The Hunter S Pub

Came here the weekend before Christmas for a group lunch.
Very hipster gastropub, though not unfriendly. Very cool animal heads on the walls and even plastered to the ceiling, which were pretty awesome.
Foodwise, it’s good quality English pub grub. Borderline pricey but they get away with it.
I ordered the dressed crab on brioche toast to start, which was great. Really decent sized portion of crab which tasted light and fresh.
I shared a beef Wellington for main, which has a side of (very) chunky chips, small side salad (with pancetta bits) and gravy. Again, great quality. Meat was tender. The pastry was very rich and delicious although it was super filling (no need for a desert).
In all, slightly pricey, very hipster gastropub with great quality food and cool ambience. Service was pretty slow though (took over an hour before our food came out).

I am a HUGE Unilocal’er. And I am SO glad I am because I find Gems like this everywhere I go!
At the Hunter S. I had the best dinner I may have ever had in my entire life. I am not kidding. We ordered the Beef Wellington for two and I am SOoooo glad we did — it was truly amazing!
Yes, the place is quirky and yes there is taxidermy and yes, the toilets are a sideshow of their own haha. The bartender was great and offered his knowledge, suggestions and gave us excellent and fast service. When he didnt know something he asked instead of just blowing us off. He also let me try a few of the beers on tap before I made my decision.
It was a long day for me and my legs were hurting, it was also cold outside and I just wanted to be comfy. My friend and I plopped down on the couch and put our feet up. We tried the beet soup as a starter and it was excellent.
The Beef Wellington was so good I am still dreaming about it! The meat was cooked to perfection! The side salad was perfect, the chips were perfect, the veggies were perfectly cooked — literally, The. Best. Dinner. I have EVER had!
Thank You Hunter S. –I have already recommended you to locals.
And thank you Unilocal community!!!
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE HUNTER S. — if your going to London or live in London, this is a MUST
**Vegetarian options were avail on the menu as well — just fyi.
ENJOY@@@!!!

The Hunter S is a quintessential English pub with added quirky cool. It feels more modern than your standard local and apparently the food is off the chain (unfortunately, we had a dinner reservations only had time for drinks).
If you’re going with a group, make sure you book a table. When we went at 4pm it was relatively quiet but by 6pm — packed to the rafters! Also, don’t miss the loos. Both the mens & womans are lined floor to ceiling with 90’s nudes and play classical music… quite an interesting experience.

I only had drinks, so cannot rate on the food! It’s a cosy pub with friendly service and a nice (if you like taxidermy) ambiance.

My favourite local pub. I had my birthday party there in march for 14 people. The staff were so nice taking my reservation and accommodating with changes to numbers. They didn’t expect a deposit to hold the table which I was pleasantly surprised about. The hubby, pooch and I go often. The chicken liver pâté is better than a Gordon Ramsey restaurant. The food is seriously as good as a posh restaurant. The décor is so cool with the taxidermy and the metal ceiling. The noise level is always decent and the crowd is a nice mix of locals and hipsters (but not pretentious). Dog friendly pub and the bathroom is a real talking point. Love this place!!!

Hunter S. is a cool pub, looks like it is great for making reservations for a group for friends. The sunday roast was amazing. £16.50 — so not cheap but very good meat and a kickin horseradish sauce.
The music was a great collection and was not too loud. Great styled décor– lots of animal head trophies… framed nude photos in the bathroom.
the staff is friendly and nice… the girls are great bartenders. — I only say that as the tall thin, pale guy bartender pours short on wine. but that is ok. Next time I will mention it when it is served.
I like this place and look forward to going back.

OH. MY. GOD. This was the best lamb roast I have had in a pub ever.
Tender, juicy lamb. Perfect yorkshires. Delicious potatoes and all the trimmings.
It was £14.50 so not cheap. But, they really freaking nailed this.
I will be back again in winter for many more roasts like this I hope!
Décor is cool, staff are nice and check out the crazy toilets!

A whole kilo of mussels in a wine sauce with crisp fries on the side for just 12.50!
It was a bit warm despite the fans they turned on all over the pub, but it was more than made up for by the high quality grub, friendly servers, and fantastical décor. Between the enormous taxidermied animals lining the walls and the framed pornography in the toilets, this place is full of character. Will return.

No fear and loathing here!
As a fan of the author I was very excited to finally visit this bar.
Expecting some gimmicky twist on Hunters books, I wasn’t disappointed to find a subdued décor, lacking in the garish department, that had a chic well thought out and sophisticated flair.
With a mixed air of American lodge, 1950’s airport lounge and speakeasy, I was rather fond of the taxidermy, and if you look closely (and I did), prints of Ralph Steadman’s work on the walls (the artist synonymous with creating the covers for hunters books, and the labels for the flying dog brewery if you weren’t aware).
The real ale beer selection was limited, but good, although I was a little disappointed there wasn’t a selection of American craft beer if I had to be honest. I did rather enjoy the handled beer mugs as I’ve never really been fond of real ale in pint glasses.
However I couldn’t but help fall in love with this place, relaxing into the dark leather seats and soaking up the grandiose vibe.
Friendly (although typically Shoreditch) staff and a little ‘shock’ for those visiting the bathroom round off the experience.
I do intend to revisit and try the food, what I saw coming out of the kitchen looked pretty delicious!

My lamb pie was good, though a little on the small side. The vegetable… I don’t know what it was but there wasn’t much of it. The mashed potato was green and kind of sausage shaped; it looked horribly like a green turd. The pie was steaming hot. The rest of the food was nearing room temperature. It came on a slab of wood rather than a plate. Not sure what the point of this is. But it does seem to be a bit of a trend in the more pretentious wannabe gastro pubs these days. (Price: £13.50.)
The toilets have already been mentioned here. A chap came in to the gents behind me and remarked that he didn’t know whether to pee or have a wank. As I left I did consider the thought that the owners of this establishment were having a joke, that they know that their clientele are mostly a bunch of wankers.
The selection of ales was unremarkable. What’s the point of being a free house if you serve pretty much the same as everyone else? The Timothy Taylor Landlord was perfectly good, nothing wrong with it at all, though I’ve had better elsewhere.
The music was like wallpaper, I stopped noticing it after a while. Neither interesting nor offensive. Although after eight o’clock the volume went up so that it was difficult to converse with the person opposite me at the table. The lighting went down at the same time so that I was barely able to see what I was eating.
Hunter S Thompson would have hated the place with a vengeance.

When I was first told of this pub, I thought they were saying, «The Huntress.» Like a female hunter, who was ready to kill me with beer and food.
What I found as I got here was it was actually «The Hunter S» as in The Hunter S Thompson, a personal hero of mine. A bar named after the greatest gonzo journalist of all time? A man who enjoyed a good drink, striking down corruption and the insanity of people. How could this bar stand up.
Turns out, pretty damn good.
This feels like a true gastropub. Giant bar as you walk in and then tons of tables to the right. They were packed as we got in and in fact we still had to wait, even though we had a reservation. So totally worth calling beforehand.
However, it also feels like an insane place. Giant taxidermy animal heads on the wall, loud classic rock playing over the speaker (so loud that you can barely talk) and an amazing menu filled with delicious items.
I got the burger. Let’s talk about this burger. It was massive, bigger than my mouth could bite into, fluffy bread, monster bacon covering the meatloafesq meat and fresh veggies and sauces throughout. Without a doubt, the best burger I’ve had in London so far*. My only complaint were the fries (not chips, fries, since they were stringy little ones.) There was no real flavour to these bad boys and they got cold really quickly. A disappointment since the burger was so good!
Also, not sure if it was waitress mistake, but I had no ketchup and has to ask for it. The Beef Wellington came with ketchup and mayo for the fries, but then the fish and chips did not. Hmmmm…
The rest of the table’s food looked amazing, especially that Beef Wellington *which was £35 and served two,) Crazy tasty.
Oh, and of course the bathrooms, which cannot be missed. Softcore BDSM pictures of born hanging on the wall and urinals that look like giant lips. And it’s tiny, so while you’re checking things out, you have to be uncomfortably close to the guy waiting in line next to you. So very strange and yes, somehow, fantastic.
Overall, I love this pub. Resoably priced delicious food and the insantiy that a Mr. S Thompson would have approved of.
*That being said, I’ve been here for less than two months and still haven’t tried a lot of the «best burger spots» in London. But for now, this tops the charts!

I have no idea what the prior incarnation of this pub was like, but the current one certainly ticks all the boxes for me: kitschy taxidermy, spectacular ceiling metalwork and chandelier, absurd art in the toilets, and one of the better Sunday roasts I’ve had in London. Oh, and they have a television, which I probably wouldn’t have noticed except for the fact that Murray/​Federer match was on and everyone was enthralled.
On one hand, my lamb roast was absolutely beautiful. At about £14 (if memory serves), it was the right amount of food to be heartily satisfying. The meat was perfectly tender and kicked up a notch by the mint sauce which came with it. I also sampled some of my tablemates’ horseradish sauce and was impressed by the kick — they don’t mess around!
Meanwhile, I made the mistake of ordering the gazpacho. I really couldn’t distinguish it much from just straight-​up tomato juice with some salt in it. I’m used to my gazpacho having some consistency and thickness to it. This was watery and unexciting. Even throwing all of the garnishes in (diced tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers) didn’t help that much. I probably shouldn’t have ended my meal with this, as it was utterly underwhelming.
At this point, I was far too full to consider actually enjoying a dessert, but they do offer a cheese board that caught my eye. Another time — definitely glad to have this joint as a wonderful Sunday roast alternative after climbing at The Castle!

Ahh, so glad this pub finally changed hands!
It’a now a trendy sort of pub but with very normal staff & patrons (i.e. no too cool for skool hipsters, well not yet anyway…).
Staff are pleasant, helpful and friendly.
They have made fantastic use of the large space by filling it with lots of lovely tables and chairs. The music is great (elective mix).
They have TV’s for showing popular events but keep the sound off (fantastic!).
The food menu is pretty good, they serve sweet potato chips! Yummo!
They also serve the usual modern pub cuisine (from pâté to Thai beef Salad, fish and chips, beef wellington etc).
The pictures in the ladies loo’s will keep you entertained (all framed pictures of naked Male models who work out way too much!). There is even a picture on the ceiling of a Burt Reynolds look alike, fully dressed but with his manhood out and alert! Quite an odd addition to a toilet ceiling…
Yes, this pub is a lovely addition to the area!

Le charme n’a pas opéré cette 2e fois!
Je retourne presque 2 mois après à cet endroit: c’est la meme carte!
Merde, moi qui pensais avoir à faire à un nouvel endroit gastro-​pub inventif et tout, rien que ca m’a decu!
J’y suis donc retournée pour manger le fameux steak qui m’avait tellement fait de l’oeil la 1ere fois que j’étais venue. Pas mal, sans casser des briques.
Le service cette fois ci était vraiment à la ramasse, mon pote voulait faire un resto basket tellement il en avait marre, mais je nous ai obligé à attendre attendre attendre au bar (puisque le serveur né venait pas) pour payer notre addition!

When did this place stop being the Perseverance? And who cares? The Hunter S, named after the American author, is a sister pub to the Hemingway in Victoria Park. And like the Hemingway, it is a lovely pub.
The décor here is a bit bonkers, I have seen taxidermy on show in pubs across London but none that are so big you wonder why they didn’t just put the entire animal on the wall. In the case of the bear skin rug on the ceiling, they already have. Also funny, look out for the hare with antlers stuck to his head.
The loos are equally barmy, in the men’s the urinals are big red lips to aim into, including teeth, and there are framed pictures of a bit of female S&M adorning the walls including a rather large women inside some sort of plastic bubble. I was a bit unsure of how that one might be considered sexy. The ladies are similarly styled albeit with sexy men (so I’m told, I didn’t venture in for a look myself but some boys did leading to confusion with other customers about which toilets were which).
The place is big too. They have a big ‘drinking room’ with massive chandelier and bronze ceiling, a raised area that looks a bit like a stage and lots of comfy sofas. Around the bar they also have a smaller restaurant area although you can order food anywhere.
The bar staff were friendly and will provide waiter service anywhere in the pub from what I could tell although some were a little too eager to take empty glasses (including one which still had some wine in it, they provided an entire glass as a replacement).
So another winning local pub! Hooray

I may review this review (haha) after my next visit to the Hunter S — when I plan on eating!
This time, me & the hubs came here for an after-​work drink with a few friends. It has fantastic décor: plenty of crazy taxidermy (think bearskin rug… on the ceiling!) and lovely vintage-​y looking sofas for lounging in.
There’s a big ol’ chandelier in the dining area, and the menu looks extremely tempting. The gin & tonics were well-​priced & strong! So … can’t complain.
Looking forward to coming back for dinner sometime. But ultimately: a bar named after one of my all-​time favourite writers?! Yep, gets a big tick from me.