Holly Bush

Best pub in London!

The Hollybush is one of the most atmospheric pub in London set in a gorgeous area of London and I have been going there from time to time for at least 2 decennies. But together with the Spaniards Inn nearby the quality of its food and service has terribly gone down. I was there yesterday and ate: as some posts mentioned below mine best to stick to the drinks until they go back to the splendid food and service these 2 pubs used to have. I would put 5 stars for the pub itself but only 0 stars for the food and service alas.

The Hollybush is one of the most atmospheric pub in London set in a gorgeous area of London and I have been going there from time to time for at least 2 decennies. But together with the Spaniards Inn nearby the quality of its food and service has terribly gone down unlike the prices. As some posts mentioned below mine best to stick to the drinks only until they go back to the splendid food and service these 2 pubs used to have. I would put 5 stars for the pub itself but 0 stars for its food and service.

Don't go! The food is awful. We had a table booking for 8 and we got our food at 9.30!!!! The staff were rude and all the food is clearly just mircowaved pre bought junk. Needs to go on Gordon Ramsays kitchen nightmares!!!! The calamari was obviously frozen and heated up, salad was brown and soggy with grit. The main courses don't come with half the stuff it says on the menu!??? No onion gravy with mustard, no side salads and only one of the vegetables it states. Terrible! The food is an absolute rip off and I wouldn't even feed it to my dog. We sat with our plates in front of us for 20 mins.. And eventually asking twice someone took them away. Don't waste your time here, only for a drink.. They can only mess up at drink order so much! Save your money and eat somewhere else.

I received very good recommendation from my friend about this pub. As I had guests visiting me I decided to take them out for a pub lunch on Saturday ( yesterday ). My guests and I were very disappointed with the food. The carrot soup was very nice but unfortunately had a taste of burn food at the bottom of the pan. The pies ( I was told are the best pies in London) were just average. The pastry was overlooked and in places burned, the cabbage that came with it was undercooked, the mash was not creamy and the gravy was very salty. The salt in the gravy (which was poured over the whole food ) ruined the taste of the meal. Too much!!! The rule is simple really - add enough salt in the food to bring out the taste of the food and if the customer wants more salt s/he can add it. On the positive side the food was served hot, service was good and the online booked was super easy. I would only recommend the pub for the atmosphere ( only downstairs! ) and nice drinks. Food needs a lot of improvement.

I have been in the Holly Bush quite a few times in the past but I must say I was not too happy most of the times so I gave it a rest for some times. A friend of mine however, really pushed me to go there a Sunday a few weeks ago, mmm I did it reluctantly. We turned up with no booking (I was sure no problem to get a table, how wrong I was) were asked to wait about 40 minutes because it was packed. We did not mined it regardless we were quite hungry but what the heck we order a few beers. The Manager (black hair, could have been the GM) very politely came over in 15 minutes and escorted us to our table as you would expect it in a high-end restaurant. Wow, what a change?!! The improvement is unbelievable. The roast pork belly was heavenly good however may be a bit pricey, we still felt it was good value. Service was fast and friendly (unlike some other places in the area like the Horseshoe where I feel ignored frequently). Holly Bush has a great wine selection seemed to be improved as well. We had a bottle of Picpoul at a price only £20. What a bargain! I definitely changed my mind and the Holly Bush is my new old favorite. We will be back soon with other friends. Thank you for the great time. Well done!

I came here in the beginning of the year, to be honest with you the food wasn't great and the service was slow. But my friends came back and wanted to go there, so we went there to eat about a week ago and oh my god it has improved so much! The service was friendly and efficient, chatty waitress, I had welsh rarebit for a starter and baked salmon for my main and it was absolutely delicious, I didn't think I had room for desert but I just couldn't help myself. i chose the sticky toffee pudding and that was also very tasty, unfortunately I couldn't finish it.... of course I tried! The only reason I had to gave 4 stars is because the table was a bit wobbly and small, but I suppose what can you expect from a pub that old. They were also very busy and we didn't book a table but the waitress went out of her way to find us a table.

Food used to be really good, but has gone massively downhill recently. A few months ago, I ordered a very rare steak and received a cold, medium steak. Asked for a replacement (it was very expensive, so I felt I was within my rights to complain) and it too was cold and over-cooked. I had hoped this was a one-off, but when I returned for Sunday lunch a couple of weeks ago, the food was very poor. The potatoes were soggy, the beef was over-done, tasteless and tough, and the gravy was strangely sweet. I didn't finish it. I was still hungry, so ordered a dessert, only to be told a few minutes later that they were out of the apple crumble. This was a Sunday at 3pm, and the pub was dead (should have been enough of a warning sign in itself). How could they possibly be out of apple crumble unless it had been lurking around for a few days and was down to the dregs before Sunday lunch service even started? Overall, avoid the food here. It's really not worth the money. Or any money, for that matter. The Holly Bush is still a great pub in a beautiful location, just stick to the booze.

food not up to much, staff did their best but stress showed ?

I went last night with a group of friends. Food was disappointing. Pies were dry, steak was poor quality and lukewarm. It used to be better