Giraffe

More children’s crèche than restaurant, this family friendly place is probably hell for people who don’t have kids of their own. Sadly the latter was our experience! We’d arrived fairly early just for a coffee and a catch up with friends — which to give credit where credit is due, the coffee was nice (nothing special, but drinkable) and they do a great variety of smoothies well. But what we had failed to remember is that the communal table style seating would soon play host to 90% of the little kids and babies in Hampstead — most likely due to the staple but fairly bland menu. It turned into an absolute nightmare and we couldn’t have left quick enough. If you have children, this is a great place to visit. If not? Avoid at ALL costs!

Whenever I’m going to an unfamiliar area, I always turn to Unilocal to give me recommendations. In this case however, I’m glad I didn’t read the previous reviews or I may have had second thoughts. Instead I ended up having a tasty meal in a lovely setting. We wanted to have brunch before heading to the Keats House close by and this was the first place we saw. The menu posted outside looked good, it wasn’t crowded (rainy bank holiday), and the real clincher for my boyfriend was the set prices (£6.95 for all mains and £3.95 for all the starters).
I absolutely love the interior! Modern, clean, cool decorations on one wall, huge blackboard with all the specials on the opposite wall. It was so dreary today but sitting inside I felt warm and comfortable. Comparing my memory of the exterior with the photos on Unilocal,it is clear there has been some major changes.
I ordered the special sunshine coast iced tea and the chipotle chicken burger while my boyfriend got the full breakfast and some coffee. Though my iced tea was really more like a mango smoothie it was very delicious. My burger came with tortilla crisps and very spicy salsa. The burger itself was fantastic, the crisps on the other hand were just okay and the salsa was more like a paste than a true salsa. I admit my standards for Mexican food are high since I grew up in Southern California and «chips & salsa» is my all-​time favourite snack. I was glad to have a side included with the burger.
My boyfriend enjoyed his food very much, however they completely got his coffee order wrong. Asked for a latte, served an Americano. I told him they made a mistake but he wasn’t bothered especially since the coffee was all the same price. I personally think it was a noticeable mistake it may have been an honest one. Overall, based on the food, price, atmosphere, and the very friendly staff I would definitely eat here next time I’m in the neighbourhood.

Well, a little disappointing, I must say. We went for brunch the other day and order the eggs ranchero… not very good at all. Perhaps I should have known better than ordering a Mexican dish here-​I dunno. The service was pretty good but overall, just sub-​par.

I see that the reviews are quiet old, so I will start by saying that, unless they moved down the road, the address is not Rosslyn Hill but Haverstock Hill, they are right next to the Belsize Park tube station and the road only changes name a few blocks up the hill, but I guess that wont be of much importance, unless you are like me, can’t walk and if I spent time looking for it in Rosslyn Hill. I would be a bit… annoyed.
We were there last night, or late afternoon, lets say. The place itself is gorgeous, and the music included Eagles & Crosby, Still, Nash & Young, which for my generation is delightful (well, some of my generation, I know not everyone is on the same vibe)
Maybe because is winter, maybe because it was already getting dark, but no babies or toddlers there yesterday. Actually, the place was almost empty apart from very few tables, which was why I was slightly. lets say annoyed again, when we asked to be seated at the back room and they, smiling though) told us the tables were booked for Valentines.
We had spent the day out, including hospital treatment, am almost bed bound so when I go out my body… well, hurts. On top of that, it was almost 6 pm and I had not have absolutely anything to eat all day.
It was my daughter who suggested trying it out, we are local but I (yes, am a bit lacking on concentration) had never seen it before (you get I have a health condition by the bright orange *here I am* front shop LOL)
I tried to repeat my mantra: other people are NOT to blame for the state of my health (unless you are my orthopaedic surgeon) and tried to be nice to the waitresses.
We sat and ordered and I was surprised by the food coming quiet fast.
Now, here is where I diverse from all these other reviews:
The food was DIVINE.
My daughter, very soon to be 16, has been a vegetarian for almost 2 years (yeah, bummer for me who was a vegan for 4 but now need to eat cheap LOL) and although she eats food most kids wouldn’t since she was very little (she loved sushi from age 3) these days she is hard to please when eating out… and she was literally screaming in delight.
She had the Falafel Deluxe Burger (I think it was called burger, it was Falafel Deluxe something for sure) and she kept praising this at every bite.
I had half a rack of baby ribs, which was as delightful, with a wonderful slaw with poppy seeds and the fries were just perfect, not dripping oil, good sized actual fries, though the portion could have been a bit bigger and I would have been in paradise.
I rarely drink these days, but I was so tired and stressed that their strawberry and lime cider called and I got one (which I responsibly drunk only less than half and we took the bottle home as I was driving, even though is down the road.
It was very nice, but if you are fan of strong alcohol-​tasty drinks, this isn’t for you.
It tastes like my old favorite Aqua Libra with a hint of strawberry, but hey, I loved it, even if a bit over priced at first glance, it is a 500ml bottle so if I wasn’t driving, it would have been perfect in size for the whole meal.
The desert (we only asked for one as am not allowed too much sugar) was a banana waffle something…
Again: divine. This is an amazing waffle with a baked banana (I think it had some kind of batter, again, divine) and ice cream, all dripped with two sauces: butterscotch & chocolate… I have to insist: divine.
We were squealing on delight all through the meal.
The price of the whole bill was more than reasonable, especially if you remember you are in London’s Hampstead… not the cheapest neighbourhood, but I have to express my… lets say dislike, for the added *gratuity*: it was 12.60%…
Can someone with more dominium on the English language (though I was a government interpreter, some of the *licenses* some people take still amaze me)
Why is this aded charge called GRATUITY?
I remember being pregnant in the mid 90s and gone to celebrate my birthday at Belgo in Camden with a group of almost 20 people…
when the bill came, we were all stunned as it didn’t fit our calculations…
that’s when they told me YOU ARE NOT OBLIGED TO PAY FOR THIS…
We didn’t. Now, I payed yesterday as the girls were being nice… but if you are a worker on the restaurant industry… maybe you wanna do what (for example, the Tapeo across the road does) many other places do, and leave the *tip* (as this is what it should be, the added 10% we used to give to the waiter/​tress) to the customer’s free will. And ask the owner to give it to YOU.
I have left a tenner in bills of less than 20 quid… but I will refuse to pay if I’m not very nicely treated.
The whole bill (included the 12.60% which I did mention to the very nice girl who took my pay) came to £38.48. I gave £40, which makes into something like 15% (though am not sure, don’t ask me for maths right now)
Perfectly reasonable still, as we came out of there SO happy with the food… we will be, most definitely, back.

Good place for breakfast, nothing special, but nothing wrong either.

Meh. That truly sums it up.
On Easter morning I headed out early to go grocery shopping and everything was shut. Grabbing breakfast out seemed the perfect treat when foregoing foil-​covered chocolate eggs. Unfortunately it was all a little lack lustre.
Smoothie was alright, breakfast burrito was just satisfactory and service was pretty good. Unfortunate experience as I had a fond (albeit distant) memory of my previous meals at other locations of the chain.

This is the third Giraffe I have been to and unfortunately this branch takes the wooden spoon. The restaurant itself is lovely. There is a sizeable alfresco dining area out front, and inside is clean, warm and serviced by plenty of staff. Our particular server was smiley and gracious.
I wanted the The Brunch Plate and was excited about what essential is a big English Breakfast. I also ordered the Breakfast smoothie, infused with strawberries, bananas and muesli.
When my smoothie arrived it looked uninspiring. I sipped it, tasted uninspiring. It was serverely lacking in strawberry and banana. It was so lank with flavour I sent it back. The server recommended I change to a different flavour and she without hesitation brought me another.
My plate had all the trimmings I enjoy in an English Breakfast, even beans. It irked me slightly that my toast was placed on top of my beans and I was even more upset by the dry chewy nature of my overdone bacon. I devoured my breakfast because I was hungry, but it was far from impressive. I’ve eaten hundreds of English Breakfasts in my time and although this wasn’t bad, it at best scraped a mid-​table position. I simply expected more after having great food at the other branches.

Try the Margarita Pizza!

Giraffe is a very good restaurant although my children feel passionately they should serve pancakes after 4pm to deserve a 5 star rating. The full English is to die for.

Although I hadn’t been here before, I knew a few friends who had and I like the concept of ‘love, eat, live’ albeit a little tawdry when coupled with reggae music and written all over the walls and staff t-​shirts.
Perhaps this is why they looked a little disgruntled when I was yet another number for their waiting list, as the place was swarming with locals, and yes, babies. But then what do you expect, it’s lunch time and it’s Hampstead.
The food itself is much what you’d expect from the London chain, ‘funky’ and fresh salads, burgers, pizzas, schnitzels, Mexican and Asian fare served in over sized white plates. Prices for the mains are between £8-£10. The food is good enough, but I think I just have a problem with it being nothing out of the ordinary. A little lacklustre.

A fairly small restaurant which makes it really cosy. Part of a chain so there’s no real surprises. But it doesn’t feel chainy and the quality of the food is excellent. the burgers are big and juicy — the salad fresh and crisp. Fair range of drinks and vegetarian options. And the staff at this place are also really friendly and accommodating.

This is a fairly good branch of the chain if you can make it past the throng of buggies that block the entrance most weekends. THeir cooking is usually competent but they have the misfortune of smothering lots of dishes in much of various shades of green or yellow and their guacamole really isnt good enough to justify its primacy in so many of the restaurants dishes. If i was to run this branch I might think of hiring some older hands — the young staff can get quite flustered

Giraffe was a zoo. Every single table was filled with toddlers and moms and dads and food crumbs. No wonder the waitresses completely ignored my friend and me when we walked in. They were over it; surely, they didn’t want to see another patron for centuries.
Eventually, after 15 minutes, they recognised our existence and seated us. The queue was immense behind us, and when future-​wannabe diners asked how long the wait was they were immediately shushed. I felt privileged to be sitting at this narrow table with baby food debris beneath my feet.
The food was OK. Pretty good, but not good enough to make up for the lack of service. I’ve had better burgers at cheaper prices (just the burger itself cost me a tenner), BUT, I must admit, that I have never seen cooler straws than the ones they put in our beverages, ever, anywhere on earth. The straws were neon green giraffes. How cute is that?! I wish all of the waiters wore neon green giraffe suits; maybe that would help them get into character.

Nice place to have a saturday lunch but the downside is all the kids that are in there. A lot of screaming and running around. Giraffe do nachos, burgers, noodles, fry-​ups and salads — and they even have daily specials. Good staff and good portions. But some things on the menu are a bit pricey.

This branch of this London chain (possibly the original? not sure) is very small and very crowded with well-​heeled Hampsteadites. It’s very family-​friendly (which is good for those with kids) but combined with the small size you can expect a lot of pram-​dodging.
Still, the small size makes it feel like a nice neighbourhood spot, and the breakfasts — whether a stack of thick American-​stye pancakes with banana and blueberries, a BLT, spicey eggs tostada, muesli, or healthy corn flakes — are tasty.

Always distinctly underwhelmed by this chain. I never find the menu to have enough on offer to entice, and anything i choose is FINE, but not GREAT. The edamame, however, is sooo good, and I can’t find it as good anywhere else, which angers me because now I have to return to Giraffe. Maybe this is how they attract their customers — they draw us in with the steaming bowls of edamame that we are powerless to resist…

A bright and cheerful place, perfect for any meal or even just a dessert. The menu is varied, and caters very well for vegetarians. The only downside is the restaurant is fairly small, so can be quite cramped at times. There is also a 2 course offer for eating between 5 and 7 on a weekday, and regular new dishes appear on the specials. I do also have to reccomend the chocolate cheesecake for afters!

Mangez ce que vous voulez
Mangez ce que vous voulez pour 8 à 10 livres et choisissez même la musique que vous voulez écouter. J’ai adoré ce restaurant car j’ai pu parlé avec des anglais vu que ce sont des grosses tables pas du tout intimes donc conviviales. Donc très bonne ambiance.