Hampstead's Best Restaurants: Where to Eat in NW3

Hampstead is not a neighbourhood that shouts about its restaurants. The good places tend to be known by reputation rather than publicity — establishments that have been feeding the same families for decades and feel no particular need to advertise beyond their own consistent quality. Finding them requires either local knowledge or a certain willingness to walk down unpromising streets.

Jin Kichi

Jin Kichi on Heath Street is a Hampstead institution: a Japanese izakaya that has been operating for over 30 years in a small first-floor room above the street. The yakitori is exceptional — small skewers of chicken, liver, and vegetables, cooked over charcoal with the precision of a chef who has been doing this for a very long time. The sashimi is restrained and excellent. Book well in advance; the room is tiny and fills months ahead on weekends.

L'Artista

L'Artista on Perrins Court is Hampstead's neighbourhood Italian — the kind of place where the owner knows your name after two visits and where the pasta has been made the same way for longer than most restaurants in London have existed. The carbonara is definitive. The house wine is decent. The atmosphere, particularly on a winter evening when the room is full, is exactly what a restaurant should be.

The Horseshoe

Heath Street's The Horseshoe is a Young's pub that does gastropub food of genuine quality. The beef and ale pie is the thing to order; it arrives in a proper deep dish with a crust that takes itself seriously. The upstairs dining room is more formal; the bar is better.

Zara

Zara on Heath Street is Hampstead's most reliable Lebanese: charcoal-grilled meats, excellent mezze, and the particular hospitality that North London's Lebanese restaurants have made their own. The mixed grill and the fattoush are both dependable choices.