The stag, is a great pub. The staff are excellent, food is great. In the summer the garden is an absolute gem. What's not to like.

Brilliant pub with a surprisingly large garden and an excellent menu to match. Can't sing enough praises about this place. It's especially good on a warm summer evening when the garden is buzzing but it's also great in winter with the fire chomping away on the delicious food and guzzling one of their many choices of drinks.

This is a lovely pub, great vibe, people, bbq looked top notch. Timmy Taylors beer we had was the best we have had in a long time. Cheers. Graham Wells

Great food, friendly staff, brilliant garden area. It's what Sundays were made for!

My boyfriend and I live across the road so this is our local. The pub has a cozy feel with shelves of books along the walls.

An excellent international beer selection means we're never bored even though we go there every weekend.

My only complaint is that the staff are not at all friendly and are borderline rude. Last time we went, I waited at the bar, the bartender made eye contact with me, then decided to serve his friends before me as they had just walked in and stood next to me!

Popped in a couple of days ago on a sunday evening.

Used to drink there under the previous owners and was impressed with the work the new owners have done on the garden.

Generally speaking a much needed facelift & much improved music policy.A word of warning though.

A bottle of Westons cider & a pint of Peroni was £9.40!I thought there had been a mistake until the bar staff pointed out that Westons is £5.40 a bottle!

'It's expensive because it's organic' explained the girl behind the bar looking at me as if i was stupid.'it's £3.60 a bottle at the Magdala pub up the road' i pointed out.

'Yeh, a lot of people have said that' she replied as she walked off.I didn't eat there but i've heard the food is similarly boldly priced.

Shame, potentially a great pub.

Used to go there 3 nights a week when Barbara owned the pub (2 years ago) but I moved to a hospital in Nairobi for 15 months. Went back there last week.

It's become like every other sterile bar without a soul. The characters seemed to have disappeared as have the two rescued lurchers which prowled the bar.

Had the burger. For what it was, it was 2 quid too expensive. Let us not forget the vacuous staff. Maybe my face didn't fit.

Overall another classic pub has fallen into the hands of greedy owners who charge too much. And as for the candles! Mutton dressed up as lamb.

I had the misfortune of eating Sunday dinner here.

I do not understand what how "Chef" managed to cook the Orkney beef, but this was the worst Sunday dinner I have ever had.

If you are going to charge Hampstead gastropub prices:

a) Do not keep customers waiting without explanation for nearly 2 hours.

b) Ensure people receive their courses in the right order (starters before main is the usual order I believe).

c) Ensure everybody gets their meals at the same time (not spread over an hour).

d) Do not serve food of such poor and unacceptable quality.

If you enjoy good food and good service, do not visit The Stag.

Terrible- why do I have to give it a star.

Just had to say that the STAG IS AMAZING! I had a party for 20 of my best friends in their wonderful garden last saturday!

The weather was terrible but the Stag was so cool. The staff are so friendly and looked after my girlfriends, boyfriend and my mum so well.

Great food on the BBQ and the DJ's where fantastic. Best birthday so far! Keep it up!!! I have been back 3 times since!!!

(Btw I have sent you guys an email as well) Thank you so much. Xxxxx

Pop in for the first time with my friends last week and what a great pub!

Food was great and the service from the waiting team fantastic. There is nothing else like this in Hampstead/Camden!

It is so friendly as well, unlike many pubs in London. The music later was great as well.

It was so busy with a great crowd so you must be doing very well.

Great guys! Regards Henry

Terrible food, staff with an over inflated opinion of themselves; Whats not to like at 'The Stag'.

The garden was the only saving grace and it doesn't compare to the wilder, busier and bigger garden at the 'Garden Gate' just up the road.

O and what is with all the bloody kids and prams. Sort yourselves out.

Under the previous ownership it had a sense of grandeur which it is now severely lacking and that stems from the top management team down I'm afraid.

I usually eat a thai at the 'The White Horse' just up the road.

I bought a burger at the Stag and it was cooked to death which is a clear indication that there is no confidence in the quality of the ingredients and the the meat is of a very poor standard.

Was my first time down on Saturday. Had heard great things about it so I expected a lot.

I wasn't disappointed! Caught the last of the sun outside with a great lamb burger off the bbq and my mate had the tuna.

The garden's great. You could be anywhere. A real hidden gem. Was planning to go into town but when I went to leave the atmosphere inside was great I decided to stay.

wicked music and nice crowd. It's rare you get places like this; good food, staff, music and clientele. I know what my new local is!!!

The staff - For the most part extremely helpful 5 out of 5.

Food - The cheese board is of a high standard but most food only passable 3 out of 5.

The manager - Possibly the rudest individual I have ever had the misfortune of speaking to.

He humiliated a group of my friends for nothing other than laughing too loudly as a particularly funny joke.

All within the group looked at one another with surprise at the overreaction and promptly left.

3 hours later at Steeles bar (probably the most famous bar in Belsize) we met three of the staff who apologised for his behaviour claiming his reaction was the norm.

Thoroughly unpleasant individual.

I have just moved into the area and have been looking for a new place to eat and drink and I read Hamilton's message and wondered what I would find at the Stag.

I have been to all the pubs in the area but I left the Stag to last. I loved it. Friendliest pub I can remember walking into.

The staff are so on it. It has friendly locals, and a few celebrities and it was a lot of fun with great food and we played battleships.

I hear the old pub was not great so anyone harking back to those days must be barking. I have lived in three areas of London and trust me this pub is high quality.

Prices are bang on. Booze these days with the new taxes at budgets is not cheap. Well done the Stag! You will see lots of us. Tony

I was at Stag on wedneday night for open mic sessions which was really fun. They seem to be doing things OK in my book, they have a pub quiz with really cool prizes which was packed out and a great fun, full of locals.

I agree with the last reviewer that some of the premium beers are at high prices but not everything there is expensive, and any way, you get what you pay for.

I think the staff are cool, friendly and like the look and feel of the place.

This is a pub suffering from two major problems. It thinks it's a restaurant and doesn't like its locals.

It has encouraged posh self-satisfied punters to take over what was once a traditional - and popular -boozer. They come, not quite in their droves but they come, and they eat over-priced and decidedly average food.

They drink wine (poured by barstaff at tables, after all that's what would happen in a restaurant). They book tables, prompting the ever willing bar-staff to leave annoying 'reserved for Dan @5pm' print outs on all the tables so normal punters can't sit down there and have a drink.

All the locals have long gone, driven away by prices and an unfriendly and unfamiliar welcome. The place is buzzing on a Sunday lunchtime, but funereal many evenings, because it is somewhere to come only for a meal and not a drink

They have got rid of lights and replaced them with candles. There are no bar stools, because they might get in the way of pram-pushing parents on a busy Sunday lunch-time when the place is more like a creche.

Oh and they sell the only £4 pint (Aspall cider) that I have encountered in this area, which has plenty of better venues to offer.All in all a frustrating, expensive and pretentious visit is likely if you like a normal pub - rather than a gastro reche.

Went here yesterday for Sunday Lunch (15th Feb 09), apart from not serving burgers on a Sunday which did disappoint, we ordered the Sunday roast which certainly did'nt disappoint.
Good and nice service and a play i'll definately visit again.

Top pub love it xxx

I found this place just the other day and thought from the outside it was going to be like the other pubs in the locality but was taken a back. Great people inside and staff where very cool and friendly. Loved the Steak Pie and the Black Sheep beer and even the music was great. The garden particularly looks amazing. I was there for the pub quiz and that was probably the best pub quiz I have ever been to, the atmosphere was so friendly and shared a table with some really nice people. I live in Highgate and go to pubs all the time but will be popping down to the Stag more often. Oliver & Sophie x

The beer was ok and the food seemed edible but the severe indigestion afterwards was experienced by all four of us that ate there and we each had a different meal. Never again.

I think this is a great pub, totally welcome addition to the area. Saturday night was really good. Great food, music, drinks and staff. I say well done The Stag.

recommended to the unadventurous, quiet, rather boring couples.

Unfortunately like the Freemasons Arms this has been taken over by cash hungry owners not interested in the local community but only in their profits. Initially it would appear that an improvement has been made by flash décor and friendly staff, but scratch under the surface and the truth is a shallow and fake gastro pub. A real shame when all this local community could do with is a genuine local place to drink, eat and be jolly!

I take it all back, I don't know if the staff saw my last review but things are certainly looking up! There are little pools of light from standard lamps now scattered throughout the pub. There is a warm and cosy atmosphere and the popularity is increasing. The real ale seems consistently good and there are even a few newspapers lying around. 10 out of 10 for effort.
P.S. try the cottage pie

This was recently a cheerful and cosy pub with excellent home-cooked food, good real ales and a lively local clientelle. Now, like the British economy, it has become dark, cold and gloomy - and takes a lot of money off you. The daily papers have gone - presumably because there's no longer enough light (or interest) to read them. Put it down to trendiness if you like but the supply of good British beers is haphazard and sporadic (there was none for a week!) though there are plenty of foreign lagers designed to be drunk in a very different climate. The cottage pie costs as much as Marco Pierre White's (how many Michelin stars has he got?) though the bar staff say theirs is better. After investing in a mediocre burger, I haven't summoned up the courage to test their claim yet. The garden of course is an excellent asset in summer but it remains to be seen whether the heating arrangements are sufficient to attract more than the bravest smokers throughout winter. Overall it's sterile and depressing - all the more so because it's quite popular among the 30-year-olds - but nothing worse than a little more light, warmth and decent beer couldn't put right. At least there are no football screens.

A good new pub in Hampstead but still have a long way to go to be great...

If this is buy the same folks at The Regent, you can tell. The burger menu is the same, which offers lots of choice but is way too expensive considering you don't get chips, fries or even coleslaw on the side.

And the decor is nice and new and makes the place look fine but is it trying to hard? Palm trees at the door which pokes you in the eye as you walk in and out is not a good idea.

The drinks are a little over pricy and even thought the service is fantastic it kind of takes the plesaure out of the place.

The one good thing is the staff; down to earth, fun, nice to talk to and know their stuff with out coming across all-know-it all. One thing i did enjoy is there no need for security (considering they are the bottom end on Hampstead), they have employed a large kiwi guy as manager who is the nicest guy around. They have done well there.

Over all it's well on its way to being a great little spot in North London, just as long as they don't get "to cool for school", which is way too easy nowadays.

I have been a couple of times now.... When I say a couple I mean 3! 2 for drinks and 1 for food..... All times the service has been excellent, the food top quality and also good value for money. The Sunday roast was particularly good and possibly the best I have had in London.

Very comfortable environment to be in and most importantly the staff are not "to trendy" to talk to you and even crack a smile.

Just hope that it keeps up the excellent start.

The couches and fireplace make The Stag look and feel comfortable. They have very good music and the bar staff pour a decent Guinness. They also have a pub dog which sometimes joins you making it feel really homely. The Stag is a bit quiet during the week but at least you can get a seat.