Best-of list · Pubs
The 10 best pubs in London for 2026, from the French House to the Grenadier. Historic boozers, proper cask ale, and where Tom Callahan says to drink.
The short answer
10 ranked rooms follow. How we picked is at the end of this guide.
London sets the standard for the pub, and the ten below are the ones the regulars actually drink in. Think proper cask ale, rooms with centuries behind them, and not a single gimmick that gets in the way of the pint.
Tom Callahan picks them on the pour, the room, and whether the staff know their trade. Tourist boxes get ticked too, but only where the beer holds up.
The French House on Dean Street pours beer in halves only, a Soho rule it has kept for decades. There is no music, no television, and phones stay in pockets, so the talk does the work. It served as a haunt for the Free French during the war and still draws a bohemian crowd. Order a half and a glass of the house wine. Lunchtime is the civilised hour.
Full listing & hours →The Lamb and Flag hides down a narrow alley off Rose Street in Covent Garden, which keeps the worst of the crush out. It is a low-ceilinged Fuller's house with a fierce old nickname, the Bucket of Blood, from its bare-knuckle past. The cask ale is kept well and the upstairs room is the quieter seat. Tom rates it for a pint between the theatres. Get in early before it packs.
The Coach and Horses on Greek Street built its name on sharp service and good company, the old domain of landlord Norman Balon and the Private Eye lunch crowd. These days it is London's first vegetarian pub, but the Soho character holds. The beer is honest and the prices fair for the postcode. It suits a long afternoon with someone who can talk. Skip it if you want polish over personality.
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese sits down a Fleet Street alley, rebuilt right after the Great Fire of 1666. Inside is a warren of dark, low-beamed rooms over several floors, the sort you get lost in happily. It is a Sam Smith's house, so the beer is cheap by central London standards. It closes Sundays. Best on a quiet weekday for the cellar bar downstairs.
Full listing & hours →The Blackfriar near Blackfriars station is worth a pint for the room alone, an Arts and Crafts masterpiece of marble, mosaic, and bronze friars built in 1875. It pours a rotating handful of cask ales and does a decent trade in food. The wedge-shaped building fills with City workers from six, so come earlier or at the weekend. Grab the snug at the back. A proper one-off.
Full listing & hours →The George Inn off Borough High Street is London's last galleried coaching inn, owned by the National Trust and run by Greene King. The present building dates to 1677, and Dickens drank here and put it in Little Dorrit. The cobbled courtyard is the draw on a warm evening, pint in hand under the timber galleries. It gets rammed near Borough Market, so come off-peak.
Full listing & hours →The Churchill Arms on Kensington Church Street is the one buried under a thousand flowers and hanging baskets. Behind the display it is a proper Fuller's pub crammed with Churchill memorabilia, and it was the first in London to put a Thai kitchen out back. The curries are cheap and good, the London Pride well kept. It heaves at weekends. Tom says eat early and book the food.
Full listing & hours →The Mayflower in Rotherhithe claims the title of oldest pub on the Thames, trading since around 1550 and named for the Pilgrim ship that left from here. The back jetty over the water is the seat to fight for, especially at sunset. Inside is all dark wood and creak. The beer and food are solid rather than remarkable, but the setting earns its place. A short hop from Rotherhithe station.
Full listing & hours →The Prospect of Whitby on Wapping Wall has poured since 1520, which makes it the oldest riverside tavern in the country. It kept a rough past of smugglers, and a hangman's noose still dangles over the river terrace as a nod to it. The long pewter-topped bar is the real heritage. Greene King runs it now, so expect reliable pints and pub food. Come for the Thames view at high tide.
Full listing & hours →The Grenadier hides up a cobbled Belgravia mews on Wilton Row, a former officers' mess you have to hunt for. The ceiling is papered with banknotes left to clear the debts of a resident ghost called Cedric, which tells you the tone. It is famous for its Bloody Mary and charges Belgravia prices to match. Small inside, so it fills fast. Worth the walk for the oddity alone.
Beyond the 10
The Magpie occupies a former Bishopsgate ambulance station near Liverpool Street, a Nicholson's pub pouring cask ale with a dining room for fifty. CAMRA lists the ale range. Handy for a pint before a train.