please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Previous post says it all really. This is a nice pub, it is welcoming, and the food is consistently very good. But the main bar is "full of young families".
I wish all those people who take their kids to a pub would respect the fact that pubs are one of the few places left where adults can enjoy some adult company and conversation, and not be prevailed upon to either casually look out for or otherwise indulge other people's kids. there are plenty of restaurants in NW3 where you can feed your kids while you grab a drink. Give us a break and go there. Your children are not that interesting to other people.
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Well what a little gem this place is. My wife and I, after visiting the Heath for an early afternoon stroll, popped in for some food on sunday lunch last weekend. The place had been recommended by a friend of ours. We were greeted, with a smile by the very pleasant lady at the bar and offered a seat. Unfortunately, the main restaurant area was full and very lively I must say with young families. But we were more than happy to take a seat in the bar. We were very promptly met by the waitress, who proceeded to take our drinks order, which also arrived rather quickly. I thouroughly enjoyed my Roast Lamb and yorkshire pudding, which they allowed me to add to my order, while my wife tucked into her sausages and champ mash! The crumble offered on the desert menu was truly to die for and for a pub/restaurant they really have a wonderful winter dinner menu. We were checked on throughout our dining experieince, which is not very common in places today! And as if this isnt enough the place has a historical secret too. Why not pop in and ask the staff yourslef, they are more than willing to share it with you. 9/10 the only minor set back of this pub was the fact that it wasnt situated in an ideal place to be seen by the public. I wish it every success in the future and certainly intend to revisit "The Magdala pub" next time I am in the area. Keep up the good work guys!
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i think i have actually been there when user MREILLY had a dinner. i have heard the whole conversation as i was seated at the table next to them. it does say what is on the menu, and lots of dishes having the same name are often prepared differently when cooked by different cooks, trained in diffeent schools. and so she could ask beforhand to make sure this is what she wants. she was truly abusive and rude to all the staff not mentioning that she looked clearly like either mentally unstable or under influence of drugs or a large amount of alcohol. unfortunatelly MREILLY forgot to mention that when staff couldn't do enough apologising and the manager had to speak to her she was given 50% discount on the food! anyway - how could they find out what she had or what she didn't have if she already had eaten everything! if the dish is served and it is not wat you wanted or it doesn't taste right you say it straight away, not eat everything and then complain!! and so she ate there for half price and still left loudly showing off her trully awfull and disgusting attitude of a 3-year old kid.
i am a reguar there for many years and i know this is a very nice place. staff is always helpful and smiling and the managment as well. food is delicious. in past few years i have seen people complaining only few times and that's how i remember MREILLY. even when something is not quite right we still have to remember that staff we're dealing with are human beings, not computers and we all make mistakes and anyway if a mistake does happen it was always either discounted or refunded.
i do not see a reason to complain. food/drinks overpriced??? hello! where are you from? wake up! this is london, and moreover - hampstead, and there's still loads of places where things are a lot more expensive.
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Having gone to for walk on Hampstead Heath I stumbled across The magdala pub. I found it to be a cosy environment where the staff were very friendly and the food was delightful.With the fire going I sat in what would be best to decribe as the locals part of the pub and listened to the banter between locals and the staff. I would throughly suggest to visit this pub if you are in the area!!
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I had the misfortune of visiting the Magdala on Sunday. I ordered the 'tempura prawns with chilli julienne vegetables'. Not only were the julienne vegetables missing when it arrived, the prawns had also been battered and fried whole rendering the whole tempura batter completely pointless.
When I complained the staff admitted that the prawns should not have been cooked that way but when challenged about the vegetables the manager proceeded to tell me smugly that the grated salad that I received was in fact the julienne vegetables. Hmm, not like any I've had before!
If you like places that don't serve what you ordered, have incompetent chefs and patronising smug managers then this is the place for you!
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nice relaxed place with good food, friendly staff and not too pricey for the area. though if you're just out for a beer the bar at the side is a bit small and dingy compared to the bright spacious area dominated by the diners. not a bad place to while away a few hours...
gorky - 19 Jul 2008 22:41 |
Attractive pub, nice staff, great food. But they seem to think that lager should be served at room temperature and bitter should be chilled. C'mon guys!
Also, get those bloody parents with their kids out of the pub. The main bar often feels more like a creche.
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Pleasant pub with a nice atmosphere. Beer a bit pricey, £3 for a pint of London Pride. Sunday roast also over priced, but complementary bread and oil almost made up for it.
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Nice pub, a laid-back Hampstead local, attracts all sorts (yes, there are all sorts in Hampstead) unlike the pubs further up the hill in Hampstead Village proper. Beer's slightly too expensive with a European focus, but the "restaurant side" is a great sunny place to enjoy a refreshing afternoon pint of Grolsch.
The food's fine, but never lives up to the promise of its rather pretentious gastropub menu. Still, it's good value and miles better than many other pub/resaturants. Has a nice "mixed" atmosphere (diners at some tables, drinkers at others) for a low-key dinner out.
It's not a wildly exciting place, but not as stuffy as others make out.
anonymous - 14 Apr 2007 15:28 |
This is not my favourite pub. The bar area on the right as you enter never has any seats free when I go and I end up sitting around the other side in what feels like a restaurant with its large open wall to the kitchen.
The lager is well kept but I do agree that I have felt like I have had to whisper as to not disturb anyone from their dinners.
It would be OK, but there are so many pubs within a stones throw that I choose not to drink here.
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A very decent gastropub - the food is excellent; the atmosphere is nice; the layout is good (bar is divided into two - one the dining area and one a drinking area); and always a few decent ales including IPA.
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I remember this pub when i worked there in the early 70s as full of the local thespians and the like.
Jason mentioned in passing Ruth Ellis. I was working at the "Mag" at the same time as the Landlord who was there when Ruth Ellis murdered her bloke but made a point of avoiding the subject.
anonymous - 10 Jan 2006 18:48 |
I like this place but charging 90pence for a packet of crisps is just taking the piss.
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Sounded like a good pub from previous reviews; looked like a good pub when I got there; beer was fresh and reasonably priced...but apparently you're only welcome at this pub if you're there to read the newspaper in silence or something dull like that. We were a group of two guys and four girls, having a good time mid-afternoon for a birthday celebration. Yes, we were making a bit of noise, but the loudest thing we did was laugh a lot. That's what I do in pubs - I sit and drink and enjoy the company of my nearest and dearest. We were there for less than three hours before we were asked to leave as we were apparently upsetting the locals. So nice pub - but don't bother going if you're after anything more than a solitary ale. Boring!
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It does have an atmosphere which seems to send you back a few years-when Britain had a (black & white) film industry perhaps......something to do with the pub layout(Not because Jack Hawkins is sitting at the bar with a G & T)....
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We sometimes take a wander from West Hampstead up to Hampstead and have a final pint in the Magdala before getting the train home. The previous posters describe it well. I like this place. It's low key and mellow without being pretentious. It's a relaxing pleasant atmosphere which I find missing in so many pubs in London now. It's great to leave without feeling as though you've just done a cycle in a tumble dryer. The lager is ALWAYS cold. Watch out for the crisps though - pricey!
anonymous - 7 Aug 2004 10:21 |
friendly staff, great food and good atmosphere although the garden is small!
sharon - 2 Aug 2004 11:59 |
Very good gastropub. Three rooms - on the right as you go in is a cleaned up old man drinking room which always seems to be 3/4 full and has a chatty atmosphere. On the left is the main drinking/informal dining room - food is truly excellent and plentiful (mains about £10), beer always good, service friendly and moderately characterful in a "didn't-try-too-hard" way. This room also gives on to a very small beer garden, pleasant but very cramped. Upstairs is a formal dining room - very elegant but a bit faded (though this seems to be intentional) - prices are the same as downstairs for food.
This pub is famous, incidentally, as the place where Ruth Ellis shot her husband in the 1960s.
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