The Devonshire was opened by publican Oisín Rogers, the recognisable face and name behind Mayfair’s Guinea Grill until his departure in 2022, and Flat Iron founder Charlie Carroll at the end of 2023 and became an instant hit. It’s based out of a historic inn on Denman Street that dates back to 1793, with a top-quality pub downstairs and a restaurant upstairs (headed up by Ashley Palmer-Watts of The Fat Duck and Dinner by Heston). The food’s all about the restaurant’s wood-ember grill – the menu includes beef chops and ribeyes, Iberico pork ribs, lamb hotpot, creel-caught langoustines, hand-dived scallops and prime day boat fish on offer – but there’s also a selection of bar food, like scotch eggs, bacon sarnies, sausage rolls and cheese & ham hock toasties. It’s also arguably got the best pints of Guinness in town, so it’s worth fighting for that spot at the bar.
"Boringly, this mobbed blockbuster is exactly as impressive as everyone says it is. Worth remembering that politeness and good craic are still a useful way to score a walk-in and entry to the hallowed 'Green Room'."
The Sun and 13 Cantons is known for its excellent food residencies, including Darjeeling Express, Sambal Shiok and Sarap, and that tradition continues with Mamapen, a modern Cambodian restaurant from Kaneda Pen. Kaneda’s mission is to showcase Khmer food and his passion for BBQ, which he’s doing through dishes like Khmer half BBQ chicken with Shaoxing teriyaki glaze and tuk trey koh kong dipping sauce; caramelised & braised pork belly with mushroom soy cured egg and pickled chilli; sour pineapple curry with roasted sweet potato and pickled mango; Khmer fried chicken bun with sweet chilli crisp mayo and pickled carrot & daikon; and beef tattie mince noodles with cucumber, spring onion and chilli.
"A Cambodian-inspired residency in a legendary Soho pub is exactly what’s great about London’s food scene. Explosive, irresistible flavours and an incredible story."
An old-school pub done proper, The George nails that balance of heritage charm and modern polish. Upstairs in the dining room, things get serious come Sunday. Kick off with a perfectly seared scallop followed by a peach, ricotta and hazelnut salad that could be straight out of an Italian summer. The roasts hit classic territory; crisp-skinned chicken, blushing pink beef, gravy that means business, and all the trimmings where nothing feels like an afterthought. Finish with the trifle because it’s nostalgia gold in a glass, and quite possibly one of the best in London.
"To call it a Devonshire dupe does this place a disservice but, yes, it’s a worthy competitor. Exceptional fried chicken and earth’s best Irish coffee."
After smashing the Four Legs residency at The Compton Arms, Jamie Allan and Ed McIlroy opened their own pub The Plimsoll, and thankfully they brought the Four Legs’ cheeseburger with them. A Dexter beef patty, oozy cheese and a McDonald’s inspired burger sauce, it’s the star of their menu. If you consider yourself a burger aficionado, you need to head here – but don’t agree to share.
"The Dexter cheeseburger gets all the justified plaudits but it’s basically a Trojan horse for one of the most consistently creative kitchens in the city."
Founded in 1991 by restaurant manager Michael Belben and chef David Eyre, The Eagle in Farringdon is one of the OG gastropubs in the UK. The pair married the quality cooking you’d find in a restaurant with the casual, good value vibe of a pub and it’s remained popular ever since. The menu changes daily but is always Mediterranean-inspired, so you can expect dishes like hake with lentils and salsa verde; tortilla with smoked almond and parsley salad; braised lamb shank with saffron and salsa cruda; and rhubarb, ricotta & almond cake. If the steak sandwich is on the menu, it’s a must-order. With beers from Hackney Brewery and ales from Marston’s and Charles Wells, you can be sure of a decent pint too.
"The OG’s OG. It has such a particular, thrumming atmosphere and commitment to doing things the right way. Come for the steak sandwich but stay for the Basque cheesecakes that loiter on the counter."
Prince of Peckham is a boozer that takes it back to the good ol’ pub days. The kitchen is run by White Men Can’t Jerk, so you can feast on their famous jerk chicken with pineapple scotch bonnet jam, and you can add on bottomless fizz or rum punch on the weekends. Rum is the star of the show behind the bar, with a large selection available by the shot and a range of rum cocktails. With everything from chess club to F1 screenings to DJ sessions (the pub is open until 2.30am on Fridays and Saturdays, shutting at 12.30am every other night), there’s plenty to keep you entertained too.
"The food from White Men Can’t Jerk is not the fanciest but it’s just so consistently enjoyable. Terrifically unhinged late-night atmosphere too."
The French House is a Soho institution with some very specific rules, like only serving half pints and not allowing any tech inside, that only make you love it more. And upstairs you can really sink into the paint and history of the place and appreciate what really matters about French cooking. Their handwritten menu changes depending on the produce they have in that day but some recent hard hitters have been the bouillabaisse and roast cod, brawn and pickled onions, and Norfolk asparagus with sauce mousseline. Many times dessert can be an easy pass but with options like Madagascar chocolate and Baileys mousse on the cards, it can be hard to resist.
"A living, breathing (and half pint-necking) piece of Soho history, and the perfect dishevelled showcase for Neil Borthwick’s hugely underrated cooking."
The Tamil Prince sits on a quiet street in a residential part of Islington, having taken over a whitewashed corner pub building that was previously called the Cuckoo. Despite the sleepy surroundings, this pub really packs a punch. It was completely reinvented by ex-Roti King duo Prince Durairaj and Glen Leeson and now serves up an acclaimed menu inspired by Prince’s childhood home of Tamil Nadu in southern India. Start off with small plates such as okra fries, onion bhaji with mint chutney and spiced chicken lollipops with sweet chilli chutney, followed by an exceptional king prawn & curry leaf varuval, or maybe the masala-marinated tawa whole sea bream. If you’re in the mood for dessert, don’t miss the gulab jamun (sweet, fragrant fried dumplings) and you’ll wanna have at *least* one of their signature cocktails (the Tamil Negroni is killer). Whatever you end up picking, we’re confident you won’t be disappointed.
"It’s status as a proper pub is sketchy but the vividness of the cooking – those lacy onion bhajis especially – is totally undeniable."
This restored Victorian pub on Hackney Road has bags of style thanks to the brown tiles on the facade, the wood panelling in the bar and dark leather banquettes (plus a more modern and minimalist dining room upstairs). Run by ex-St JOHN pair Tom Harris and Jon Rotheram, there’s also a cracking seasonal British menu to match. The beef & barley bun has become something of a signature, as have the pies, but there are also oysters, cured and smoked fish, chops and steaks, Sunday roasts, and puds like brown butter & honey tart to get stuck into. There are local brews on the bar too, alongside a carefully curated wine list and cocktails featuring housemade cordials and shrubs.
"A brilliant mix of downstairs spit and sawdust grit and first floor, gastronomic glamour with ridiculously good value midweek lunch deals. Put those beef and barley buns in the Tate, basically."
As well as being an Arsenal pub (it is bang in the middle of Finsbury Park after all), the Twelve Pins is also an Irish pub, so you can bet on a good Guinness and a decent whiskey. There are plenty of screens everywhere, including in the beer garden, so you can catch the matches, and there’s also hearty home-cooked food (pies, roasts, spicebags) coming out of the kitchen.
"This is a rogue shout, but I’ve got such a soft spot for this sprawling Arsenal pub in Finsbury Park. Exceptional Guinness and affordable, generous plates of homecooked food beamed in from a decidedly un-gastro past."
