This pub is not only a grade II listed building, it is also a One Star pub on the Campaign for Real Ale’s (CAMRA) National Inventory with an interior of special national historic interest, and the description is as follows: “Famous London pub still with a number of rooms, some of which retain old fittings. The best room is up the staircase which has old dado panelling. It has an uneven wooden floor, floor to ceiling ancient panelling on all the walls, old cupboards in the wall near a 1930s brick fireplace, window shutters and bare bench seating in each of the windows. It is laid out for diners and probably was brought into use in modern times. On the ground floor there are two small rooms on the east end of the building. On the road side a room with wide opening has fielded panelling to two-thirds height with wall benches attached – some of the panelling is very old but part may be inter-war. Note the carved ends on the settle seating. The floor is a modern flagstone-like one. There is also a tiny room/area on the garden side which has a fielded panelled dado which might be inter-war and has a modern wood floor. The main bar has a modern bar counter and bar back, new wooden floor and possibly an old brick fireplace. There is a small area on the west side that is a modern creation.”

The listing description is as follows: “C17 brick with some timber framing and weatherboarding. Panelling inside, which may be original but is heavily covered with paint. Three storey. Four window. Mostly sashes with glazing bars. Irregular spacing larger on first floor. M shaped roof, tiled and partly hidden behind parapet. Has many associations with historic personages both real and legendary. An altered building, but one that still has great character.”

It dates back to being built as a tollgate inn in 1585 and is thought to have been visited, possibly regularly, by notorious highwayman, Dick Turpin. The pub has also been featured in literary works including Bram Stoker's Dracula and Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens. Keats is said to have written Ode to a Nightingale in the pub’s garden. In addition to its history, the public house's interior features dark wood-panelling and is divided into separate rooms with areas featuring wooden beams and low ceilings, lending the place a cosy atmosphere.

The Spaniards Inn featured on the Walks and Wells: Evening Crawl of Hampstead on 21 August 2013.