London’s top 50 bars and pubs
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Guy Dimond, Ben McFarland, Charmaine Mok and the many reviewers of the ‘Bars, Pubs & Clubs’ guide
Posted: Tue Feb 5 2008
Award winners | Hotel bars | Spirits & cocktails | Real ale & good beer Historic pubs | Good mixers | Wow factor | Gastropubs
A pint of prawns with your pint of beer at The Warrington (© Ming Tang-Evans) Historic pubs
French House
Through the door (‘Poussez’) of this venerable Gallic establishment have passed many titanic drinkers of the pre- and post-war eras, including Bacon and Behan. The venue’s French heritage also enticing Charles de Gaulle to run a Resistance operation from upstairs. His snozzle still fills the photograph behind the bar, beer is still served in half pints and litre bottles of Breton cider (£7) are still plonked on the famed back-alcove table of this small but significant establishment. History aside, the squeeze and the smoking ban force post-work crowds out of the door (‘Tirez’), to congregate under the tricolour and merge with today’s busier, blander Soho.
When to go When you require some French resistance to Soho’s mayhem.
What to have Pastis or red wine.
French House, 49 Dean St, W1D 5BG (020 7437 2799) Leicester Square or Piccadilly Circus tube. Feature continuesAdvertisementHolly Bush
Lamb & Flag
Hampstead may have become part of London in 1888, but no one seems to have told the Holly Bush. As the trend for gutting old pubs claims yet more NW3 boozers, this place’s cachet increases. It’s as picturesque as they come, tucked away on a quiet crescent and delivering on all fronts: friendly staff, an ancient interior and fine, reasonably priced food (from spruced-up sarnies to lamb shank in beer). Though the upstairs restaurant does a roaring trade, it’s really all about getting the pints in and perching by the fire or in one of the wooden booths. Our one complaint? The back room’s glaring refurb could have been more sympathetic. That, and the place’s huge popularity.
When to go When a thirst is tugging at your taste buds.
What to have Beer. And then more beer.
Holly Bush, 22 Holly Mount, NW3 6SG (020 7435 2892/www.hollybushpub.com) Hampstead tube/Hampstead Heath rail.
A pub for over 300 years and a fixture on Rose Street for longer, the unabashedly traditional Lamb & Flag is always a squeeze, but no one seems to mind. Character is in short supply around Covent Garden, and this place has bags of the stuff. On tap are draught Young’s, Greene King and Courage Best, bottled Budvar and Peroni and a daily menu usually including a ploughman’s with a choice of eight cheeses (£5.25), roast beef pork or lamb with all the trimmings (£8.50) and Cumberland sausage with French bread (£5.25). The afternoon-only bar upstairs is ‘ye olde’ to a fault. Pictures of passed-on regulars – ‘Barnsey’, Corporal Bill West et al – testify to its neighbourhood feel.
When to go After work for a swift half.
What to have The ales are well looked after.
Lamb & Flag, 33 Rose St, WC2E 9EB (020 7497 9504) Covent Garden tube.
The Warrington
Set inside the historic Warrington Hotel (established in 1857), and recently acquired by Gordon Ramsay Holdings (2008), the art nouveau influences still take centre stage in the ground floor pub. The bar, with the choice of Adnam’s Broadside, Greene King IPA, on Meantime Wheat Beer among the real ales on draught, is the real treat. Guest beers are sourced from local microbreweries and changed regularly, and there is a commendable selection of bottled beers and ciders. But the lavishly decorative, Ruskinesque interior is impressive in itself, and there’s a friendly, relaxed vibe with simple but good bar snacks.
When to go When you seek a proper, historic pub interior with fab beer.
What to have A pint of your finest, m’landlord.
The Warrington, 93 Warrington Crescent, W9 1EH (020 7592 7960/www.gordonramsay.com/thewarrington) Maida Vale/Warwick Avenue tube.
Ye Olde Mitre
This is consistently voted one of the best pubs in London by self-proclaimed experts on internet forums – and you’d have to say they’ve got this one spot on. It’s a parallel pub universe where the clientele are disconcertingly friendly and the staff briskly efficient. Ales are certainly the speciality – Deuchars and Adnams are regulars, with frequently changing guest beers beside them – but the proprietors don’t turn their noses up at wine (a mistake many real-ale pubs make). Snacks – pork pies, Scotch eggs, sausage rolls – go down a treat, and the whole pub is suffused with the agreeable aroma of cheese on toast. A pint-sized pub that’s earned its top-notch reputation.
When to go When you’ve got a map and your sense of direction is on top form.
What to have Ask for some cask… and a ham ’n’ cheese toastie.
Ye Olde Mitre, 1 Ely Court, Ely Place, at the side of 8 Hatton Gardens, EC1N 6SJ (020 7405 4751) Chancery Lane tube or Farringdon tube/rail.Award winners | Hotel bars | Spirits & cocktails | Real ale & good beer Historic pubs | Good mixers | Wow factor | Gastropubs
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26 comments
Love this place. Great to go to in the week to catch up with friends, or at the weekend when the party starts. Excellent music and the drinks are delicious.
My favourite bar in Clapham. Lovely drinks and staff. And hardly any idiots which can so often be a problem in Clapham at the weekend.
We were there last Friday night, the cocktails were superb and the staff were very friendly, attentive and knowledgeable about the small but perfectly formed menu and wine list, which in turn helped to enhance a great evening for me and my girlfriend. Overall: A cocktail bar with a great atmosphere, good food and super cocktails! We’re definitely coming back for more.
A proper bar for grown-ups who appreciate a good drink. Excellent cocktail list, and the food is pretty good too. The place could look a bit cosier during the week, but a great party vibe at the weekends! My local boozer.
Quality bar. It might be above a tesco's but once your inside, what difference does that make? Good decor, and friendly staff, but a really excellent drinks list. Good selection of beer and wine, and very well made, innovative cocktails. Not the cheapest bar in Clapham, but not the most expensive either. And you get what you pay for.
"the loft" Clapham....seriously..
I went with my girlfriend thinking its gotta be great if timeout says so...how WRONG was I. I would say its nice..for the odd drink if your passing.
I would say every bar iv been to in London is better than this one.
12.55% service charge for a guy to get me a bottle of beer...jog on.
Too bad you don't come out as far as Enfield. Enfield Chaseside has some wicked bars.
Im depressed to realise that this list is sadly the best London has to offer. After living in New York for a bit, their bars seriously kick our bars asses! They have gorgeous, beautifully designed, huge buzzy bars, with great crowds and great cocktails. What we get? Bars that all look like they were furnished by Ikea and serve glasses of ice for £12. Anyone want to join me for a mass migration west?
I think you should change your name to sell-out as someone is obviously taking a bung! This bar is over priced, over crowded and pretentious. On the weekend the narrow layout and congestion makes you feel like you are waiting for the tube as you sup your overpriced drink shoulder to shoulder. I would only expect to pay a service charge if I was sitting at a table and was served by a waiter? When it comes to snobbery, I was told that I was not allowed to wear my top tied around my waist, presumably because they wanted me to pay £2 to put it in their cloak room even though I was only stopping for one drink. Then it comes to your comments on cocktails. In these times of the crunch, they do not sound cheap to me. If you want a cocktail in that area go to B@1 in Clapham, Balham or Clapham Junction. Better atmosphere and cheap deals from Monday to Friday I believe.
This is a joke.....Is it April already....The Loft would be the worst bar in Clapham (even my front room is better - do you want to review that!?!?). On my last and only visit I noticed that there were beer taps, but guess what they dont work - they then charge you over the odds for bottles!
honestly, how can anyone say this is the best bar in London???? Clapham has so much more to offer than this, it's located above a tescos for heavens sake!!!!! how can the guys at Time Out get it so wrong- goes to show it's who you know in the drinks business not what you know. Oh well......
Oh well I guess the loft isn't that great then from the reviews here. can someone recommend a good central London or south central london bar then that is spacious, welcoming and could cater for a group of people out on a saturday night. We want atmosphere but not too loud where you can't hear each other talking. Also wher you're not likely to get any hasssle and the drinks not too ridiculously overpriced. I awaityour replies
I have been twice in the Loft before the award. The fact that it is voted as the best bar in London made me sad. Is this really the best bar London can offer?I would count 30 bars back in my hometown in Greece far better than that.
god so many better bars in Clapham and London what are these people thinking !!
I think The Loft is the worst bar I have ever been in. You really have to wonder why TimeOut got it so wrong. What kind of people do they have working for them now. You use to be cool (well just about).