Soho, London
A Victorian corner pub off Piccadilly Circus, reborn as the most exciting pub in London. Oisín Rogers pulls the best pint of Guinness in the capital, and Ashley Palmer-Watts cooks over fire in the grill rooms upstairs. Permanently packed and permanently cheerful: the landlord as showman, the pub as theatre. Book a table, then stand at the bar anyway.
Finsbury Park, London5. The PlimsollEd McIlroy is the best landlord in the UK, and his Finsbury Park corner boozer serves the best burger in the land. A proper pub with proper…A
Waterloo18. The Anchor & HopeNo bookings, a long wait and worth every minute. Slow-cooked dishes for the table, and a wine list for serious drinkers.C
Westbourne Park19. The CowTom Conran’s Irish-accented pub, a Notting Hill fixture for a quarter of a century. Oysters and Guinness upstairs, Beckham downstairs.E
Clerkenwell20. The EagleWhere the gastropub was born in 1991. The steak sandwich remains a national monument.G
Belgravia21. The GrenadierHidden down a cobbled mews where chauffeurs wash Bentleys. Bloody Marys, Beef Wellington and a ghost who was once an officer. You have to…G
Mayfair22. The Guinea GrillA pub has stood here since 1423, older than Berkeley Square by three centuries. Steak and kidney pie, a good claret, and the cognoscenti at…