Favorite Pubs - City of London and other London, United Kingdom Nightlife Tips

Nightlife Spot: The Hand and Shears

A small cozy traditional pub just a few blocks from Smithfield Market/the Barbican Center. It's located in a narrow maze of streets behind St. Bartholomew the Great Church. The pub is historic without feeling like a museum! Real ale served here.

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Theme: Eating and Drinking
Address: 1 Middle Street, Cloth Fair

Nightlife Spot: The Black Friar

Gilt Mosaic and mirrors abound in this Art Nouveau gin palace, not far from the Black Friar tube. The interior must be seen to be believed. Designed by H. Fuller Clark, and opened in 1897. (The Blackfriar is in the City of London, close to the Thames. It's primarily a haunt for office-types; there's not much going on here late at night or on weekends, so make this an early stop on your London Pub Architecture tour.)

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Theme: Eating and Drinking
Address: 84 Queen Victoria Street
Website: http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/60/602/Blackfriar/Blackfriars

Nightlife Spot: The Bell

Very historic pub in the vicinity of The Monument, close to the Thames. Said to have survived the Fire of 1666 without major structural damage, the Bell certainly does have slanting walls and peculiar floors to suggest that this is a place when has seen many generations of drinkers and revellers. Small, unobstrusive flat screen tele screens for those who can't live without the 21st century, though I would rather they were banished. Choice of excellent ales on tap.

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Theme: Eating and Drinking
Address: 29 Bush Lane
Directions: just down from Cannon Street tube station
Website: http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/14/1467/Bell/Cannon_Street

Nightlife Spot: The Roundhouse

Not my favorite pub in central London, but you could do worse. It's well-located (close to Covent Garden), easy to spot from a distance, and has a manageable noise level.

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Theme: Eating and Drinking
Address: 1 Garrick Street
Directions: Covent Garden or Leicester Square tube

Nightlife Spot: The Red Lion

Classic small pub just down from St. James Church, Piccadilly - three minute walk from Piccadilly Circus. The Red Lion's "beer palace" interior dates from the 1870s - mirrors and bevelled glass and polished dark wood. Very well maintained! Now part of the Fuller's family - so plenty of excellent London Pride and E.S.B. on tap. In the summer, crowds spill happily onto the street outside.

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Theme: Eating and Drinking
Address: 2 Duke of York Street
Website: http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/67/6746/Red_Lion/St_James

Nightlife Spot: Edinboro

The Edinboro Castle is a very popular pub on the west side of Camden, and not far from the northeastern end of Regent's Park. A big attraction is the leafy and spacious beer garden behind the pub building - several rail lines leading into Euston Station abut the property, but they are hidden behind a stout wall and banks of trees.

This place has followed the trend and has turned itself into a gastro-pub, but they still serve plenty of real ale, with Fuller's London Pride as well as Fuller's ESB on the hand-pumps.

During the summer of 2009, the Edinboro Castle seemed to be wildly popular with the after-work set, particularly on the summer nights when it was so pleasant to be outdoors in the evening air.

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Theme: Eating and Drinking
Address: 57 Mornington Terrace
Website: http://www.edinborocastlepub.co.uk/

Nightlife Spot: The Prince Albert

Handsome, historic gastropub a few minutes walk from the Camden Tube station, down one of the quieter streets in the neighborhood. Beautiful pub fittings. Pleasant small beer garden in front. Downside: beer prices are higher than average for the neighborhood.

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Theme: Eating and Drinking
Address: 163 Royal College Street
Website: http://www.princealbertcamden.com/

Nightlife Spot: Lord Stanley

Historic, wood-panelled, tasteful gastropub in a quiet section of Camden, north of the hurly-burly around the tube station. Good ale section, picnic tables out front, lighter traffic on the street.

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Theme: Eating and Drinking
Address: 51 Camden Park Rd. (at North Villas)
Website: http://www.thelordstanley.co.uk/

Nightlife Spot: Spaniards Inn

Spaniards Inn is a great roadhouse pub on the northern reaches of Hampstead Heath. It's practically located _in_ the road intself: there is a devilish "bottleneck" that reduces traffic on Spaniards Road (no apostrophe) to one lane between the pub and the old "tollhouse" immediately across the way. But it would be a crime to do anything to change the atmosphere or the surroundings of this historic tavern. (The building dates from 1585.)

Spaniards is also a classic literary pub with particular associations with the Romantics S.T. Coleridge and John Keats. It's also mentioned in Wilkie Collins, "Dracula" and the stories of Arthur Conan Doyle - and if you go there you will probably see several contemporary writers, either writing or drinking (this is Hampstead, after all.)

Great beer garden, decent food, good beer. Ah, civilization.

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Theme: Eating and Drinking
Address: Spaniards Road, Hampstead Heath
Website: http://www.pubs.com/pub_details.cfm?ID=240

Nightlife Spot: The Flask

Classic old "roadhouse" pub in historic Highgate Village. Many literary connections here - Coleridge, Betjeman, etc. Nice outdoor patio, handsome interior. Good ale on tap. Ah, Highgate.

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Theme: Eating and Drinking
Address: 77 Highgate West Hill