The Everyman Cinema in Hampstead is what cinema should be, intimate screens, sofa seating, excellent food and wine delivered to your seat, and a programme that takes film seriously.
The Experience
The Seating
The defining feature is the seating: instead of conventional cinema seats, the Everyman has sofas and armchairs, many with footstools, arranged for comfort. Couples can share a two-seater sofa; the seats are upholstered and genuinely comfortable in a way no multiplex seat is. This is the single thing that converts first-time visitors into regulars.
Food and Drink
The Everyman offers table service: a menu of food and drinks, including wine, cocktails, beer, coffee, and the cinema's famous freshly-made pizza, delivered to your seat. A small table or tray accompanies each sofa. The ability to order a glass of wine and a pizza and have them brought to you mid-film is central to the Everyman appeal.
The bar area before and after screenings is part of the experience too, a relaxed space for a drink before the film, contributing to the sense of an evening out rather than just a screening.
Marcus Webb, who has lived near Hampstead High Street for a decade, has an Everyman membership and uses it "constantly, it's my default night out." "The thing people don't get until they go," he said, "is that it changes how you watch films. You're on a sofa, you've got a glass of wine, there's no one kicking your seat. You actually relax. I've watched films at the Everyman I'd never have bothered with at a multiplex, just because the experience itself is the point. The film is almost a bonus."
The Programme
The Everyman Hampstead's programme is broader and more curated than a standard chain cinema:
- New releases: The major new films, but selected with an eye to the Everyman audience, more arthouse, independent, and quality mainstream than blockbuster-only.
- Classics and repertory: Regular screenings of classic films, often themed or seasonal, reflecting the venue's repertory heritage.
- Event cinema: National Theatre Live, opera, ballet, and other live-broadcast cultural events.
- Special screenings: Q&As, premieres, baby-friendly screenings, and members' events.
The programme suits Hampstead's cultured, film-literate audience, and is a significant reason the cinema retains such loyalty. For a comparison of Hampstead's cinema options, see the Hampstead cinema guide.
Membership
The Everyman runs a membership scheme offering discounted tickets, priority booking, and members' events. For anyone who visits more than occasionally, membership quickly pays for itself given the premium ticket prices. The scheme is popular with local regulars who treat the Everyman as their default cinema.
Pricing
Everyman tickets are more expensive than chain cinemas, reflecting the sofa seating, table service, and boutique experience. Expect to pay a premium over a multiplex ticket. Membership reduces this; off-peak screenings are cheaper than prime weekend evening slots.
The food and drink are priced as you would expect for a quality bar-cinema, the pizzas and cocktails are not cheap, but they are good, and they are part of what you are paying for. A full Everyman evening (ticket, pizza, wine for two) is a proper night-out expense rather than a cheap trip to the pictures.
Combining with a Hampstead Evening
The Everyman sits in the heart of Hampstead Village, making it easy to build a complete evening around a screening:
Dinner first: Hampstead High Street and the surrounding streets offer everything from Bonoo's Indian small plates to the village's pubs and restaurants. Dinner before a screening is a natural Hampstead evening.
Drinks after: The village's pubs, the Holly Bush is a 5-minute walk, make a good post-film stop for discussing what you have just seen.
A daytime version: A weekend matinee at the Everyman, preceded by a Heath walk and brunch in the village, is one of the more civilised ways to spend a Hampstead Saturday.
Practical Information
Address: Holly Bush Vale, Hampstead, NW3 (just off Hampstead High Street)
Nearest Tube: Hampstead (Northern line), 3-minute walk
Seating: Sofas and armchairs with footstools; two-seater sofas available
Food & drink: Full menu with table service, pizza, wine, cocktails, coffee
Programme: New releases, classics, NT Live, event cinema
Booking: Online via the Everyman website; advance booking recommended for weekend evenings and popular releases
Membership: Available, worthwhile for regular visitors
Accessibility: Contact the venue regarding step-free access and accessible seating
The Everyman Hampstead is more than a cinema, it is an institution that helped define what boutique cinema means in Britain. For the price of a premium ticket, it offers something genuinely different from the multiplex experience: comfort, atmosphere, good food and drink, and a curated programme, all in the heart of one of London's most characterful villages. For film lovers, it is reason enough on its own to visit Hampstead.
