The Bull & Last

Sunday lunch started so promising but...

Our starters of smoked croquettes were great and plentiful but my husbands snails with bacon & croutons starter was nothing more than a plate of lettuce leaves with very little else. Both our mains of roast beef, yorkshire pud and trimmings was not worth the wait of an hour. The beef was so over cooked that it resembled more like a piece of old flavourless overcooked pork. Hence, we could not eat it. Roasties and yorkshire pud were very average but plentiful veg. We asked if we could have some beef that wasn't over cooked but the waitress told us that it was all that was left. However, we did notice that beef was still being served to other customers. Needless to say, I ate my yorkshire and one potato and some veg but my husband left the whole lot. When the waitress cleared our plates away she didn't ask us why we had left it but we told her what we thought and suggested that she should inform the chef. To our total amazement, the waitress returned to us and apologised for the bad food but said "it is the luck of the draw who gets the last piece of beef". When I said that maybe we should have been told how bad the beef was beforehand and given the opportunity to order something else, she just shrugged her shoulders and walked off. However, she did return with the offer of a free dessert! All in all, the two mains at £28 were a total disgrace and completely unprofessional in the way that this was handled.

Not to mention the extremely slow and unprofessional service - would we go again? Maybe for a drink but I can think of much better places in the area for that!
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m
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 7
Monday, September 07, 2009

I have just walked past this pub and i popped in on my own for lunch and a pint having just started working in the area.

I had a pint of BItter Shandy (i was working after all) and Beer Battered Fish and Chips - i even had a pickled Wally!!

The fish was perfect and the batter cooked to perfection. Lovely big roasties rather than chips if truth be known, but crisp and prepared perfectly.

I have to say it was delicious and i even took a menu away with me (although lunchtime and evening menus differ).

My only regret is that today isnt a Sunday as it would have been nice to read the papers.

From what I can gather, the place gets rammed at the weekends - I would opt then for The Bull & Last for lunchtimes and after work shennagigans. Alternatively a good place for a quiet meeting during the day.

I was really impressed. I can only assume that the guy below had a different chef to me as the meal I had was borderline perfection.
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The Real Wally
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, September 01, 2009

This is a tough review to write because I love this pb. Great service, lovely room, on theath - how could they go wrong?

THE FOOD! And how spectularly wrong they have gone... Oh poor people lured in by the promise of something special. This is home cooked-style grub of the kind oh so easily bettered at home.

On to what we had then: tough steak, tasteless and chewy, watercress that tasted as if it was from a bag. Decent chips.

Pork sandwich - meat bland and overcooked.

Goats curd salad - a measly thin spread of cheese on burnt bread. Woeful food, nice atmosphere, good scotch eggs, nice sausage rolls. This is average food of the kind that can be bettered at home with your eyes closed. Nice ales, just don't expect restaurant quality food in this pub.
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Matteo
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 2
Friday, February 27, 2009

I have known the Bull and Last since I came to London 16 years ago. At first my knowledge of it was little more than a glimpse and the thought it looked like a decent boozer as my minicab sped from some hellhole in Soho to my pied a hellhole in Finchley.

I moved to the area a couple of years ago, well, Kentish Town to be exact, and have watched as the gentrification of the area gathered no pace whatsoever. The Bull stayed the same. I used to pop in for a beer after wandering over the heath or walking back from Hampstead.

And then, at the tale end of the boom that gentrified areas in London that should have been wiped from the face of the map with a tactical nuke (you know who you are), the Bull and Last had what fancyapint would call the full gastro makeover. This time however, even the bearded suppers at FaP have given a vote of confidence in the result.

There is a formal dining room upstairs, but this seems to miss the point somewhat. The downstairs bar is a wonderful place to filter into after an hour or so on the Heath (thus avoiding the crapulant wares of the Freemason's arms over in Hampstead). Time your entrance though. It's first come first served and I found myself in a short queue at 12pm on the Sunday I tried it out.

Firstly the booze, because this is still a great boozer. There are usually three reral ales on tap and a well priced and interesting wine list. I think the most expensive red, a chateauneuf, is around 36 quid. Cocktails can also be had but this would be too, too primrose hill for me.

My smoked mackerel pate and roast beef were excellent, really the best gastropub food I've had to date.

The service was cordial, and tap water is distributed as a matter of coure. I could have sat there getting quietly stewed all day.

I didn't have space to fit in dessert, but may wander in over the crimbo period to have another go, not it's not quite my local but close enough to justify the walk.

Seriously, if you live in the area and tend to go the junction tavern, go here instead.
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David Jenkins - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, December 10, 2008