Angel

At the time of writing a major overhaul was changing the shape of this venerable pub behind Centre Point. Upstairs, two dining rooms provide comfort to city-centre workers, shoppers and musos from nearby Denmark Street as they lay into affordable servings of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, and fish and chips.

Comfort is what this tavern, then the Bowl, provided condemned men in Elizabethan times as they gulped their last drink on their way to the gallows. Sam Smith’s ale in all its varieties is now served in pint glasses in three spaces at street level: the main one with a fireplace; the darts room lined with theatre posters; and an intimate one behind for uninterrupted chat. A small courtyard comes into its own in summer.