London's best Irish pubs

Tipperary

This slender, centuries-old pub on Fleet Street is billed as the first to serve Guinness this side of the Irish Sea. It still serves a decent Guinness, of course, or choose from one of three Irish ales or a range of whiskeys. Read Tipperary review

Auld Shillelagh

• Critics choice

Known for its exceptional Guinness, always poured with care, and occasional raucous entertainment. It's the kind of pub where the wine list runs to 'red or white', and where the staff are so matey and hospitable that they'll offer to bring your Guinness over to your table rather than have you hang around at the bar and wait for it to reach perfection. Read Auld Shillelagh review

The Blythe Hill Tavern

Three tiny, dark, wood-panelled rooms, with a bar in each housing framed jockey portraits. Behind the bar, the pumps have at least three regularly changing, well-kept guest ales (Hepworth’s Old Winter Ale, Harvey’s Bitter, Dark Star Hophead on our visit – not Irish, but good). There’s Guinness, of course, and a fair few Irish whiskeys. Smart, tie-clad bar staff are knowledgeable and friendly. Read Blythe Hill Tavern review

Boston Arms

This huge venue is a popular and sometimes raucous Irish pub located just opposite Tufnell Park tube. Read Boston Arms review

Cow

• Price band: 2/4
• Critics choice

A cosy slice of (faux-)Irish pubbery in hip Notting Hill known for its good oysters and Guinness. The Cow is a rural Irish pub as imagined by Disney – all cutesy cottage-style net curtains, Guinness advertising and glossy 1950s Technicolor paintwork. Read Cow review

Filthy MacNasty's

This boozer is the epitome of smart slumming, and is often brimming with would-be inebriates. It's a place for ale aficionados, with the likes of Wadworth 6X and Brains' Reverend James ('A taste of the good life') on draught, and there are almost as many Irish whiskeys available as from their Caledonian counterparts. Read Filthy MacNasty's review

Harp

As the first London venue to win the Camra National Pub of the Year accolade, this diminutive Covent Garden pub pumps eight real ales and has casks of scrumpy behind the bar. Irish landlady too. Read Harp review

Quinn's

With Miles Davis on the stereo and a stream of banter from two generations of Quinns behind the bar, this Irish free house manages to feel like a sanctuary from the outside world. Read Quinn's review

Porterhouse

A Covent Garden outpost of the Dublin brewery, this cavernous hostelry has a ‘traditional seisiun’ every Sunday evening. Nine own-brewed ales rotate on the pumps, but the bottles are global. Read Porterhouse review

Royal Exchange

An Irish-run pub which is a handy walking distance from Paddington station. It serves two kinds of Guinness. Read Royal Exchange review

Sir Colin Campbell

Two neon lit rooms in Kilburn, filled with thick accents and sessions three nights a week. Unpolished, perhaps, but utterly genuine. Read Sir Colin Campbell review

Toucan

This Soho pub could easily be mistaken for a Guinness museum: publicity posters for the black stuff cover the walls, overlooked by a trio of toucans. The Toucan is a bit faded and frayed around the edges, but it does a mean Black Velvet. Read Toucan review