A Sacred Cow: In my view, The Flask in Highgate is a rather overrated experience. Yet you will see it referred to in most pub guides as some sort of North London haven, well worth chugging up the hill from Archway tube to visit. It’s not a bad pub (and there are plenty of those in Highgate) but its elevation to premier status leaves me bemused.
Whenever I’ve visited The Flask, I’ve found it too full of locals and tourists for me to have a relaxing drink. As it is the last pub en route to Hampstead Heath, it often seems excessively busy at the weekends, so getting to the bar is difficult and bagging a seat is nigh on impossible.
But still it receives plaudits from all sides. To wit, here are just a few things said about The Flask in various guides:
They said:
Every inch a village pub, it oozes character.
P Pubs says:
Pokey, with horse brasses and caricatures.
They said:
A perfect summer pub!
P Pubs says:
Tiresome and crowded on sunny days.
They said (in French):
Pour les nostalgiques de la grande histoire r’volutionnaire, Karl Marx aimait y venir boire quelques Pintes.
P Pubs says:
Marx was patently too drunk to walk down the hill to The Archway Tavern.
Admittedly, The Flask is probably the best pub in the area. The beers are fine and clientele tolerable. But I do wonder how many pubgoers, making a special trip on the basis of a glowing review, are disappointed once they get there. I hope this redresses the balance a little.