Pubs in London

You've been reading too much Jane Austin!!!!! I personally have not seen darts or much pool in london. Where I have seen it a bit more is in Manchester or Leeds. There are pubs on everycorner you'll just have to go in and see if it is what you're looking for. There are many that a quaint!!!!

Hi Cindy, go to the website fancyapint.com. You'll be able to surf all the pubs in the UK and find out whether their 'Old Stuff' or trendy, family oriented or gay, good brews or forgettable. We used it and made a list of all the high-scoring pubs near our tour. Worked great!

Jane Austen in a pub? It must have been the one next to the meeting rooms. In Bath. I remember she was always looking for good "pickup" places....That was fun.

A personal "stumbled across" and now favorite haunt is the Ye Olde White Bear Tavern in Hampstead. Perfect after you and the family have explored the Hampstead Heath. Meets all of you criteria. Like the White Bear, The Camel near the Bethnel Green Tube stop, is more a neighborhood pub. Lastly, you can also find info on pubs on these 2 websites: www.beerintheevening.com and www.fluidfoundation.com. By the way, one can never read too much Jane Austen or watch too much of Midsomer Murders, Morse, The Last Detective, Blue Murder or Inspector Frost. Have a wonderful trip. London is a great city.

You can try Ye Old White Horse near the Curiousity Shop in Holborn (right across from the school of economics). It is an 18th century pub with a similar ambiance to the one you mentioned. Charles Dickens used to frequent it and it is mentioned in the book "The Pickwick Papers".

I dont recommend Ye Old Cheshire Cheese because it is so touristy and loses that "Classic pub" feel when its full of Americans in khaki shorts and Teva sandals.

You might consider a "Pub Crawl"--a walking tour that visits numerous pubs.

London Walks has numerous ones every evening, each with a different theme.

Don't know about the darts, but Lord Moon of the Mall on Whitehall (just down from Trafalgar Square) is a good pub with good food. Can't remember for sure about the fireplace.
If you go to Greenwich, be sure to go the Trafalgar Tavern -- good food, quaint atmosphere, and it overlooks the river.

Some great resources: "Good Pub guide", available in the states,and CAMRA's (Campaign for Real Ale) "Good Beer Guide." For London CAMRA's "London's Pub Walks". Both availabe on CAMRA's web page: camra.org.uk.

Tom

Nag's Head Pub had a log fire going last fall when we were in London. It is definitely not touristy and a bit tricky to locate--it is behind the Lanesborough Hotel in a mews/residential neighborhood. For a very good lunch try the Lamb & Flag near Covent Garden. The building is very old and has lots of history and they serve great food. Olde Cheshire Cheese also had roaring fires when we visited.

The Swan Pub, 66 Bayswater across the street from Kensington Gardens, take the central tube line to Lancaster Gate tube station. Exit the station turn to your right cross at the corner and just a few yards down will be The Swan Pub. Kings Head & Eight Bells, 50 Cheyne Walk, Chelsea the nearest tube station it Sloane Square then its a bit of a walk. The Kings Head has a female ghost in the basement.

Hi Cindy, the Swan is a nice pub but not a budget eatery and the food is - well - pub food, no roaring fires or darts. You can meet lots of interesting foreigners there because there are numerous hotels in the area and only two pubs. The Swan and the Mitre a couple of blocks away. The Swan also has a large outdoor seating area that can get smokey. You will find more locals at the Mitre but again, no fires or darts. The Swan is a nice stop on any Sunday because lots of local artists hang their work on the Park fence directly across the street starting around nine in the morning until late afternoon. The "Italian Fountains" are also just across the street from the pub in Kensington Gardens. The "Round Pond" in the Gardens is the setting for live music on Sundays from 2 till 3:30 and you have Speakers Corner about a mile away at Marble Arch. Good God, I sound like the local TI office. Have a fun trip!

We had almost all of our dinners in pubs while in London, and I found this website very useful: http://www.pubs.com/features_search.cfm. Just click what you are looking for (we mostly clicked "good food"). I'm not sure I've been in a pub that reflected Jane Austin, but they seemed very English to me, so maybe that will fit your criteria.

Cindy: Google a pub called Prospect of Whitby and see what you think. It is an historic old pub on the Thames and it does have a fireplace, as well as a terrace overlooking the river. We went to a private party there years ago and I've never forgotten the place. I always mean to go back but never have. The marriage the party was celebrating is over but the Prospect of Whitby still stands !

Hi Cindy,

Lots of good pubs in London, am going back for my 3rd consecutive October myself. I beg to differ as to Ye Cheshire Cheese, I went there in October and the people that I saw there were locals, few tourists [there are several different rooms, each has a different menu]. Three other pubs that I recommend in London are Sherlock Holmes, The Black Lion and Jamie's. If you are venturing to Oxford I recommend the Crown.

Cheers,

Elaine

We did the London Walks Pub Crawl and had a blast. Went to places we never would have found on our own. The walk listed in the Rick Steve's book was fun too.