The Insider’s Guide To London’s Best Pubs

If there’s one thing about me, it’s that I love the pub. Any heartache, headache, backache can and will be soothed with the magic words: “Shall we go pub?” Yes. Yes, we shall. Between draft IPAs in Hackney, corner facades in Islington and waterfront picnic tables in Greenwich, London is the pinnacle of pub culture, the pièce de résistance of pints, the city of dreams for beer garden lovers. Here is my guide — very tried and very true — to London’s best pubs, with a little help from my friends at the office.

The Anglesea Arms

Perhaps the best of a posh bunch, The Anglesea provides a lovely little oasis on a corner, a nice walking distance away from South Kensington. It is here where the bottle blondes might experiment with gin in their spritzes or where the Mayfair financiers may just have one too many Guinness. That being said, the crowd forgets their roots in The Anglesea, under draping bushes and sprinkled roses alongside a stolen conversation sat atop the stone fences or even an impromptu table merge with the oldies inside — The Anglesea is an immaculate pub, many a place to perch and many a place to mingle.

Where: 15 Selwood Terrace, SW7 3QG
Website: www.angleseaarms.com

The Spurstowe Arms

I’ve found in my travels around London that there is purpose for every pub, many of which are just to be boozers, but The Spurstowe Arms is a pub to gather, one to socialise in, to saunter around and chit chat with the bartenders. The Hackney locals have taken this pub and made it a real home for the surrounding restaurateurs, chefs, or those who might’ve gotten bored of the wine bar. Not only that, but Dough Hands lives in the kitchen, making for the ideal stomach line… i.e. the largest pie in the business.

Where: 68 Greenwood Rd, London E8 1AB
Website: www.spurstowearms.com

The Knave of Clubs

It is when I wind up in locations like, say, Shoreditch that I am looking for a buzzy pub with a large dining room, one where there are usually tables to nick, one that is also not a faux pas to move around in — The Knave of Clubs is just that. It is the perfect pub to close down before finding a place that, God forbid, is open past 11. This is the spot for circular tables, hunched over to hear your mates as they reveal this week’s dramas and theatrics, gasping at the news before your stranger neighbours decide to chime in with their two cents. It can be a hide-in-the-corner pub, but if you’re in the market for a good laugh and more than a couple pints, it’s a make-temporary-mates pub.

Where: 25 Bethnal Grn Rd, London E1 6HT
Website: www.theknaveofclubs.co.uk

Coach & Horses

Coach & Horses is the ultimate cobblestone pavement packer — I say this because it seems it serves the exact same purpose for me as it does nearly everyone else. Stuck in Soho, at a loss for where to go, in need of another drink… where should we go? Coach & Horses is right around the corner; might as well. This pub happens to be one of London’s most loved institutions, and with roughly 8 tiny tables pushed to the wall, this is a strictly standing affair, unless you’re lucky enough to snag an outdoor table, at which point be prepared to roll cigarettes for everyone in your vicinity and to skip small talk at every corner. The ultimate pint dissapearer is this place; I’ll never not rely on it.

where: 29 Greek St, London W1D 5DH
Website: www.coachandhorsessoho.pub

The Garden Bar

The Garden Bar in Notting Hill has quietly become one of the most exciting pub food destinations in London thanks to Cue Point’s permanent residency in the garden. On Sundays especially, the space comes alive with the scent of smoke pouring from their enormous smoker, serving a Texan-Afghan roast that feels entirely unique to the city.

Expect exceptional brisket, deeply succulent lamb, and all the rich, comforting fixings you’d hope for from a proper roast, delivered with genuine warmth and hospitality, followed by getting stuck in with pints, aperols, and the lot. Between the barbecue expertise of co-owners Joshua and Mursal and the front-of-house pedigree of GM Bardi — formerly part of the original team behind The Cow — the whole experience feels brilliantly well done. One of London’s most memorable pub meals, and proof that pub dining can still surprise you.

Where: 41 Bramley Rd, London W10 6SZ
Website: www.cue-point.co.uk

The Red Lion & Sun

Highgate is in a realm of its own when it comes to London neighbourhoods. It feels like an oasis, like a day trip even. I suppose it is, for it being a hop, skip and a jump away, every time I visit, I tend to spend the whole day wandering, window shopping, and, every now and again, drinking. To no surprise of my own, Highgate is home to one of the UK’s best gastro pubs, The Red Lion & Sun. This is a glorious pub, a country pub, a muddy wellies pub right here in London with pew benches and frothy Guinness. More important to me, though, is an impeccable, and I mean impeccable, wine list and some of the best pub food London has ever seen. Why it isn’t ranked the best gastropub in London for the olives alone, I’ll never know. PS frozen margaritas.

Where: 25 North Rd, London N6 4BE
Website: www.theredlionandsun.com

The Stag

As far as pubs go, there is nothing lovelier than a trip up to Hampstead to slip softly into London’s favourite city village. The Stag is a wonderful cushion to land. Just five minutes from Hampstead Heath station, the pub is comfortably full at all times, but always with the potential of a seat, if not inside, then definitely outside, which is where everyone should be, anyway. Especially as the sun begins to make its debut in these coming months, The Stag is a suntrap, one that serves spicebags and wings, martinis and Caesar salads. It’s for the girls, it’s for the boys, it’s for all of us.

Where: 67 Fleet Rd, Belsize Park, London NW3 2QU
Website: www.thestagnw3.com

The Exmouth Arms

Sister’s in town? Take them to Exmouth Arms. First date? Go to Exmouth Arms. Graduation? Exmouth Arms. Birthday? You get the message. I have marked every occasion at this green-tiled haven of booze, and I will continue to do so for as long as I live in London. The people pour onto the streets with their pints here. No danger of cars, no threat of noise complaint, no anxiety for tomorrow, just a great boozer surrounded by dozens more great boozers. And ample picnic tables to bask in the spring sun, if it ever does come.

Where: 23 Exmouth Market, London EC1R 4Q
Website: www.urbanpubsandbars.com

The Southampton Arms

The Southampton Arms is loved by all who have found it, which is sometimes hard to come by, as those who have found it tend to gatekeep it. This is a pub that most pubs wish they could be. Discreet, dark, church pewed round tables crowded by beers strictly from small and independent UK breweries (the only pub in London dedicated to doing such a thing). A cigarette will take you outside to the beer garden, partially covered, usually with a collie running about, consistently comfortably full. This is not a pub for a pub crawl, I might add, as there is absolutely no reason to move on.

Where: 139 Highgate Rd, London NW5 1LE
Website: www.thesouthamptonarms.co.uk

The World’s End

The World’s End in Finsbury Park is more than a pub — it’s a neighbourhood anchor. A place where regulars gather, friendships form, and local culture actually lives. In a city increasingly flattened by development and sameness, spaces like this are rare and necessary. The World’s End shouldn’t be protected out of nostalgia, but because London without places like it becomes unrecognisable to the people who call it home.

Where: 21-23 Stroud Green Rd, Finsbury Park, London N4 3EF
Website: www.worldsendfinsburypark.com

The Ship

Ah, The Ship. She’s been hibernating recently, but with the first sting of sun on our skin, so will The Ship be on our lips. An Aperol on the water, a sunburn at 4 pm, a snack to sober up; The Ship is, in all instances, where spring turns to summer, and summer remains eternal. One of London’s most notable pubs amongst young people, it is this pub where our weather depression suddenly becomes a thing of the past, and we all return to what we were in our past lives: youthful, free, excited, and somehow with money to spend on rounds.

Where: 41 Jews Row, London SW18 1TB
Website: www.theship.co.uk

The Pride of Spitalfields

Another take on pubs which welcome spillage onto the streets, The Pride of Spitalfields is a Brick Lane institution, one to be whisked away into. This is a place to be silly, to slowly mesh into others’ circles, to start with beer and end with vodka sodas, to be kicked out at close, to finish with Biegal Bagels. Where’s all the time gone? You might ask yourself after five hours, feet on the pavement. To which I say, doesn’t matter, you’ll get it back next weekend.

Where: 3 Heneage St, London E1 5LJ

The Trafalgar Tavern

The Trafalgar Tavern is my special place to go when I need to drown out the buzz of the city. An Uber boat down the Thames and a meander through Queen’s House, through antique map stores and around ancient coffee shops always leads me down to the water, plopped on a picnic table, hand on a Guinness and ears on the tide crashing just two feet below. This is a place to bring your most special of guests, perhaps with a post-sunset migration inside, by the fire.

Where: Park Row, London SE10 9NW
Website: www.trafalgartavern.co.uk

The Salusbury

The Salusbury is as local as a good pub gets. It’s been around for decades, but just last year it was bought by three locals who went on to revamp it, turning the North West London institution into a gastro pub that still embraces the local charm of this independent front. As a result, the crowd is a pleasant assortment of old-man-counter-drinkers and young-influencer-gastro-goers. It’s a glorious representation of the evolving nature of “the pub” without some huge conglomerate vomiting its logo all over laminated menus.

Where: 50-52 Salusbury Rd, London NW6 6NN
Website: www.thesalusbury.co.uk

Tapping The Admiral

Weekend after weekend, and without even planning it, I find myself lodged in the corner of the beer garden at Tapping The Admiral. This is a fan favourite, a timeless gem, an occasionless function. Cheap mixed drinks and crowded seating make for the perfect venue to get a bit loose, a bit lippy, a bit excited about the fact that everyone’s throwing out “do you want me to get you a drink?”‘s. A joyful pub surrounded by absolutely nothing, it holds a special place in my little heart. Plus, the cat’s friendly.

Where: 77 Castle Rd, London NW1 8SU
Website: www.tappingtheadmiral.com

The Alma

The Alma in Wandsworth is dependable in the way all good pubs should be. Casual catch-ups? Yes. Sport on a big screen? Of course. Proper Sunday roast that anchors the weekend? Absolutely. And if you can’t face the train home, you can stay over. It’s the pub thing that always gets us: one that works for everything, without trying too hard to be everything.

Where: 499 Old York Rd, London SW18 1TF
Website: www.almawandsworth.com

The George

The George is a newfound favourite of mine, but not at all new to the city. It’s the last surviving galleried inn of London, dating back to at least the 16th century, and much of it feels that way. A large courtyard is home to dozens of picnic tables and several different bars to order from. Guinness is plenty, as you sit on a balcony, peering over the ants on the cobbled floor below. Bored with the balcony (unlikely)? Move to the tavern downstairs. Bored with the tavern? Outside for a cigarette. Bored with cigarettes? Back inside for a fish and chips.

Where: 75 Borough High St, London SE1 1NH
Website: www.greeneking.co.uk

The Drapers Arms

The Drapers Arms is what happens when Islington goes grown-up. The wine list is serious, the pints are cold, and there is always someone at the next table discussing something vaguely cultural. Come here for drinks with mates when you’re pretending not to care where you are, even though you definitely thought hard (and well) to end up here. And then there’s the private dining room upstairs — all sexy confidence and white tablecloth energy — for when you want to upgrade from bar snacks to something a little more substantial without abandoning pub territory entirely.

Where: 44 Barnsbury St, London N1 1ER
Website: www.thedrapersarms.com

The Windsor Castle

I could never not recommend this pub. The beer garden is massive, the drinks are plentiful, and above all, the food is absolutely ridiculous. One of my favourite bites of 2026 so far was thanks to their beef shin croquettes. Curl up amongst the dark wood and aged windows, cosied in by the low ceilings and beams, warm your hands over candles, and in the summer, get completely stuck in the sun trap of a garden.

Where: 114 Campden Hill Rd, London W8 7AR
Website: www.thewindsorcastlekensington.co.uk