5 London Spots Paul Mescal Loves
Since moving to London in 2020, Paul Mescal has built a reputation as one of the city’s more down-to-earth A-listers, favouring neighbourhood pubs and small plates over typical celebrity favourites. From Shoreditch to Marylebone, here are five of the actor’s go-to spots:
BRAT
Paul’s restaurant of choice, by his own reported preference, is this Michelin-starred Basque grill, built around whole fish and meat cooked over an open wood fire.
He’s been spotted there on more than one occasion, including his first public outing with Gracie Abrams in 2024, and he was later seen leaving the restaurant’s downstairs sister spot in the early hours with actor Idris Elba. BRAT’s stripped-back, ingredient-led approach has made it one of London’s most talked-about tables since it opened, and reservations are famously hard to come by.
Where: 4 Redchurch St, London E1 6JL
Website: www.bratrestaurant.com
Goodbye Horses
Tucked into a converted old pub on a leafy De Beauvoir street, Goodbye Horses has become one of North London’s most talked-about wine bars since opening, known for its organic and biodynamic list and a short, sharp small-plates menu from the team behind Papi and Brilliant Corners.
The whitewashed brick room, ten-metre bar and wall of records give it a relaxed but distinctly grown-up feel, just a short walk from Mescal’s usual Islington haunts, and well within the kind of low-key, wine-led spot his reported taste runs toward.
Where: 21 Halliford St, London N1 3HB
Website: www.goodbyehorses.com
The Dreamery
Directly across the road from Goodbye Horses and run by the same team, The Dreamery is part ice cream parlour, part natural wine bar, pairing inventive seasonal scoops like gingerbread and salted ricotta blueberry with a short, glou-glou-leaning wine list.
The psychedelic ceiling mural and stainless steel counter give it a playful, slightly surreal feel that has quickly made it a local cult favourite, Dua Lipa included. For anyone following Mescal’s usual De Beauvoir and Islington loop, it’s a natural next stop.
Where: 20a Halliford St, London N1 3HD
Website: www.thedreamery.com
The Old Queens Head
Since buying a home in the area, Mescal has become a regular at this Essex Road pub.
Spread across a grand, high-ceilinged Victorian room with original stained glass, it keeps things loose with pub quiz nights, DJ sets and a solid burger menu, and serves his named favourite drink, a Whisky Sour, with Japanese whisky. It’s the kind of unpretentious local that suits an actor who, by most accounts, would rather nurse a pint than work a red carpet.
Where: 44 Essex Rd, London N1 8LN
Website: www.oldqueenshead.com
The Cavendish
Mescal has also been spotted at this Marylebone bar and dining room. Set on New Cavendish Street, the venue leans into a polished, all-day dining concept, moving from coffee and breakfast through to cocktails and dinner in a warm, art-deco-adjacent room.
It’s a smarter affair than his usual pub haunts, making it a fitting choice for a slightly more low-key date night away from his regular Islington patch.
Where: 35 New Cavendish St, London W1G 9TR
Website: www.thecavendish.com
