an amateur’s guide to the best pubs in london

*This post is a guest blog from my husband John. While we were in London, he immersed himself in pub culture and so I asked him (or possibly pressured him into) writing a post for my blog.

Readers of this blog obviously appreciate the expertise my wife brings to the best ways to enjoy life, especially shopping, museums, theater and restaurants. If you know her at all, however, you quickly become aware that one of her few glaring weaknesses is any opinion or expertise on drinking. For better or worse (usually, the latter in her view), I am more than capable of filling this void and often do.

Over the past few months you have read all about our latest travel adventure in London. Given my wife’s temperance, however, you would be excused for not understanding that my greatest contribution to this trip was a very thorough and active investigation of London’s pub culture. 

I love almost everything about British pubs. The bartenders are universally grouchy and engaging at the same time. The spaces themselves are fascinatingly idiosyncratic with nooks and crannies everywhere. The patrons are 100% focused on conversation and not at all on big screens or chicken wings. There simply is no better way to spend an hour or three at the end of a day – and no better reason to call the end of the day as early as 3pm.

One point that may be obvious, but shouldn’t be overlooked, is that to enjoy a London pub, you better appreciate beer – or something like beer (e.g. cider). Like everyone who lived through COVID, I was forced to pick up a new hobby that was sourdough baking or cocktail craftsmanship and I didn’t pick the sourdough. Even the most casual cocktail lover, however, should take a pass when in a London pub and focus on the fermented barley drinks. First, while there are great places for cocktails in London (martinis at both Duke’s and the Connaught are absolute must-dos), pubs just aren’t those places. You’re going to get a gin and tonic which consists of a shot in a glass, a mini-bottle of tonic to pour in yourself, and a requirement to follow up and ask for ice. Second, it’s a case of simple economics to drink beer at the pub. While it doesn’t make me look very good to have thought about this enough to research it, the reality is that the UK has fairly strict laws about pouring a consistent “shot volume” of 25cl. This is about half of what is standard in the US and tends to make the cocktails in Salt Lake City seem strong by comparison. You can overcome this challenge in a true London cocktail bar, but definitely not in the pubs.

Once you spend any time in the pubs of London, it becomes clear that everyone has gotten the memo. At the risk of offending half the population, I have never seen so many women absolutely pounding beers. I am most definitely here for this phenomenon and wish we could all stop pretending that anyone enjoys a vodka soda for any reason other than its lack of carbs.

In our 47 days in London, I made it to just over thirty different London pubs. I honestly can’t say I disliked any of them, though of course some standout against the rest. So, for the very little of what it’s worth, here are my top five London pubs (and a couple of honorable mentions that could easily make any favorites list.)

The Top Five:

5. The Cock and Bottle (Notting Hill)

This is one of only a couple pubs in my whole trip that I simply “happened upon” but I’m glad I did. I had decided to accompany my wife to Notting Hill where she had a hair appointment with the intention of finding a coffee shop and getting “some work done.” 15 minutes later I found myself in this pub seated next to a 60-something local in Crocs, Adidas track pants and a fedora who quickly struck up a conversation with me. Turns out, he had a fascinating backstory with a career split as a resident at a French think tank and as a BBC newscaster. Most importantly, however, he informed me that he “read law” at Cambridge. For all those that will be annoyed by me adopting that description, you have my pubmate to thank.

Special consideration is also given to this pub as one of the many, many pubs I frequented with the word “cock” in the name. To my twelve year old level of maturity, this will never not be funny. As you might expect, to my wife it never was nor will be.

4. The Gloucester (Knightsbridge)

Sloane street in Knightsbridge is probably best known as one of (several) streets in central London that focuses almost exclusively on high end brands like Armani, Gucci and Ferragamo. In the middle of this luxury nonsense stands an oasis named the Gloucester, which proudly advertises itself as the last public house on that glitzy avenue. 

The Gloucester is welcoming and warm, but makes the list primarily because it was the one opportunity on our trip to participate in a pub quiz night. It’s a fun and low stress way to make some friends in any pub. Unfortunately, our quest to win the night was foiled by two weaknesses. The first was our inability to recognize and name UK based “C list” celebrities. The second was the fact that our MIT educated son, who was with us for the evening and meant to be our secret weapon, had spent the whole afternoon at other pubs with a former fraternity brother and was essentially useless. 

3. The Churchill Arms (Kensington)

I had high expectations for the Churchill Arms given that our friends Eryc and Liz, who lived in London for a year, made a point of telling us it was their favorite place in all of London. Fortunately, this pub lives up to the billing. We were there on a super vibrant Friday night and the atmosphere was outstanding. In addition to an incredible array of Churchill-esque memorabilia, the bar has a distinctive decor highlighted by a ceiling that is garnished wall to wall with ceramic chamber pots. The real surprise, however, may be that in lieu of the traditional pub fare, the Churchill Arms is connected to a Thai Restaurant that will serve you in the pub and which is absolutely delicious. “Come for the nostalgia, stay for the Pad Thai” as no one likes to say.

2. The Guinea Grill (Mayfair)

A pretty good rule of thumb for me is that the older the pub, the better it is. By this measure, Guinea Grill on Bruton Place is fantastic. It sits on a site that first opened as an inn in 1423. By comparison, the pub is positively modern, having opened in 1675. The charm oozes from this tiny space and while it’s in the midst of Mayfair, Bruton Place is a small side street that enables the crowd to easily spill out onto the street and keep up the revelry. I would have loved this place regardless, but it holds a special place for me in that Denise and I were here when we got the heartbreaking news that Denise’s dad was soon to pass away (he died the next day). We spent the next two hours toasting his incredible qualities and sharing memories with our kids in the US by text. Even the saddest memories can be powerful and I look forward to coming back to this place and toasting my father-in-law many times in the future.

1. The Devonshire (SoHo)

To find the best pub in London, I simply had only to look out the window of our apartment or walk about 100 feet from our front door. The Devonshire is a phenomenon and by a factor of ten, the busiest pub I have ever seen or will likely ever see. Starting at 2pm everyday the crowd starts to build and it is absolutely packed until 9-10pm every.single.day.

Unlike the Guinea Grill, the Devonshire is truly a newcomer, having opened only a year ago. It is a true “freehouse” which has traditionally meant a pub that was not owned by a particular brewer. In more recent times, it has also come to be known as a pub that is not owned by one of the major “pubco” holding companies (like Greene King and Nicholsons) that have taken over a majority of UK pubs. The Devonshire has made a point of serving the “best” Guinness in the UK and it’s a science they take seriously. Despite their huge volumes, they ensure that every pint is given a properly framed “2 part pour” and there are bartenders whose job is to continuously pour pints to be ready to “finish” and sell.

To be honest, while I appreciated everything about the Devonshire, the massive crowds could have prevented it from being my favorite until the last week of the trip. That was the moment when we discovered, thanks to a very well connected neighbor, that the Devonshire has a “Magic Room” in the back with table service and nightly music. This is truly a place to see and be seen (though cameras are not allowed) and once you experience it, you will have found your favorite bar of all time. I certainly did.  

Honorable Mention:

The Prince’s Head (Richmond)

Not a London pub, but I make the rules here, so it deserves a shoutout. This pub serves as the inspiration (and filming location) for the “Crown and Anchor” pub frequented by Ted Lasso. As a fan of the show, you will recognize it immediately and it’s as quaint as you might imagine. Even if you (unreasonably) are not a Ted Lasso fan, a pint on a sunny afternoon at the corner of Richmond Green is pretty fabulous.

The Queen’s Arms (Kensington)

As another American friend’s favorite pub, I made a point of walking through central London earlier this summer on a trek to find it, and made sure to bring Denise back for a return visit during our trip. This pub is full of light and incredibly quiet, almost like it’s trying to remain hidden in its back alley among the Queen’s mews in Kensington. As such, it’s a complete contrast to many of the things that make other pub’s great, but I love it even more for those qualities. Well worth getting out Google Maps to find it.

To be fair, there are many pubs that I visited (and so many more that I didn’t) that deserve to be on this list. Anyone who knows me understands that I loathe “constructive criticism” or really any suggestion that I might not be right. But this is the one true exception to that rule. I’d love to hear about the pubs I missed or overlooked so that the next trip to London is awash in as much alcohol as this one was.