The Washington

I love the Washington. It’s a great place to meet up with others for a drink or a meal. I’ve gone so many times in the past as it was easy as a meetup.
Not far from either Belsize or Swiss Cottage tube stations, the Washington is on a row of lovely shops. It has a great variety of beers, wines and other drinks on offer, as well as a good menu of food.
I was disappointed with the roast the last time I went, though it wasn’t horrible. Just not as lovely as in the past.

I am really sad to say that my experience at The Washington last Sunday for roast was a disappointment.
When I moved to London 3.5 years ago, The Washington was one of the first pubs I went to and it was immediately my favorite. The location, right by the lovely Primrose Hill, the decoration (which has changed significantly since) the ambiance and the food. It was at this pub where I had my first Sunday roast and one of the best I’ve had since in London. Until last week…
The roast was very average. The meat wasn’t as succulent, the Yorkshire pudding was less puffy and the potatoes just weren’t all that edible (they were quite dry). I was quite disappointed.
I hope that they restore my faith in this pub again because I do love using it as an excuse to go to Primrose Hill, but after this experience, I doubt I’ll go back anytime soon.

Lovely pub, but service very slow for Sunday lunch, they seemed quite overwhelmed. Good selection of Ales.

The Wash is a good solid pub. It does good food, not expensive for the area. It has a nice wine selection and decent ales, always Doombar which is excellent.
I had Sunday roast and couldn’t finish it all (pretty unusual for me). They let kids in, dogs in and all are welcome. Worth the walk from Chalk Farm.

Cool atmosphere and good pub quiz. They have Camden Hells in tap so that’s awesome. Burgers are good and the pies are huge. Staff is nice enough. They recently painted the ceiling white and reupholstered. It seems brighter but honestly I liked it better before. Won’t stop me from going.

I am updating my review from 4 stars to 2 stars. The overall vibe here has went incredibly downhill. The food is no good. You need to offer more vegetarian options and pay better attention to the food quality you are serving customers. Going out is a privilege and unless you are receiving something that is deserving of the money– it is going to be very difficult to convince a customer to come back.

Chose this pub for its great Unilocal reviews and nice vegetarian selection, but at 12:45pm on a Saturday afternoon, it was pretty empty and the blonde girl at the bar never acknowledged our presence, much less welcome us with a hospitable «hello», like all the other places on England Lane do.
There was only a handful of people there, all nursing their beers, none eating and one creepy guy kept staring straight at us. I thought that perhaps the bar tender was busy and would eventually take our brunch orders, but after 20 minutes, she still continued to ignore us, even though I made eye contact with her several times and approached the bar, but she continued to just put away glasses, refill beers, etc.
So, we left. Later I realized that I forgot my sunglasses and went back to retrieve them from the table. The bartender was still busy, texting away, not even lifting her head to see who came in, or again, even a «hello».
A complete let down and I really wanted to experience a nice, non touristy neighborhood pub during our visit. Perhaps there are other staff that makes this place great, but she earned a one star for the pub, zero if Unilocal would allow it.

The Washington is a welcoming, warm, inclusive pub, its bar lined with a range of different beers and ciders on tap and staffed by friendlies.
The bar itself takes centre stage. This gives a clear focus to the pub, while also dividing it into different areas. The interior itself is earthy old-​school: wooden floors, panels, high-​ceilings and ornate glass.
And the prices were better than I was expecting from Belsize Park. In all, I enjoyed my stay here.

Leafy Belsize Park pub — this is NW3 you know!
Good selection of beers on tap.
Original interior with etched glass and high ceilings.
Music that’s not too loud so you can actually talk.
Gastro type menu with locals eating.
Relaxed atmosphere with a good mixed north London crowd, a million miles away in vibe from Camden Town but half a mile in distance.

Went back again on a saturday night with a friend. Place was packed and filled with trendy hep people. Got our drinks fairly quick, got some elbow space at the bar before eyeing a semi empty table.
Ended up sharing a table with two other people opposite us and we all chatted together for a while. Lovely evening.
It’s become my friend’s local and I am totally ok with that.

This is one of my favorites in London — wonderful relaxed atmosphere, good ale selection, and the weekly pub quiz is a ton of fun. Food is not the best, but definitely a great place to have a drink with friends.