Your guide to all the things to do in West Hampstead, including the best restaurants, shops, bars, cinemas and schools. Plus our guide to property in NW6

Ham & High: West End Lane BooksWest End Lane Books (Image: Archant)

Fiercely loyal residents of NW6 love this residential area for its independent shops and restaurants, as well as its impressive transport links.

Shopping and culture

West End Lane, Mill Lane and Broadhurst Gardens make up West Hampstead’s town centre lined with independent businesses. The Sherriff Centre in St James’ Church houses the post office, a small shop, the Sanctuary Cafe and community groups including the West Hampstead Pop Choir.

Home cooks love The Hampstead Butcher and Providore for its quality meat and the Saturday farmers’ market for traceable produce. > Best for book lovers… West End Lane Books, open for more than 20 years, offers evening events and also has a hilarious Twitter account, which tweets literary recommendations and cat photos @WELBooks.

Ham & High: Bobby FitzpatrickBobby Fitzpatrick (Image: Polly Hancock)

> Best for wine lovers… Tannin and Oak on West End Lane, is a wine merchants and bar, so you can stop and sample the wares or take home a bottle or two of your favourite tipple.

> Best for film lovers… During the summer locals enjoy bike-powered film screenings on Fortune Green, while in winter months cinephiles can head to JW3 on Finchley Road.

Food and drink

La Petite Corée serves Korean-tinged European food. A more casual, al fresco dining experience can be found at Food and Flea, West Hampstead’s Sunday and weekday evening street food market, where you can find everything from crepes to Caribbean flavours. Boozers head to The Gallery on Broadhurst Gardens for cocktails, great small plates or to sample one of their 101 whiskies. > Best for coffee… get your London caffeine fix from Wired on Broadhurst Gardens. They use beans roasted by east London coffee specialists Climpson and Sons, and their baked goods are sourced from north west London bakeries.

Ham & High: West Hampstead Area Guide CafesWest Hampstead Area Guide Cafes (Image: Archant)

> Best for dinner with friends… The Wet Fish Café is a local institution for weekend brunch. The menu focuses mostly on carefully sourced fish from the British coastline, but there’s also plenty for meat eaters and veggies.

> Best for a pint… The Alice House serves craft beer and cocktails as well as a solid pub menu of burgers, steak and fish and chips.

> Best for cocktails… another on West End Lane, Bobby Fitzpatrick’s serves up a heady mix of pizza and cocktails in a very 70s setting.

Ham & High: West Hampstead Tube Station (Stock Image)West Hampstead Tube Station (Stock Image) (Image: © Nigel Sutton)

Sports & Leisure

Hampstead Cricket Club boasts 20 tennis courts and eight squash courts as well as a hall equipped with a bar. Next door, West Hampstead Hockey Club for mens, womens and mixed hockey of all ages from beginner to experienced. For runners there’s ruNW6, a local running club. For those who like to sweat it out in the gym, on Fortune Green Road is the very meta The Gym, and a HIIT GYM .

Things to do with children

Hullaballoo soft play area at the Sherriff Centre is in the north aisle of the church and is available for drop-in playing as well as party hire. The centre also runs weekly Viva Spanish, Mini Mozart and mother and baby fitness bonding classes.

Primary and secondary schools

Emmanuel Church of England Primary School is a small mixed gender school that received an Outstanding Ofsted rating, while the larger Beckford Primary is a community school popular with local parents and rated Good by Ofsted.

State secondary education is thin on the ground in West Hampstead, with Hampstead School in Cricklewood rated Good by Ofsted. Independents include St Margaret’s School for girls, a Church of England school, and UCS, a boys’ school which allows girls in sixth form. Both get excellent exam results.

Transport

Residents love West Hampstead for its extensive transport links, which connects it to more than 100 Greater London stations. The area is in Zone 2 on the London Underground and is served by the Jubilee line.

There is also a London Overground station called West Hampstead, and a West Hampstead Thameslink station, connecting the neighbourhood to Luton Airport and Brighton. Buses connect West Hampstead to north and central London.

Property guide

Postcode

West Hampstead is in the London Borough of Camden and has the NW6 postcode. It is in the Hampstead & Kilburn parliamentary constituency. Properties in Band A will pay £944.97 council tax; those in the average Band D will receive a bill for £1,417.46; and the most expensive homes in Band H will pay £2,834.92.

Housing stock

Property in West Hampstead is becoming something of a touchy subject for the area’s residents, who are increasingly up in arms at rising house prices and development in an area that was once considered down to earth compared to its hilltop neighbour, Hampstead. Housing stock is predominantly made up of large Victorian and Edwardian properties, and blocks of mansion flats.

House prices

Two-bedroom flat – £739,606

Terraced house – £1,326,542

Semi-detached house – £1,313,575

Detached house – £1,247,024

Best streets

Aberdare Gardens

Crediton Hill

Fawley Road

In Partnership with Goldschmidt & Howland; 249 West End Lane, NW6

Sales: 020 7433 6868, Lettings:

020 7433 6869; g-h.co.uk