LondonRestaurants

Pub restaurants in London

  1. A

    Garrison

    The Garrison’s traditional green-tiled exterior and rather distressed, beach-shack interior are both appealing, and it boasts an actual cinema in its basement, but it’s the food – pressed ham-hock terrine, calf’s liver with smoked bacon, lamb with rosemary and garlic – that lures the punters to this evergreen gastropub. If you don’t fancy nearly bashing your neighbour’s elbow every time you lift your fork, though, come for breakfast (8am to 11.30am weekdays) or weekend brunch (9am to 11.30am).

    reviewed

  2. B

    Eagle

    London’s first gastropub may have seen its original owners move on, but it’s still a great place for a bite to eat and a pint, especially at lunchtime, when it’s relatively quiet and there’s an alluring spread of its much-loved Mediterranean-led fare on the bar counter.

    reviewed

  3. C

    Anchor & Hope

    The hope is that you’ll get a table without waiting hours because you can’t book at this quintessential gastropub, except for Sunday lunch at 2pm. The anchor is gutsy, unashamedly carnivorous British food. The critics love this place but, with dishes such as salt marsh lamb shoulder cooked for seven hours and soy-braised shin of beef, it’s decidedly not for vegetarians. Its sister-restaurant, Great Queen Street in Covent Garden, is smaller, does not have a pub and takes reservations (which are, in fact, essential).

    reviewed

  4. D

    Lots Road Pub & Dining Room

    No one has a bad thing to say about this tucked-away gastropub, aside from the minor affectation of listing prices in hundreds of pence. Light floods through the windows into the high-ceilinged, wood-lined curved dining area and onto the black-and-chrome bar, where choice wines are sold by the glass. The regularly changing menu reads as pretty standard fare – roast pork, salmon, lamb – but it’s all delicious and dependable. For dessert, try the sticky-toffee pudding or the honey-roasted figs.

    reviewed

  5. E

    Cow

    Owned by Tom Conran, scion of celebrated former restaurateur Sir Terence, this attractive boozer was one of London’s original gastropubs and the upstairs dining room is so cool it creates its own ventilation. Name of the game both upstairs and downstairs at the main bar is seafood: Irish rock oysters, haddock fishcakes, pasta with cuttlefish and samphire. Despite its fair share of trust-funded West Londoners, it’s still a great hangout.

    reviewed

  6. F

    Empress Of India

    This exquisite, much welcomed pub conversion on the western edge of Victoria Park belts out excellent modern British cuisine, with such fine dishes as sorrel soup with Cheddar scone, saddle of venison and roast suckling pig. We love the elegant bar, the Raj-era murals on the wall, the chandeliers made of mussel shells and the seamless service. Breakfast is available daily from 08:30.

    reviewed

  7. G

    White Swan Pub & Dining Room

    Despite looking like any other anonymous City pub from the street, inside the White Swan is anything but typical – a smart downstairs bar that serves excellent pub food (£10 for a main with a glass of wine) under the watchful eyes of animal trophies and an upstairs dining room with a classic, meaty British menu (two-/three-course meal £24/29).

    reviewed

  8. H

    Wells Tavern

    This popular gastropub, with a surprisingly modern interior (given its traditional exterior), is a real blessing in good-restaurant deprived Hampstead. The menu is proper posh English pub grub – Cumberland sausages, mash and onion gravy, or just a full roast with all the trimmings. At the weekends you’ll need to fight to get a table.

    reviewed

  9. I

    Coach & Horses

    For our money this is Clerkenwell’s best gastropub, which sacrifices none of its old-world pub charm in attracting a well-heeled foodie crowd for its range of great-value dishes (prices in increments of £2). The signature beer-battered cod, chips and mushy peas is well worth its £11.50 price tag.

    reviewed

  10. J

    Brackenbury

    The Brackenbury is very much a neighbourhood restaurant, with a friendly vibe and a relaxed atmosphere. Its modern European menu is enticing, with some imaginative starters and a good selection of wines at reasonable prices, ensuring the Brackenbury stands out from the many gastropubs in the immediate vicinity.

    reviewed

  11. Advertisement

  12. K

    Princess

    Meaty Mediterranean dishes and funky designer wallpaper are the order of the day at this Shoreditch gastropub in the tangle of lanes south of Old St. The restaurant is above the pub floor, reached via an old-fashioned spiral staircase.

    reviewed

  13. L

    Bumpkin

    One of a string of funky gastropubs along Westbourne Park Rd, Bumpkin styles itself as a ‘country brasserie’, which translates to rotisserie chicken, grilled salmon, out-sized sirloin steaks and roasts.

    reviewed

  14. M

    Atlas

    This cosy Victorian-era pub attracts a younger local crowd with its real ales, excellent food, and a lovely side courtyard. The gastropub menu features essentially Mediterranean-inspired dishes.

    reviewed

  15. N

    Hartley

    Fence-sitter of a pub/gastropub does rump steak burger and Sunday roast, as well as more fanciful dishes like rabbit leg confit.

    reviewed