Historic Pubs of London
Traditional English Taverns to Visit
In a world full of Starbucks, wine bars, and trendy nightclubs, it can be difficult to find a traditional pub. But it’s worth taking the time to track down London’s historic inns and taverns – some going back to the Middle Ages.
Dickens Drank in This Pub
Although the Tabard, where Chaucer’s pilgrims met before making their way to Canterbury, has closed, the George in Southwark is nearly as old. Plays were performed in the yard, with the audience standing on the galleries that line the pub’s wall; later, Dickens drank here in one of the many interconnected little rooms. It’s the sole survivor of the many galleried inns that once lined Borough High Street, and still serves a decent pint of beer – and in winter, mulled wine.
A Cathedral of Beer
The Cittie of Yorke, in High Holborn, has a splendid Victorian Gothic façade, but its best feature is the splendid back bar with its high timber ceiling and huge barrels lining the wall above the bar. It’s practically a cathedral of beer. It embodies the nostalgic dream of medieval England that William Morris and, later, G K Chesterton popularised – but it’s far better than pastiche. And since it’s owned by Sam Smiths, you’ll get a decent pint of beer here.
The Fox & Anchor in Charterhouse Street, near Barbican Tube Station, is renowned among city workers and locals for its opening hours. You can get beer for breakfast here! It starts serving early because the nearby Smithfield meat market is open all night. A recent restoration, fortunately, kept the traditional feel of the pub, with its little compartments, chandeliers, and pictures of old Smithfield. A large selection of real ales, served in pewter tankards, is complemented by traditional snacks such as pickled eggs, pork scratchings and cockles.
A Medieval Hostelry Hidden in an Alley
Few medieval pubs survive anywhere in England, but the Old Mitre in Ely Place has been providing beer since the Middle Ages, though the current building is later. It was part of the Bishop of Ely’s London palace, whose Gothic chapel you can still see nearby. It’s a tiny pub, with a ‘snug’ in the back, and embedded in one wall the remains of an ancient cherry tree. The selection of real ales sometimes expands to a mini-beer-festival. But warning; it’s not easy to find. You may have to spend a while looking.
The Argyll Arms, practically next to Oxford Street tube station, is a magnificent throwback. Its interior is a splendid late Victorian spectacle – etched glass and decorative mirrors everywhere, little wooden booths, richly carved joinery, and a magnificent embossed ceiling. It's one of the most historic pub interiors you will find anywhere. It’s completely, utterly over the top – and remarkably, it’s all the original work. Again, real ales are available, with several guest ales. But the pub can get very crowded on summer evenings.
The Lamb, in Leadenhall Market, is part of an impressive Victorian covered market. Even though it’s in the heart of the City, the market still trades – eels ooze out on to fishmongers’ slabs, pheasants and hares hang in the front of poulterers’ shops, though in recent years the traditional shops have been joined by boutiques and a sushi bar. Unsurprisingly, the pub is always busy, serving Young’s ales and excellent roast beef sandwiches.
A Literary Tavern Still Serves Dr Johnson's Roast Beef
For a quieter atmosphere, take a little alleyway off Fleet Street and you’ll find the Olde Cheshire Cheese, a tavern that was rebuilt shortly after the Great Fire of London in 1666. Its low ceilings and oak panelling make it easy to imagine Doctor Johnson and his biographer Boswell taking a leisurely lunch here. Sam Smith’s owns this pub, as well as the Cittie of Yorke, and you can eat a meal Doctor Johnson would have approved of – the roast beef of Olde England – if you don’t fancy ‘Ye Famous Pudding’.
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