Favourite pubs in London

These two were great in 2004: (1) Red Lion, Whitehall – lots of lawyer decor and great fish and chips (2) The Hung, Drawn, and Quartered, Tower Hill. I also stopped in another that looked good, but I only went straight to the WC in the back and didn’t drink anything there…Bag O’ Nails, Victoria.

I can recommend the Founder's Arms on Bankside between the Millennium and Blackfriars Bridges (near to Tate Modern and the Globe Theatre). The food is good value and there are spectacular views of the river and the City. At the moment you need to access it from the Millenium Bridge direction because of railway works around Blackfriars Bridge.

We enjoy the Shakespere, across from Victoria Station. My husband loves their fish and chips and I enjoy their pies (steak and ale, shepherds, etc.).

we enjoyed the Sherlock Holmes pub. Lots of locals stopping in for drinks after work, food good enough (there's also a restaurant upstairs), and an interesting Holmes exhibit on the second floor. It's also near the theatres. They have a web site.

The Sherlock Holmes is good pub and The Swan Pub across from Kensington Gardens. We have had good food at both pubs. The Swan Pub was right aroung the corner from our hotel so we ate there a couple times during our stay.

Eli - I would also recommend the Shakespere, across from Victoria Station. I found it in fancyapint.com

I've always wanted to go to Bag O' Nails, but the only time I ever made it there they had a problem with the kitchen and weren't serving food...maybe next time.

We enjoy going to Lamb & Flag located near Covent Garden. The building is very old and has a sordid past--hangings occurred there a few centuries ago. The food is very good--some elderly women run the kitchen--best to go upstairs unless you are just interested in drinking.

Joel, when was the last time you ate at The Shakespeare pub? I read some really awful reviews on them that shocked me.

Eli- it has been 2 years since I ate at the Shakespere- things may have changed. I can also second the Covent Garden Lamb and Flag.

In September we had dinner at The Mitre - I don't recall the name of the road, however it was close to Hyde Park, on the Paddington Station and Norfolk Square side.

The Prince Edward Pub on Prince's Square in Bayswater was delightful. It's only about 3 or 4 blocks from Portobello Road, so if you're antiquing, it's only a short walk.

It's been a few years, but we had good food and a good time @ Clarence on White Hall. It was directly across the street from White Hall.

We are leaving next week Thursday for London! Thanks for the Pub suggestions.

Kate, do you mean the Mitre on Craven Terrace, and just a block or two off of Bayswater/Lancaster Gate? I stayed right by that pub a little over a week ago while in London. It’s a great place--very friendly and good food. We stopped by for a nightcap multiple nights while in London. The pub also has some interesting glasswork (I really liked the old “ladies only” door).

Rick Steves mentions the Old Bank of England pub in his guidebooks. I found the food there to be some of the best pub food I had in London. It was a little different in that it was one of the few pubs I went to that had table service (at least at lunch). The Opera Room (mentioned in RS--its right by Trafalgar Square) is also a great lunch stop.

The Good Pub Guide is a good resource in general and they have a good website--I visited several of the pubs listed in the guides (both on purpose and by 'accident', e.g. chose a pub that looked good and then found it in the guide). If you know you'll be in a neighborhood you can try to look up a pub in that area. For example, I found out from the GPG that the Euston Flyer pub is across the street from the British Library, and that Portobello Gold (on Portobello Road so its a possible coffee or lunch stop if you visit the market) is a highly rated pub.