitants recommandent
Delicious burger+chips which go down even better with a bottle of ginger beer. Try it! You won't be disappointed:)
THE MOST AMAZING steak restaurant in London that I know. There is another Gaucho in Hampstead (2 minutes walk up the street from Hampstead station) but I would always prefer the treck out to Canary Wharf to eat on the riverside, especially during warmer weather where you sit outside, eat delicious food, and get drunk on wine and people-watching:) It's not a child-friendly place per se. No kids menu. But because of the off the beaten track location, you may find it wonderfully empty in the afternoon as most business people from CW book it for either lunch or dinner. Next door is a Royal China which is decent, and opposite a Zizzi Italian restaurant which is very good too. Enjoy!!
50 habitants recommandent
Gaucho
93A Charterhouse St
50 habitants recommandent
THE MOST AMAZING steak restaurant in London that I know. There is another Gaucho in Hampstead (2 minutes walk up the street from Hampstead station) but I would always prefer the treck out to Canary Wharf to eat on the riverside, especially during warmer weather where you sit outside, eat delicious food, and get drunk on wine and people-watching:) It's not a child-friendly place per se. No kids menu. But because of the off the beaten track location, you may find it wonderfully empty in the afternoon as most business people from CW book it for either lunch or dinner. Next door is a Royal China which is decent, and opposite a Zizzi Italian restaurant which is very good too. Enjoy!!

Parks & Nature

Kenwood House is not just a good spot for art lovers, but also a great place for breakfast, a cake or a snack. When you walk out of the cafe area and turn left (leaving Kenwood House and the park boundaries behind you), and turn right after 250mtr, you will catch lovely views across London. The views are not quite as extensive as they are from Parliament Hill (some of the greenery of the Heath is in the way) but on the whole it's a lot less crowded!
154 habitants recommandent
Kenwood House
154 habitants recommandent
Kenwood House is not just a good spot for art lovers, but also a great place for breakfast, a cake or a snack. When you walk out of the cafe area and turn left (leaving Kenwood House and the park boundaries behind you), and turn right after 250mtr, you will catch lovely views across London. The views are not quite as extensive as they are from Parliament Hill (some of the greenery of the Heath is in the way) but on the whole it's a lot less crowded!
A beautiful park with endless spots of natural beauty and breathtakingly stunning views of London from various angles.
1215 habitants recommandent
Hampstead Heath
1215 habitants recommandent
A beautiful park with endless spots of natural beauty and breathtakingly stunning views of London from various angles.

Sightseeing

Walk from our home to Hampstead Heath station area (or take the OVERground 1 stop from Finchley&Frognal Station to Hampstead Heath Station), get a coffee and a sandwich to go and take the 10-15 mins walk through the Heath (past the duck pond) and you will end up on Parliament Hill Viewing point where you will have THE MOST AMAZING view of London you could imagine. On a good day, you can see all the way from Dartford Crossing (30?miles East of Central London) all the way to Wimbledon, Richmond and even further West.
90 habitants recommandent
Belvédère de Parliament Hill
90 habitants recommandent
Walk from our home to Hampstead Heath station area (or take the OVERground 1 stop from Finchley&Frognal Station to Hampstead Heath Station), get a coffee and a sandwich to go and take the 10-15 mins walk through the Heath (past the duck pond) and you will end up on Parliament Hill Viewing point where you will have THE MOST AMAZING view of London you could imagine. On a good day, you can see all the way from Dartford Crossing (30?miles East of Central London) all the way to Wimbledon, Richmond and even further West.
One of the most affordable ways to catch fabulous sights in London is a boat ride with the Thames Clippers leaving from underneath the London Eye and taking the trip all the way to Greenwich (for Cutty Sark etc) or even 1 stop further to North Greenwich for the O2 Centre (world famous concert hall) and the Emirates Airlines Cable Car across the Thames. You may be able to pay for all of that with a pre-loaded Oyster Card (make sure to put at least £15, better £20 on it) and you will be able to pack it all in: Big Ben, House of Parliament, London Eye, The Globe, St Pauls, Tower, Canary Wharf etc etc. You will love it!!!!
222 habitants recommandent
Emirates Royal Docks station
27 Western Gateway
222 habitants recommandent
One of the most affordable ways to catch fabulous sights in London is a boat ride with the Thames Clippers leaving from underneath the London Eye and taking the trip all the way to Greenwich (for Cutty Sark etc) or even 1 stop further to North Greenwich for the O2 Centre (world famous concert hall) and the Emirates Airlines Cable Car across the Thames. You may be able to pay for all of that with a pre-loaded Oyster Card (make sure to put at least £15, better £20 on it) and you will be able to pack it all in: Big Ben, House of Parliament, London Eye, The Globe, St Pauls, Tower, Canary Wharf etc etc. You will love it!!!!
Unless you read about it previously, you won't believe your eyes: it's a massive hanging garden on the top floors of a newly built skyscraper surrounded by glass which offers amazing views over London. You can book free (!!!) tickets for the SkyGarden visitor deck on their website. They show up just a few days (maybe a week?) before to avoid people pre-booking months in advance. You will find a bar and cafe up in the public area, but you may also book a table at the brasserie (which I think has the best views) for a light lunch, thus avoiding the queues. They offer breakfast, brunch, soups and sandwiches so it doesn't have to be the chateau briand...unless you insist:)
300 habitants recommandent
Sky Garden
300 habitants recommandent
Unless you read about it previously, you won't believe your eyes: it's a massive hanging garden on the top floors of a newly built skyscraper surrounded by glass which offers amazing views over London. You can book free (!!!) tickets for the SkyGarden visitor deck on their website. They show up just a few days (maybe a week?) before to avoid people pre-booking months in advance. You will find a bar and cafe up in the public area, but you may also book a table at the brasserie (which I think has the best views) for a light lunch, thus avoiding the queues. They offer breakfast, brunch, soups and sandwiches so it doesn't have to be the chateau briand...unless you insist:)

Drinks & Nightlife

Funnily enough, Airbnb doesn't offer the simply category of PUB so please note that I do NOT know whether Alice House is also a Brewery. But it's a lovely pub, has been around forever and the food more often than not is very tasty.
77 habitants recommandent
Alice House West Hampstead
283-285 W End Ln
77 habitants recommandent
Funnily enough, Airbnb doesn't offer the simply category of PUB so please note that I do NOT know whether Alice House is also a Brewery. But it's a lovely pub, has been around forever and the food more often than not is very tasty.
There are several bars and restaurants halfway up the Shard on levels 35/36. The entrance to the Shard is closely London Bridge tube station; you can enter one of the bars when you just want to have a drink without reservation - but it gets very busy and quite posh and grownup (meaning cocktails dress etc) from 7pm onwards. So if visiting with kids, you might want to choose late afternoon for enjoying the amazing views and simply order a couple of cokes:) PS: There is a McDonalds opposite the entrance/exit area so if your stomachs are growling when exiting the tube ON THE WAY to the Shard, you may be able to feed the entire family at McD for what you pay for a G&T up on the 35th floor:)
828 habitants recommandent
The Shard
32 London Bridge St
828 habitants recommandent
There are several bars and restaurants halfway up the Shard on levels 35/36. The entrance to the Shard is closely London Bridge tube station; you can enter one of the bars when you just want to have a drink without reservation - but it gets very busy and quite posh and grownup (meaning cocktails dress etc) from 7pm onwards. So if visiting with kids, you might want to choose late afternoon for enjoying the amazing views and simply order a couple of cokes:) PS: There is a McDonalds opposite the entrance/exit area so if your stomachs are growling when exiting the tube ON THE WAY to the Shard, you may be able to feed the entire family at McD for what you pay for a G&T up on the 35th floor:)

Arts & Culture

Lovely historic house with a surprisingly good cafe where one can sit in a delightful little courtyard, on a sunny day.
30 habitants recommandent
Burgh House & Hampstead Museum
New End Square
30 habitants recommandent
Lovely historic house with a surprisingly good cafe where one can sit in a delightful little courtyard, on a sunny day.
A lovely place and must see for all couch psychology-buffs:)
88 habitants recommandent
Musée Freud de Londres
20 Maresfield Gardens
88 habitants recommandent
A lovely place and must see for all couch psychology-buffs:)
another lovely little place which takes you back in time....
63 habitants recommandent
Keats House
10 Keats Grove
63 habitants recommandent
another lovely little place which takes you back in time....

Entertainment & Activities

This is a very unique offering: a working church which holds regular mass etc but in addition, it houses a permanent soft play area for babies up to 10+yr olds; a post office and little shop plus a very nice cafe with hot, savoury and sweet dishes. There are lots of old sofas and table and chairs for parents to sit while their kids enjoy an hour of runaround in the soft play area (and rest of the church) for £4.50 (ish) per child.
The Sherriff Centre
2 Sherriff Rd
This is a very unique offering: a working church which holds regular mass etc but in addition, it houses a permanent soft play area for babies up to 10+yr olds; a post office and little shop plus a very nice cafe with hot, savoury and sweet dishes. There are lots of old sofas and table and chairs for parents to sit while their kids enjoy an hour of runaround in the soft play area (and rest of the church) for £4.50 (ish) per child.

Shopping

a massive bookstore considering how small Hampstead is. anything you need, they will either have it or be able to order it for you. nice cafe upstairs inside; you can even browse through books while sipping your coffee.
44 habitants recommandent
Waterstones
82 Gower St
44 habitants recommandent
a massive bookstore considering how small Hampstead is. anything you need, they will either have it or be able to order it for you. nice cafe upstairs inside; you can even browse through books while sipping your coffee.