The 50 best pubs in London, according to the Standard

The unquestionable mark of a truly great pub is its egalitarian spirit. The pubs we love — the pubs that have made this list — all share it. They are places where everyone is treated the same, that can be used whenever and however: they are for after-work pints, for lost afternoons, for evenings where the bell for last orders is met with grumbles. They are there for quiet catch-ups with old friends, or Sundays with a book, or Fridays with roaring music and dancing and shots met with screwed-up faces. They are not mausoleums but museums, always collecting stories, often prompting them. This is how it’s always been — decades before we were propping up the bar, others were in turn: laughing, arguing, catching-up, falling out, making up. Making out.

With that in mind, this list is one predominately dedicated to wet-led pubs. Drinking pubs. Some of them are boozers, but not all of them. Food-centric pubs have their place — that’s another list, coming another day — but inherently, they look to codify how people use them, which, honestly, is as a relaxed restaurant. To name a few, The Eagle, Camberwell Arms, Canton Arms, and The Waterman's Arms might be beautiful spots for a meal, but they’re not so much places for a quick pint, especially those that become five or six.

Even within those parameters, 50 still felt a miserly limit. We’ve been all over since the last time this list came out; we’ve made it further south these days. Still, so many pubs could have argued for inclusion. The Bank of Friendship, the Nelson, Wimbledon’s kind-hearted Alexandra. The Hemingford Arms. The Glory. Others that made the cut before have been dropped — some, like a number of Sam Smith’s, because part of their appeal (in this case, the price) has been lost. We know there are others. There’s always another round.

And so here we have it. These are, for now, our favourite pubs; taking friends to, on dates in. The ones we’ve travelled for and will travel to again.

For a long time, the Coach owed its fame to the journalists who called themselves its regulars (then: Private Eye, Jeffrey Bernard; today: all sorts from the Standard, Guardian and Telegraph are about). But lately, the place has heaved with those who rightly don’t give a monkeys about the hacks — they come for landlady Ali Ross and her team, for the huge array of ever-changing pints on offer, the rows of considered spirits, and the endless chat that makes the place rattle. Do interesting sorts come here, or does the Coach make those who come seem interesting?

29 Greek Street, W1D 5DH, coachandhorsessoho.pub

Between Catford and Forest Hill is the Blythe Hill Tavern, a glorious Victorian local but also a pub worth travelling for. Inside, it is a traditional corner spot with a roaring fire, circular tables, low stalls and dark blue banquettes, as well as a decent pint of Guinness and a strong selection of lagers and ales. There’s often live music. Outside is an especially big garden, and they permit sourdough pizzas by way of a visiting food van that parks just outside.

319 Stanstead Road, SE6 4US, blythehilltavern.org.uk

While the top floors are dedicated to a restaurant serving pub classics, and the place has its own butchery and bakery, downstairs the Devonshire is pure pub. It is all wood-panels and burgundy leather, gleaming brass, and rows of taps. The Guinness is arguably London’s best. There are booths to cosy up in and live music most nights — sometimes an orchestra of Irish fiddles, other times pianists doing their bit to astonish. The place is built on atmosphere; it is full, constantly. Often with us.

17 Denman Street, W1D 7HW, devonshiresoho.co.uk

“Purveyors of Craic” is a concerning tagline for a place — not least because said out loud, it leaves too much room for misunderstanding. Still, that’s about the only criticism of this Nunhead freehouse there is. It roars with music six nights out of seven, and there are quiz nights, karaoke, open mics and writers’ meet-ups. It’s no surprise its following is so loyal: this is somewhere working for its crowd, who love them for it.

1 Kitto Road, SE14 5TW, skehans.com

The Harp’s reputation draws them all: City account managers, street sweepers, artists and piss artists. Even the Opera House orchestra can be spotted ducking in during intermissions. The countless beer tap badges hung around the bar is hint to its dedication to serving oddities and curiosities in the pint glasses that pass between barman and punter (no surprise, CAMRA love the place). It is often too busy to squeeze in, but on those days when room is found, so is a little magic.

47 Chandos Place, WC2N 4HS, harpcoventgarden.com

Though the dining room upstairs has seen its share of heavy-hitting cooks — Fergus and Margot Henderson, Florence Knight, and presently Neil Borthwick — its downstairs has long been “the posh one” in Soho, the Withnail to the Coach’s I. Its regulars — many who run well-worn stories of when they were almost somebody — tend to stick to wine; others go for the Breton cider. Everyone else is on the half-pints; the experiment with full glasses was swiftly rejected. Landlady Lesley Lewis is one of the best.

49 Dean Street, W1D 5BG, frenchhousesoho.com

One of the capital’s most formidable pubs and a nod to times bygone, The Palm Tree is a wealth of a boozer and a marooned ship in an ever-gentrifying sea. Much like the equally famous, cockney-by-the-sea pub The Old Neptune in Whitstable, expect to see semi-famous celebrities on the walls and sometimes a heavy knees-up in the evening. The bar is a beautiful thing, oval and replete with beers; there’s low, moody cabaret-style lighting and plenty of peculiars to admire while waiting for a pretty good pint. Otherwise, chat to one of the regulars, whether Bow born-and-bred or Lord West, who used to run our Navy. Cash only.

127 Grove Road, Bow, E3 5BH, 020 8980 2918

A proper East End boozer run by Sandra Esquilant for as long as anyone can remember, the Heart has always been a hit with celebs, artists especially — Gilbert and George can often still be spotted. History and comedy line the walls: a photo of Lady Di appears alongside a sign telling customers to “Stand Still and Rot.” Dichotomy is all. It’s affordable, the beer’s decent, and there’s a jukebox. What else is wanted?

110 Commercial Street, E1 6LZ, 020 7247 2158

Heaven propped up by Tudor beams. Named for the famed ship that set sail from moorings at the same site, The Mayflower is a den of dark wood and stained glass, candles and a coal fire. Glasses hang from the top of the bar. It is convivial; it is not somewhere people mind packing into, and out the back is a riverside deck. If you’re popping here, go to the Angel nearby too.

117 Rotherhithe Street, SE16 4N, mayflowerpub.co.uk

This Irish pub in Wandsworth — absolutely not the posh side — takes its name from Irish mythology, being one of the names for the Celtic otherworld. Some might suggest a big night here will bring about a feeling of having visited. Maybe that’s the point. Otherwise, this is a classic south London bolthole filled with live music, sports and warm hospitality. There’s a lovely little garden out the back as well.

107 Garratt Lane, SW18 4DW, tirnanogwandsworth.co.uk

This unassuming community-run pub in deepest south London was named London’s best by Camra for the sixth time in 12 years in 2023, thanks to its impressive selection of beers, effortless but friendly service, and simple pub food. The Hope is a rare freehold owned by 46 local shareholders and so operates in accordance with its name. In a world of clinical chains and heightened technology, both serving only to bring about a disconnect between business and customer, it is a bastion of yesterday through pork pies, conversation and real ales. Worth seeking.

48 West Street, Carshalton, SM5 2PR, hopecarshalton.co.uk

Sat opposite one of the mouths to Covent Garden, it is a wonder this remains firmly a regulars’ place rather than a tourist trap (admittedly, stray Yank accents do sometimes wander in). Besides the Guinness — there’s certainly a sense of ceremony with that here — the whisky list is fearsome. The walls are a ragtag of old newspaper clippings and cut mirrors. Staff are friendly, service is swift. A refuge.

42 Wellington Street, WC2E 7BD, 020 7240 0553

Stocked with a huge variety of craft beers, around 20, but only two varieties of wine — a lavish gastropub, this ain’t. It’s not a beardy pub though: the place still has the feel of a proper boozer, is relaxed and unfussy, and dog-friendly too. Go to talk; getting lost in a screen is a sin here.

139 Highgate Road, NW5 1LE, thesouthamptonarms.co.uk

A beauty from the outside, Irish green and ornate, inside it feels like being out at sea and in the captain’s quarters. A bar serving from three sides sits to the left, while the rest of the room is bare wood — floor and ceiling — with brass hangings, old lamps and pictures of nothing in particular. Beers are fine enough, but it’s about atmosphere; about the crowds huddled at the tables, the couples squeezing together. There is a sense of being left to your own devices here; it is a pub you can cry in.

62 Poland Street, W1F 7NX, 020 7287 2635

A decade after reopening — after locals saved it from the council — and this craft-beer house thrives. Craft beer, yes, but it largely forgoes all the irritations that tend to accompany the worthy sorts who sip on stouts: in fact, with its open fire, dartboard, upright piano, worn floors and cheery-but-not-chummy staff, it’s just a proper old pub that happens to have a few different bits and pieces to keep the nerds in pints.

26 Wenlock Road, N1 7TA, wenlockarms.com

The Angel has had a life, having once drawn smugglers, pirates, and artists too — JMW Turner is said to have painted The Fighting Temeraire here. By the Fifties, the handsome place courted a celebrity crowd but two decades back it was tattered and forgotten, staring into the Thames as if contemplating jumping in. Sam Smith’s saved it and, though the price hike of the last year means it’s tricky to stomach the brewery’s below-par beer, this one is such a beauty that people still come to laugh and dance and sing until the light slips away and the Angel locks its doors. No pub is a church, but there’s religion in them somewhere.

101 Bermondsey Wall East, SE16 4NB, 020 7394 3214

If walls could talk, this place would (likely) be immediately cancelled. Under long-time landlord and former Scots Guard Kevin Moran, the place has drawn all sorts — actors Tom Baker and Richard Harris were regulars (and so too, once, was Ghislaine Maxwell). “Character” doesn’t cover it; the pub is a treasure. The rules are idiosyncratic — draping coats over chairs is banned, alongside swearing and phones — but there’s just something about it. While sat up at the bar, a new punter once had to ring the pub landline to order a pint. It was the only way to interrupt the conversation between punter and staff; they love their regulars.

53 Kinnerton Street, SW1X 8ED, 020 7235 1135

Locals don’t just love this place, they saved it, fighting off developers eight years ago. It was undeniably worth it. Good-looking in a quiet sort of way, it still cheerfully serves a first-rate choice of beers, with regular guest ales, and is known for its cider. It’s by no means flashy, or even boozerish, instead looking very much the way a pub might do for a smart sitcom, but it all works.

15 Mehetabel Road, E9 6DU, cheshamarms.com

Any loafer-wearing west Londoner will be au fait with The Cow, but it is a place for anyone from anywhere, with well-poured Guinness and excellent oysters the order of the day. Take note too of the fish stew in the upstairs dining room. Otherwise The Cow is mostly about conviviality in the saloon bar below, which is an old-school fixture — children out by 5pm, for example — to be enjoyed readily. 89 Westbourne Park Road, W2 5QH, thecowlondon.com

Dating back to the Thirties, the Ivy is a beautiful, aged room with a curved corner bar, simply turned out with neo-Classical and neo-Tudor features. The beers are mostly local and the food simple but proficient, while in the back is a music hall — one that hosted such names as Joe Strummer and Ian Dury. Today it is community-owned and listed as an asset of community value by Southwark Council. Rightly so. Every bit a local, the music, comedy and quiz nights continue.

40 Stuart Road, SE15 3BE, ivyhousenunhead.co.uk

A Covent Garden staple since the 17th century, it was once nicknamed the Bucket of Blood and held bare-knuckle boxing matches in the room upstairs. In the 19th century, Charles Dickens would pop in. Today, many of the original features remain, and it makes for a historic place to enjoy a quiet pint.On balance, it is one of the best worst boozers in town: it serves the ordinary stuff, smells and looks as a relic of apub should, and on occasion servesas a proficient platform for mindless frivolity.

33 Rose Street, WC2E 9EB, lambandflagcoventgarden.co.uk

A new opening and something of an instant hit, The Robin opened to rousing support from its Stroud Green locals. The recipe for success? Simple hospitality, well-chosen beers and ales, and live music on a Sunday. Oh, and “no bookings, no Champagne and no VIPs”  (their words). The rotating glut of hand-picked draughts are down to landlord Nick Bailey, who ran the beloved Southampton Arms in Kentish Town for years.

29 Crouch Hill, Stroud Green, N4 4AP, @therobinlondon

London Bridge and Borough aren’t short of pubs, but the best of the lot can be found on the corner of Tabard Street. On cold winter evenings, a warm amber light spills out from the wide windows on all sides, drawing in stragglers with the promise of good beer and good company. There’s a homely feel to the snug space, with haphazardly hung paintings and pictures, and tablesand sofas scattered around a lovely central bar.

44 Tabard Street, SE1 4JU, royaloaklondon.co.uk

The tiny Dolphin Tavern has long been left to its own devices, and is a joy for it. Quaint without being fake, it does what pubs often promise but rarely manage to deliver, drawing in all London life and putting them on the same playing field. On any given evening, there could be well-heeled locals leant against the bar besides a group laughing loudly over a bottle of prosecco. Lads could be spilling lagers over cigarettes outside, while old boys grumble to each other inside. Ask the landlord about the clock.

44 Red Lion Street, WC1R 4PF

With a river-fronted terrace, the Dove is particularly lovely in the summer, with a few conservatory tables in a covered space that’s most suited for when things turn inclement. There’s history here too, claiming as it does to be the former drinking den of poets and Pre-Raphaelites. It also holds the Guinness world record for the smallest bar room in the world, measuring in at just 4ft 2in by 7ft. Cosy doesn’t cover it.

19 Upper Mall, Hammersmith, W6 9TA, dovehammersmith.co.uk

There are perhaps 15 Blue Posts in Soho (well, five) and for a long time this was the dingiest of the lot. For reasons mostly inexplicable, it’s now become a go-to for the fashion set. The glamour hasn’t rubbed off on the place though: it remains resolutely a bit shit. There’s a decent run of whiskies to get through besides the beers. Just a pub, an old boozer, nothing flashy; wonderful, in other words.

22 Berwick Street, W1F 0QA, @thebluepostssoho

Hidden away down Ely Court, this pub, owing to a Bishop and some quirky bylaws, technically belonged to Cambridgeshire until the 1970s. The interior dates to the 1930s and is all heavy oak and homely. The pub is really quite tiny, especially in the front room, which is just right for a pint of Pride. It’s made it into films — the Deep Blue Sea and Snatch among them — but nevertheless, because it’s so tucked away and so cute, getting in here feels like discovering a beautiful little secret. Sometimes too crowded to really adore, but if you can squeeze in, do.

1 Ely Place, EC1N 6SJ, yeoldemitreholborn.co.uk

In the winter, walk the length of Flask Walk and there, in the dark, the Wells twinkles. It is a beacon, it is a home. The handsome Georgian building is in two parts: upstairs holds a one of London’s loveliest restaurants, split between rooms; downstairs is the pub, one for Barbour-clad Hampstead’s locals to pile into, dogs and all. There’s usually a cracking selection of beer on — the usuals, but things like Glowfly and Tiny Rebel, too — and, well, it feels like a pub in the countryside, and that, really, is very hard not to fall for.

30 Well Walk, NW3 1BX, thewellshampstead.co.uk

A self-styled "museum pub", it’s one of those places going above and beyond, with regular live music, film screenings and decent Italian fare; they want you in, and who doesn’t want to be wanted? The décor is perhaps a little done, but it’s certainly memorable, with the walls and every nook and every cranny filled with oddities. The overwhelming feeling here is one of being welcome; they pull a fresh pint, staff are lively, there’s a TV in the corner for those who want it. Worth travelling for.

72 Royal Hill, SE10 8RT, theprinceofgreenwichpub.com

Restaurant group JKS took over The George, long closed, in 2021. Today it is quite a fancy spot to grab a drink, not least because chef James Knappett — of Kitchen Table fame — oversees the food. Then again, The George is picture-perfect in heavy wood and accents of green, and the ground floor pub brims with fine snacks, decent pints, and a feeling of what’s gone before: politicians, poets, activists and the like. 

55 Great Portland Street, W1W 7LQ, thegeorge.london

Those au fait with London’s casual dining scene will be aware of Scott Collins, who started in pubs before founding MeatLiquor, the punk burger joint and shrine to one of the finest sandwiches conceived: the Dead Hippie. Three years ago he combined the two and opened the Dartmouth Arms, a late Victorian boozer in Forest Hill that serves the MeatLiquor menu. The beer selection is always sound, while feasting on American-style fast food in the raucous confines of a southeast London pub is always a pleasing interlude.

7 Dartmouth Road, SE23 3HN, meatliquor.com

Only open about a year, The Audley is already a landmark. In deep Mayfair is a Victorian pub of rich, deep wood, dim lights and fine art. Above the ground floor boozer is Mount Street restaurant. Below is a spacious but always well populated space. Many of the beers come from the independent Sambrook’s Brewery in Battersea, one of the city’s oldest, though the likes of Guinness and London Pride are available. Bar snacks are classic: pints of prawns, Scotch eggs, and cockles (a la chef Mark Hix, as popcorn) in malt vinegar.

41-43 Mount Street, W1K 2RX, theaudleypublichouse.com

The Pembury is one of Hackney’s best-loved pubs. There’s billiards, because, why not, and a weekly pub quiz (an essential feature). A pub has stood here since 1856 and thanks to a decent bit of investment in 2018, alongside getting five points brewery and ACE pizzas on board, it should last a few decades more. Undoubtedly one of the best around.

90 Amhurst Road, E8 1JH, pemburytavern.co.uk

Outside, swaddled in flowers, the Churchill is the prettiest of pubs. Inside it is a treasure chest, a trove of oddities, from sailors’ lamps to gas masks, copper pots to old newspaper columns. The bar here is long and made to sit at, shiny with taps that boast an array of decent real ale, and backed by glistening bottles of spirits. When the fire is stoked, the pub is cosy, while there’s a cracking Thai restaurant at the back.

119 Kensington Church Street, W8 7LN, churchillarmskensington.co.uk

Paddington and thereabouts have a few good pubs. There’s the craft-beer-dedicated Royal Exchange, and the rough-and-ready Trader’s Inn on Church Street Market. But the Victoria is the most striking and reliable of the lot. A beauty outside (handsome white façade) and in (gleaming brass lamps, stools at the bar, etched mirrors), it is perfectly preserved, and the beer is well taken care of.

10A Strathearn Place, W2 2NH, victoriapaddington.co.uk

Hard, you’d think, for a pub so close to Trafalgar Square to be off the beaten track, yet it’s best to stumble across the sequestered Ship & Shovell. Cleaved either side of Craven Passage, just behind Charing Cross, it is two pubs for the price of one: cosy Victorian boltholes with plenty of original features. Badger beers on draft (Best Bitter and Tangle Foot are favourites), a couple of decent lagers and a carefully chosen spirits selection.

1-3, Craven Passage, WC2N 5PH, shipandshovell.co.uk

When this Irish boozer first opened in 1991, it was as basic as could be, a simple bar with a darts board. Today it’s covered with memorabilia but isn’t at all twee. The view from outside is an illusion — it’s nowhere near as tiny as it seems — and inside, it is a haven to exceptional Guinness, live music, and rugby when it’s on. A fantastic pub.

105 Stoke Newington Church Street, N16 0UD, theauldshillelagh.co.uk

There since the Sixties, Bradley's is split over two floors. Down well-worn concrete steps, past the men’s loo, the basement tends to be a loud, fun place with the TV on. Spanish lagers, some ales and plenty of gin. Upstairs is the size of dishcloth and has a proper, old fashioned jukebox that sounds magnificent. It tends to play Bowie or the like. A seat at the bar is the one — stay long enough and you should end up dancing.

44 Hanway Street, W1T 1UT​, bradleysspanishbar.com

Time at the White Swan is time well spent. This is a simple, cosy little riverside spot boasting a charming waterfront suntrap and quiet corners for settling down into. Pints of proper ale start from £5, an increasingly rare thing in London these days, but be careful: when the Thames floods, the garden furniture might float down river.

Riverside, Twickenham, TW1 3DN, whiteswantwickenham.co.uk

There is tranquillity to be found at The Grapes, a neighbourhood boozer in the back-end of Limehouse. One of the oldest pubs in the city — it dates back to the 16th century — it is a charming place for a pint or two. Heed the fish and chips, the fairly legendary pub quiz, and don’t miss Gandalf’s staff behind the bar (you see, the landlord is Sir Ian McKellan).

76 Narrow Street, Limehouse, E14 8BP, thegrapes.co.uk

The most impressive pub in an area full of good ones, The Trafalgar Tavern overlooks the Thames as a huge, imperious place steeped in Naval history. Open since 1837 and split over three floors, it is a richly handsome spot for a pint, so too a bowl of Greenwich whitebait and a round of Colchester oysters. Beautiful cobblestones outside.

Park Row, SE10 9NW, trafalgartavern.co.uk​

One of the watering holes where one might hear the latest Westminster gossip, or more likely spy a political journalist getting cosy with an old MP, The Westminster Arms is a gorgeous boozer that has its charms. Yes, it’s a touch old hat and yes, it’ll be full of suits most evenings, but there’s some magic in the air too, as if a whiff of Soho found its way to SW1.

9 & 10 Storey's Gate, SW1P 3AT, westminsterarms.co.uk

The Duke’s charms come in a 1930s sort of way: it wraps around a corner, with a couple of lagers and a handful of real ales on tap. It is basic inside (though still on the National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors), with the tiniest of terraces. But you come for solace. It is hidden, and each night punters might be lawyer types of the nearby chambers, locals, people who come to pubs with books.

7 Roger Street, WC1N 2PB, 020 7242 7230

A Spoons? On a list of London’s best pubs? Yes, because it is a grand old place in the City, an area strangely short of tolerable places. The food and drink is the same as any other in Tim Martin’s controversial chain, which also means the pub is among the cheapest for miles around. But really, it is about the location, not to mention the opulence of sipping Kronenbourg in a former bank.

9 Gracechurch Street, EC3V 0DR, jdwetherspoon.com

Tucked behind the Royal Courts of Justice, this is a pub powered by its landlady. In this instance, the oenophilically-named Roxy Beaujolais; luminescent hardly does her justice. Her Elizabethan pub is a red-ceilinged, dim-lit sort of place, laden with knick-knacks and curiosities. The food, particularly the steak, is excellent, too over overlooked by critics.

53 Carey Street, WC2A 3QS, 020 7242 8521

Charlie Chaplin Snr. is said to have played the piano to entertain punters (read: encourage them to spend more money) at the Jolly Gardeners and a welcoming legacy of entertainment still hangs in the air of this Vauxhall boozer. There’s more recent pub lore here too: Guy Ritchie filmed scenes from Snatch here in the nineties. All that aside, the pints are gorgeous, the dining room is perfect for the space and the owners make everyone feel at home.

49-51 Black Prince Road, SE11 6AB, thejollygardeners.co.uk

You could walk Fleet Street for years and never notice this famous boozer, its black front giving nothing away. Rebuilt following the Great Fire of London in 1667, we have a pub full of surprises, a Tardis of a place, a Dickensian timewarp. Today it’s owned by Sam Smith’s and so the beer is affordable and the vibe distinctly old fashioned.

145 Fleet Street, EC4A 2BU

The Hawley Arms may be more famous thanks to an association with noughties Indie kids, but Camden’s best pub is the Dublin Castle. It has both inspired and absorbed the epitome of Camden culture, right down to the lashings of military red on the walls — remember the Libertines’ jackets? Madness helped forge its name; Amy Winehouse apparently pulled pints here once or twice. The lager is cheap and the music is loud.

94 Parkway, NW1 7AN, thedublincastle.com

This neighbourhood Hackney pub and celebrity hangout is a beacon of beauty and bonhomie set among Victorian terraces. Inside is a high-ceilinged, busy place with a central bar and surrounding tables. It looks much as a pub should, though serves cocktails, well regarded wines and sophisticated food. Menu highlights include British sobrasada croquettes, half a plaice with sauce grenobloise, and excellent triple cooked chips.

95 Forest Road, E8, theprincearthure8.com

Home to more than @soho_house_meeting meme punchlines, this Notting Hill outpost is one of the new breed of London boozers that cossets guests in a duvet of comfortable modesty. Think minimal limewash walls, candlelight that make a dinner menu barely legible, and a menu hand written on the large dining room mirror. Essentially, a glamorous country inn in the city, and is all the better for it.

45 All Saints Road, W11 1HE, thepelicanw11.com