The 50 best pubs in London

A place of legend in Nunhead, this towering corner pub is as fun as it is friendly. It’s family-run and independent, a rare thing these days in London, and attracts everyone from OAPs to local bands, chic fashion students and troupes of cheerful lads. There’s karaoke, folk-music nights and terrific Thai food too. What more could you want? Perfect Guinness? Well, this is a proper Irish pub, so you’re in luck.  

Ideal for a pre- or post-Hampstead Heath ramble, The Southampton Arms is the kind of dimly lit trad spot where a bloke who looks a bit like your grandad might suddenly hop on the battered old piano and sing a heart-rending ballad, causing you to become so overcome with emotion that you start weeping into your obscure IPA and drop your pork bap. Gorgeous.

The Coach & Horses is an iconic Soho pub frequented in the 1970s and 1980s by fabulous theatre types and the notorious journalist Jeffrey Bernard, who Peter O’Toole immortalised in the Keith Waterhouse play “Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell”. The walls are still covered with scribbled tributes to the pub’s most famous regular, but regular trendy guest ales and heavy metal worthy merch prove it's also bang up to date. Always packed and you’ll soon understand why.

Like something straight out of a Patrick Hamilton novel, The Duke is an elegantly wasted timewarp to the 1930s – all art deco mirrors, mahogany booths and the lingering feeling that maybe, just maybe, you’ve accidentally ended up in an episode of jolly 1990s bigamy-based sitcom ‘Goodnight Sweetheart’. Bottoms up!

This handsome little neighbourhood pub has one of the strongest crisp selections in London. Expect all your faves: Scampi Fries, Bacon Fries, Monster Munch (all the flavours), Nik Naks, pork scratchings and Snyder’s Jalapeno Pretzel Pieces. And if you’re still hungry for more, you can order a Yard Sale pizza to the pub. A Hackney hipster paradise.

Formerly one of Britain’s toughest pubs – there was a Channel 5 show about it and everything – Walthamstow’s Tavern on the Hill has since come under new, rather more chilled-out management. Now run by the folk from nearby Wild Card Brewery, it’s the platonic ideal of the neighbourhood pub: great Sunday roasts, a piano in the corner, a dartboard and welcoming, knowledgeable staff.

A real vibe, this one. Three tiny, dark, wood-panelled rooms, with a bar in each housing framed jockey portraits. There’s Guinness, of course, a fair few Irish whiskies and trad music. The highlight though might be the smart, tie-wearing bar staff. Action-packed craic.

A gastropub for the ages, Notting Hill’s The Cow is the best spot in west London to wash down some seafood with a stonking selection of pints. Seating is saloon bar-style (small round tables, banquettes and stools), the short menu is chalked on a blackboard, and no reservations are taken. It’s unpretentious, and most importantly, a massive laugh.

A grand Victorian gin palace of some repute, The Salisbury is massive. There’s a hidden ballroom that hosts regular swing-dance nights and comedy shows, but it also has a cosy energy despite its size, complete with taxidermy in glass boxes, tucked-away private booths and a mega circular bar.

A wonderful place to take your main (or future) squeeze, what with its comfortable furnishings, private booths and Moth Club-esque stage. Gigs are always good for a date pub. Gives you something to look at and then talk about afterwards. The Ivy House also boasts a great selection of beers, one which manages to satisfy the local real-ale heads and the craft booze fanatics. Bonus point: this place is co-operatively owned, which means you look more socially conscious and caring just by being in it.

The warren of rooms echoes a Dickens novel, especially by night. The story goes that the pub is haunted by the ghost of a Spanish barmaid, adding a touch of spooky tourist-orientated ambience. The bar itself may be tiny, but there's a nice space out front with covered tables for a gathering overlooking the green. Atmospheric in winter, blissful in summer.

Classics don’t come much more classic than The French House. Its mix of old Soho regulars, hypebeast design dudes, fashion folk and the most eccentric of Londoners make it one of the best spots in town for striking up enlightening chats with interesting strangers. Remember, it only serves halves of beer, so don’t embarrass yourself by asking for anything as déclassé as a pint. You’ll also find one of London’s best restaurants tucked away upstairs.

As the trend for gutting old pubs claims ever more Hampstead boozers, this place’s cachet increases. Located on a quiet hilltop backstreet, this grade II-listed beauty was originally built as a house in the 1790s and used as the Assembly Rooms in the 1800s, before becoming a pub in 1928. A higgledy-piggledy air remains, with three low-ceilinged bar areas. One for the romantic history nerds.

A community pub in Plumstead, The Lord Herbert offers everything from open-mic and DJ nights to boardgame parties and poker evenings. If all of that sounds a little too involved for you, worry not, pulling up a corner pew with a drink and doing absolutely bugger-all is also encouraged. This is very much a ‘you do you’ kind of a place, and is all the better for it.

This Covent Garden legend occupies the backstreets, away from the tourists. Its courtyard setting is probably how it attracted such a rough-around-the-edges crowd in the nineteenth century, when it hosted bare-knuckle prize fights. Earlier, back in 1679, poet John Dryden took a beating by thugs hired by poet John Wilmot down this back alley. Don’t worry, it’s all very convivial these days.

Known for its exceptional Guinness, always poured with care, and occasional raucous entertainment, The Auld Shillelagh is the kind of pub where the wine list runs to ‘red or white’, and the staff are so matey and hospitable that they’ll offer to bring your Guinness over to your table to save you the wait. Stoke Newington’s finest.

Hair of the dog is The Prince George’s speciality. With its intimate corners and deeply inoffensive jukebox, we can’t think of anywhere finer to slowly sip a shandy and then feel its restorative powers cut through the previous evening’s rum and cokes. The fact that it feels a bit like your nan’s living room can only help matters. This is a pub that’s an extension of your gaff – except with better burgers and the kind of banging Sunday roast that you definitely wouldn’t bother cooking for yourself if you were still whining about your headache at home.

You probably know this Kensington spot for its extra outdoor decor. Every Christmas its exterior walls are decked out with rows of lights and more than a hundred fir trees, and in the summer it’s literally dripping with beautiful blooms. You should peek inside, though. You’ll find a flower-laden real-ale boozer, filled with Churchill memorabilia, that serves Thai noodles and curries. A tourist cliche it might be, but underneath all the foliage it’s also a very good pub.

Come here to dance, chat and flirt. This community hub has local hero Clement Ogbonnaya for a landlord, who got his inspiration for the pub from 1990s sitcom ‘Desmond’s’, about a Peckham barbers where all were welcome. White Men Can’t Jerk are in charge of the food while cocktails are top-tier. Be warned: it’s busy and popular for a reason, so brace yourself for the queue of doom.

Sometimes all you need to make a lazy afternoon feel properly, properly relaxing is a bit of me-time cuddling your dog. The Pineapple is a gorgeous backstreet gem and positively encourages you to bring in your furry chum while you chill out in the venue’s peaceful, retro conservatory.

Film set galore, this. If you’ve ever watched something featuring the Kray twins, chances are there was a scene shot here. When you walk off Regent’s Canal and through the park to this East End boozer, it’s clear why. There’s live jazz on the weekends, but beyond that this is a red-lit, proper old-fashioned pub. It's unique positioning – you'll find it all on its own in a grassy patch – is due to the fact that it's the only survivor from a Blitz-era WWII bombing raid. The perfect spot for those Sundays spent reading a book while nursing a cold one. Relentlessly cash-only.

Central London pubs with a local vibe are the rarest of things, but The Cross Keys is precisely that – with its canopy of copper implements, garish carpet and walls covered in vintage beeraphernalia, it feels like it hasn’t changed for 40 years. Best of all, though, despite the local competition, The Cross Keys makes zero effort to appeal to tourists. Sort of ironic, really, as standing outside in the failing sunlight, sipping a pint, taking deep lungfuls of the aroma wafting down from the nearby chippie, is one of the most perfectly English experiences you’ll get in the West End.

The Gowlett still looks like a proper boozer, albeit an antique wood-panelled, minimalist boozer – which is something of an achievement in Peckham, an area which is rapidly being taken over by swanky cocktail bars. Take a moment to enjoy the dough-scented air as you approach – this place sells some seriously good pizza.

A handbill at the door announces the history of this charming Thamesside inn (surely the best on this stretch in Hammersmith), featuring the comings and goings of Charles II and Nell Gwyn at the pub. All the authors have paid it a visit – Graham Greene, Ernest Hemingway, Dylan Thomas – and William Morris lived next door. Take it all in beneath the exposed ceiling beams or by the roaring fire.

You’ll have seen the beer garden on Instagram. It’s a good one: big greenery, plenty of heaters and great craic. Post-pandemic this place became super overexposed, but we still think it’s a corker. Inside is one of the best self-professed Irish pubs in London. There’s no shit London Guinness here. Plus, when it comes to sport, the Fullback is unrivalled. Huge projector screens show just about every one invented (including GAA and hurling), but rugby is its forte. The kitchen is Thai-focused as opposed to Irish, but it’s good eating.

This majestic Mayfair pub’s recent revamp has turned it into a work of art. Honestly. With a renovation spearheaded by hotshot gallerists Hauser & Wirth, this grand Edwardian room now boasts a stunning ceiling mural painted by the late Dame Phyllida Barlow. Don’t miss the food, either, including a classic Sunday roast which offers a satisfying taste of the high-end dining you’ll get at the fabulous Mount St Restaurant, which is upstairs.

The Pembo is a friendly place. Would it have an endearing nickname otherwise? It wouldn’t. The good vibe is a result of Five Points Brewing Company revamping this pub into a large community hub for east Londoners young and old (its entire range of beers is available). Its stone-baked pizza game, courtesy of Ace Pizza, is very strong too.

Despite the name, this is a singles hotspot – and also a strict over-21s only spot. The covered, heated garden under a canopy of twinkling lights provides a romantic backdrop for those flying solo. And if it decides to piss it down? Head inside and cosy up next to the open fireplace where you can crank up the heat with your new hun.

The best things come in small packages – particularly when they’re micropubs. And squeezing into Tottenham’s diddy boozer The High Cross feels even more thrilling given that it used to be some public bogs. The 1920s toilet block has been converted into a trad drinker’s paradise, but from the outside, it still looks like it’s open for the other sort of business – the ladies and gents signs are lit up in style.

Food is the name of the game at this Michelin-starred pub (the only one in London), which feels like a rural retreat without any of the faff. Expect nose-to-tail modern British stuff but also banging scotch eggs and the rest at this Fulham institution. This is also, understandably, one of the best behaved pubs on this list, so mind your manners.

The Camel is very small and very, very tucked away. This is important for a post-big night out trip to the pub: when you’re in there it feels like you’re hidden from the judgement of strangers, the consequences of last night’s decisions and, most importantly, your ex. Expect basic decor and a very local vibe.

Join the other solitary old geezers in this absolutely timeless south London boozer. Its bright red exterior is just calling for you to take a trip inside. Just don’t play the piano or challenge anyone to a frame of pool unless you want to make some friends. The cosiness factor here is off the chain, with twinkling lights and a warm hug of a welcome.

Picture the scene: it’s late July, you’ve spent all week working in your sweatbox of a flat, you’re looking for somewhere breezy to cool off at the weekend. The place to go? The Spurstowe. Not only does it have an expansive beer garden (which is great for people-watching), it’s extremely close to London Fields. Hello, ice-cream vans.

This tiny, warm-as-hell room is seemingly always rammed, with music booming from some of the best record spinners in the city. (Seriously, owner Nick is obsessed with tunes.) It’s a place you’ll end up at once, fall in love with, then always return to. Nobody says no to The Gun.

Rotherhithe’s riverside beauty claims to be the place from which the Mayflower set out to Southampton before sailing off to the Americas. If the old oak beams and nooks and crannies don’t do it for you, the pub has had a licence to sell American stamps since the 1800s thanks to its historic connections, making it a pretty unique proposition.

It might seem like a bit of an exaggeration to describe a venue that’s been open less than decade as ‘legendary’, but this pint-sized boozer run by alt-drag superstar Jonny Woo genuinely is. Head down on a typical evening and you’ll find queer nightlife veterans like Princess Julia and Jeffrey Hinton on the decks, east London’s most out-there drag artists performing surreal cabaret on the tiny stage and a raucous crowd of fabulous, arty queers cackling in the smoking area. Iconic.

Reassuringly resistant to change, The Dublin Castle is a family-run Camden landmark and indie HQ, which helped kick-start the careers of Blur, Amy Winehouse and Madness, got a weekly slot here in 1979 after pretending to be a respectable jazz band. Singer Suggs is still Castle royalty and sometimes pops in to muck about behind the bar and pour himself drinks.

In operation for nearly three centuries, this pub boasts a glorious Victorian interior, dating back to a time when stars of the stage and music hall were regulars here. Publicity shots form rows across the walls of a cosy, varnished-wood interior, while the central horseshoe bar is ringed with original etched-glass ‘snob screens’, used to confer anonymity on Victorian gentlemen when liaising with ‘women of dubious distinction’. A lovely little time machine.

A grand, grade II-listed Maida Vale landmark, this beefy boy of a boozer is what London does best – rattly old rooms which still manage to cling on to their majesty. It’s right around the corner from Little Venice, too, making it perfect for a drink after indulging in one of the city’s most popular strolls.

The Dove is as integral to Broadway Market as beanie-hat-wearing graphic designers are to London Fields. With a top-quality menu of Belgian craft beers – yes, there’s more than 100 – and a decent selection of vegetarian and vegan scran, you’ll have plenty of choice to keep your stomach satisfied while you enjoy some good, old-fashioned fun.

This Leytonstone pub got itself a revamp not too long ago. As part of the makeover, the new owners installed… tracks for a miniature train in its beer garden. Yes, wtf. Sit your kids on there and let them ride around until they get travel sick while you drink pints. If you don’t have kids, ride it yourself. No judgement.

You want character? The tiny Nags Head has buckets of it, from the landlord’s name printed in bold on the canopy of this traditional Belgravia pub, to its mobile-phone ban and walls cluttered with everything from cartoons and baseball reports to garden tools and vintage penny-slots.

Given that it’s hidden among some of N1’s most covetable residential streets and the barbed-wire-shrouded back of Pentonville Prison, The Hemingford Arms has to cater for a wide range of locals. It does so beautifully in its own kooky way. The building is made extra-beautiful on the outside by leafy swathes of ivy and pretty hanging baskets, but it’s as much a sight to see inside, too: its walls and ceilings covered with dusty old curios. Prosthetic legs wearing old trainers stick out of a treasure chest; a pair of taxidermy ducks preside over a pew; vintage film posters and beer adverts tile the walls.

Dating back to 1863, this pub and legendary queer performance space has a rich history – Princess Diana is rumoured to have visited with Freddie Mercury, and Lily Savage got her start behind the bar. It’s a stalwart of London’s LGBTQ+ scene and an essential stop for anyone seeking the capital’s finest cabaret and performance – or just a bloody good time.

Everyone looks more attractive in candlelight. That’s why there’s so much shagging in Jane Austen. The Sun teams the flicker of burning wicks with a cool Brooklyn vibe. It’s like putting a sepia filter on real life. It’s also Idris Elba’s fave London pub, so keep an eye out for the occasional celeb.

Looking for a gastro great? You’ve found it in The Camberwell Arms. Here, pedigree counts, and with siblings including Waterloo’s The Anchor & Hope and The Canton Arms in Stockwell, there’s no doubting the class of this Victorian pile, which serves up small and rustic sharing meat-forward plates from an open kitchen. The very definition of a posh pub.

Favoured at various times by both Charles Dickens and DH Lawrence, this splendid pub is packed tight on summer evenings, the front terrace and wide main bar area filled with braying locals – but don’t let that put you off. Despite the stereotypes, The Anglesea has always had more aura than the average South Kensington hostelry. Perhaps it’s due to Fifi, the ghost that roams its cellar; perhaps it’s the link with the Great Train Robbery, allegedly planned here.

Try shaking the folklore from your pint in Ye Olde Mitre. This low-ceilinged inn dates back to 1546 and backs on to the courtyard in which Queen Elizabeth I is once said to have danced. Oddly enough, the pub was originally licensed to the Bishop of Ely in Cambridgeshire and used to be guarded by his personal frock-coated officials.

It’s hard to imagine a pub with fewer pretensions than this place, done out in gloss-painted wood, standard-issue pub carpets, plump seating and a fridge full of sandwiches, if you’re lucky. This old-school spot is made notable by the people in it: the staff, for whom nothing is too much trouble; and the clientele, an easygoing mix of theatregoers (Sadler’s Wells is mere steps away) and chatty locals who’ve been drinking here since their dad brought them in for a pint on their 18th birthday.

Located behind the Royal Courts of Justice, the tiny, charismatic Seven Stars is the spot where barristers bring their clients for celebratory champagne or commiseratory scotch after a big case. Dating back to 1602, it escaped the ravages of the Great Fire of London and is now one of the few London pubs where you can confidently order a Martini as easily as you can a pint.