The Bull and Last, Kentish Town: what to order and when to go

The short version: the Bull and Last is a gastropub at 168 Highgate Road, NW5 1QS, in the Kentish Town corner of the London Borough of Camden, on the Dartmouth Park side of Hampstead Heath. Sunday lunch is the thing, it is the busiest slot, and you should book. Expect it to be loud downstairs and on the pricey side.

When to go

The pub's own site gives the opening hours as Monday to Thursday 12:00 to 23:00, Sunday 11:00 to 22:30, and 11:00 to midnight at the weekend. The Friday and Saturday listing is a little muddled on the site, so check before you set out.

Kitchen times on the same page:

• Lunch Monday to Friday 12:00 to 15:00
• Saturday lunch 12:00 to 16:00
• Sunday lunch and dinner 12:00 to 20:00
• Dinner Monday to Saturday 18:00 to 22:00

Sunday is the peak. The Infatuation, which reviewed the pub on 27 January 2026, says the best time to come is Sunday lunchtime, ideally after a walk on the Heath. Reviewers describe it as noisy and hard to book at short notice. If you want a calmer go, try a weekday lunch. An older listing on OpenTable says Sunday evening bookings eat from the à la carte rather than the roast, so ask when you book.

What to order

The Infatuation singles out hulking slices of juicy pork and the sticky toffee pudding, and says you will not need extra meat with the Sunday lunch. It starts its food rundown with buttermilk fried chicken and aioli. Mr & Mrs Smith lists the Sunday roast as pork belly or roast sirloin of shorthorn beef, and also picks out mustardy roast pork sandwiches, beer-battered haddock and a béarnaise-slathered shorthorn prime rib to share. One Tripadvisor reviewer recommends the cauliflower cheese as an extra, and Yelp reviewers praise the scotch egg.

The menu is à la carte and changes daily, so treat all of that as a guide, not a promise. For drinks, the pub pours Guinness, and CAMRA reported one rotating cask ale in October 2023. Andy Hayler reported a wine list of around 50 labels in 2023.

Prices and booking

The Infatuation puts it in its top price band. Andy Hayler put an average three courses with modest wine at about £60 in February 2023, and recent reviews on Tripadvisor and OpenTable call the roast pricey or inconsistent in places. Others, including Hardens, are warmer: it calls the place North London’s most popular gastropub. Check the current menu for dish prices.

Book through OpenTable or phone 020 7267 3641. The dress code is casual. The pub is dog-friendly, with dogs and children downstairs, and upstairs is the quieter room.

The building and the name

The site has been a pub since at least 1721. Owner Joe Swiers told the Kentishtowner it was first mentioned in court documents that year, licensed then as Ye Last. The name story is a legend: a coachman is said to have shouted “the bull!” and then “last!”, because this was the last inn on the road out of London. Treat it as a good tale rather than gospel.

The current building dates from 1883, according to Andy Hayler. The modern gastropub opened in 2008, shut in autumn 2018 for a refurbishment that added bedrooms on the top floor, and reopened on 25 February 2020. The Michelin Guide describes a lively ground-floor bar and a calmer first-floor dining room. Look out for the taxidermy on both floors, including a bull’s head. Read the Kentishtowner’s history for more.

Getting there

OpenTable gives Kentish Town Tube as a ten-minute walk and Gospel Oak Overground as five minutes. The C11 and 214 buses stop outside. The cross street is Woodsome Road.

For after: Parliament Hill and the lido

The pub sits just downhill from the Parliament Hill viewpoint, a lookout on the south-east corner of Hampstead Heath with panoramic views. A brisk walk up before lunch earns the roast, or take the view afterwards to walk it off.

The braver option is Parliament Hill Lido on Gordon House Road, NW5 1LP, nearest station Gospel Oak. Time Out describes it as a Grade II-listed outdoor pool built in 1938, 60m by 28m and unheated. It is open all year, and Time Out gives adult prices of £4.80 off-peak and £8.40 peak. Check the City of London’s current winter hours before you go, and know that a January swim is strictly for the hardy.

One last tip: phone ahead on the day to confirm it is trading and to check the kitchen times.