Hampstead High Street
Hampstead High Street London NW3
Rosslyn Hill and its continuation Hampstead High Street – and Heath Street, which it meets at the top by the tube station – is the neighbourhood’s main shopping area. It’s more chain outlets than independents these days, but quality ones for the most part. They include, on Hampstead High Street: Nicole Farhi (who started out in Hampstead – at #27), Zadig & Voltaire (#23), Body Shop (#7), Whistles (#2), Karen Millen (#4), Gap (#6a), Gap Kids (#35), Hobbs (#9 & #15), Reiss (#10), Waterstones (one of their best, #68–69), Space NK (#62); on Rosslyn Hill, Bang & Olufson (#44) and Farrow & Ball (#68a); and on Heath Street, Fired Earth (#41), Agnes B, Jigsaw and Cass Art (all three at #58–62) and Cochinechine (#74). A couple of independents of note are Question-Air (28 Rosslyn Hill), which does discontinued designer clothes (for women and men) at heavy discounts, and a proper toyshop, Happy Returns (36 Rosslyn Hill). And Hampstead being what it is, the Oxfam Bookshop (45 Heath St) often has rich pickings.
There are branches of Pizza Express (70 Heath Street) and Carluccio's (32 Rosslyn Hill) and Giraffe (46 Rosslyn Hill), but more interesting places to eat would be the Hampstead Creperie (takeaway crepes), Goldfish (Chinese), Izakaya or Jin Kichi (Japanese), The Old White Bear (gastro pub), Ginger & White’s (cafe), or Melrose & Melrose (cafe-deli). Best of the pubs, for drinks more than food, are The Flask, near the tube, or the atmospheric Holly Bush.