Tom Hiddleston and Damian Lewis are two of the latest celebrities to become documented fans of Dartmouth Park staple The Bull & Last. So apart from the excellent pubs, what is it about NW5 that attracts celebrity home hunters?
With pubs in London closing at an alarming rate, only to be snapped up by rapacious developers hungry for prime real estate, it is good to know we can rely on north London’s celebrities to prop up the bar and keep our pubs solvent.
In his recent profile in GQ actor Tom Hiddleston bared his soul to journalist Taffy Brodesser-Akner in The Bull & Last on Highgate Road.
He broke his silence over his much-maligned relationship with singer Taylor Swift (PR stunt gone awry or genuine whirlwind romance-turned-heartbreak, the jury is still out) as he tucked into a dinner of steak and broccoli.
He is the second handsome actor to have conducted an interview out of the Dartmouth Park boozer in as many weeks.
Damian Lewis was profiled in his local by the Evening Standard, where he supped lager and dined on fish and chips and sticky toffee pudding.
The two heartthrobs were able to eat and drink unmolested, locals being above anything as gauche as gawping.
The ability to go about their day as normal is a key factor in attracting the beautiful and famous to this part of London, explained Paul Mould, associate director of Benham and Reeve’s in Dartmouth Park.
“The ones that want to be less conspicuous come to Dartmouth Park,” he explained.
“It is a hideaway up here. It is not like Primrose Hill, which is pretty much riddled with celebrities now.”
It was Edward Miliband who put the area on the map for celebrity home hunters.
Whilst he was Labour Leader the roads around his home were choked with TV vans and reporters.
Now they have decamped to Islington to bother Jeremy Corbyn about his jam making, leaving the A listers to enjoy the period properties of Dartmouth Park in peace.
“There are lovely big Victorian houses where nobody really goes down the roads unless they are residents,” said Mr Mould.
“It is a peaceful backwater where people can go about their business without being hassled.”
To a point, that is. Upon leaving the pub Mr Hiddleston and his profiler were snapped by paparazzi and suffered a case of mistaken identity when a Mail Online article speculated they were romantically involved.
Even Dartmouth Park and its star pub it seems is not immune to the problem of fake news.
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