The Nag’s Head

Reviews

• Ada C.

  star star star star star 8 September 2026

  The service is surly but the pub is pretty damn cool. It's like stepping back in time to another era!  Old fashioned everything and you can really imagine what it was like back in the 1950s.
  
  Come here on a rainy day when you'll be forced to sit inside and absorb the atmosphere!

• Adam B.

  star star star star star_border 8 September 2026

  If you are in London, you'll notice something pretty interesting ... there are very few pubs which are actually independent pubs owned by an actual owner and not a management company or brewery. You'll see names like 'The Kings Head', 'The Green Man', etc. but almost always you'll notice that the menus look conspicuously like Applebees or TGIFriday's menus with photos of the food ... the same old traditional English staples and boasts of 'The Best Fish and Chips in London'.
  
  The corporate pubs have a traditional, cozy feel ... right down to the pattered wallpaper, dark wood and spotlessly clean bar with framed corporate photos. THIS pub ... The Nag's Head ... is an independently owned neighborhood pub. I guess you'd call this a 'dive bar' if it were in the United States. It smells vaguely like a wet saddle blanket, could certainly use a dusting and there are police patches from all over the United States tacked up with various old bric-a-brac behind the bar.
  
  The owner (I presume) is an older dude ... kind of crotchety with an 'I don't give a fuck ... it's my joint' kind of attitude. Without the British accent, he reminds me of a crusty old NYC or Brooklyn bar owner. Things here are done his way, or no way. Yet if you follow the rules, don't say stupid stuff and try not to take your cell phone out and use it while sitting there ... you're in good.
  
  The pints are a bit on the pricey side and the food didn't look phenomenal to a tourist (sandwiches mostly) but this pub is run for the locals vs. the tourists and that makes is a nice spot to see what pubs from 10 years ago before the corporatization and craft beer revolution took over the pub scene of London. (I literally couldn't find a Fullers London Pride or Boddingtons on draft in the entire city of London!)
  
  One of the things we noticed (and were told by the owner) is that traditionally, Brits preferred 'non fizzy' beer ... you can watch the bartender pull a lever several times which pumps the beer out lukewarm and with no head. This is the traditional way beer was served ... tasting flat and lukewarm. However, due to changing tastes, The Nag's Head also has cold beer on draft which is expelled from a keg with a turn of a tap. We chose the old school 'flat/warm' beer for the traditional experience. It was all fresh and tasty ... although a bit more expensive and served in a smaller glass than other places we went.
  
  There is a 10 gbp limit on credit cards and the owner mentions he'd rather you pay in cash, so try to find an ATM before you arrive. South Kensington is a beautiful area ... kind of like the Brentwood or Beverly Hills of London. Very sleepy and quiet ... not too many banks to be found.
  
  We would certainly come back because we understand neighborhood pubs like this are few and far between these days in London. It was nice to experience what it used to be like before the pubs went corporate. However, I would recommend an air freshener or two for the inside as it smelled kind of 'gymnasium-like' which was the only part of the 'charm' of a small pub we didn't care for.

• Jason L.

  star star star star star_border 30 August 2026

  I'm not going to lie: I used my phone.
  
  Maybe it was the thrill of inconspicuously snapping a photo for Instagram while knowing it was frowned upon. Maybe it was the heavy-handed pouring skills of our friendly bartender who gave me a cocktail that was 80% Red Label and 10% ginger ale (+ 10% ice #Math) that clouded my judgment. Hard to say, really.
  
  My undoubtedly sexy rebelliousness aside, this pub is great. It's small, cozy, appropriately decorated with lackadaisical charm, with a friendly staff (even to a tourist such as myself) and they make a decent drink to boot. Personally, I embrace the no cell phone philosophy, albeit not enforced, despite my use of my own. If I were I local, I'd come here often.

• Brendan W.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 30 August 2026

  Went here for lunch with my family. Grumpy old bloke shuffled down stairs then had the audacity to charge £3.5 each for a thimble of lemonade for the kids and almost £7 each for a white bread sandwich with one slice of ham and cheese... combined with being served Forster's after asked my for a different beer this was an overpriced underwhelming experience. Not surprised they are the last of the independent pubs can't see anyone with business prowess snapping up this lemon.

• Sean B.

  star star star star star 24 August 2026

  Great pub in London!  It's on a side side street tucked away and reminds you of a neighborhood pub.  The pub has been around for 200 years! Took the family and they seated us in the downstairs back room. I had a Guinness and the roast chicken and vegetables for lunch. It was great. Highly recommend this fine pub if you are in London.