The Bull & Last

Just steps away from Hampstead Heath and originally built as a coaching inn in 1721, the recently restored Bull & Last still knows how to feed its customers well. It’s pitched just right. While the studied neutrality of the decor is gloriously juxtaposed with a plethora of taxidermy, its broad roster of menus – curated to evoke pubby nostalgia, yet pitched a good few notches higher – elevates the most familiar dishes. From lunchtime Scotch eggs, 'sandos' and fish and chips to Sunday roasts, everything is built around top-drawer ingredients, assured cooking and creative tweaks. 

Buttermilk fried chicken with aïoli is a popular opener, ahead of pan-fried king scallops with a silky, tangy apple purée – deftly cooked and lightly burnished, with a verdant Catalan-style picada. Onglet (skirt steak) can be notoriously hard to cook, but here it is rare and as tender as can be, with ample char and a textbook béarnaise sauce on the side. Although the kitchen excels at meat and game cookery and often champions less obvious cuts, there are always plenty of veggie alternatives: tenderstem broccoli and wild nettle risotto with sheep’s ricotta and hazelnuts for dinner, perhaps, or wild herb gnudi for lunch..

To conclude, there’s almost always a baked or steamed pudding, a panna cotta, and a generous cheeseboard. And we thought the two-course set lunch menu was a steal at £20. The Europe-centric wine list homes in on producers with a minimal intervention ethos; otherwise, check out the roster of British craft ales (especially from the booming London scene).