London's top 50 bars and pubs

The Rosendale

Gastropubs
Anchor & Hope
The bar side of this operation works as more than just a waiting room to the adjoining dining space. The tables are set a little too close together for comfort, but drop in when the foodies aren’t around and it’s all very convivial. The beer choice – Bombardier and Young’s – may not be as fabulous as the retro British food, but you can’t have everything.
Anchor & Hope, 36 The Cut, SE1 8LP (020 7928 9898) Southwark or Waterloo tube/rail.
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Brown Dog
The Brown Dog makes good use of its 150-year-old space. To the left is a cosy bar (ales include Adnams Bitter, London Pride and Harveys Sussex Ale). To the right is a modestly proportioned dining area, filled with sturdy wooden tables. The wine list is brief and wallet-friendly. An excellent gastropub, but one that needs to cater better for vegetarians.
Brown Dog, 28 Cross St, SW13 0AP (020 8392 2200) Barnes Bridge rail.
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Charles Lamb
As a gastropub, it’s at the no-nonsense end of the spectrum, with hearty food and plenty of bar snacks. A good selection of world beers (from the US and Belgium in particular) is sold alongside ales such as Fuller’s Honey Dew, and a very decent selection of wines is sold by the glass, carafe and bottle. Staff are lovely, the atmosphere relaxed and the clientele a nicely varied bunch. Oh – and the loos are a cut above most pub facilities too.
Charles Lamb, 16 Elia St, N1 8DE (020 7837 5040/www.thecharleslambpub.com) Angel tube.
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Cow
Gastrobar guru Tom Conran runs this two-storey operation: an Irish pub downstairs and renowned restaurant upstairs, with another dining area at the back of the pub. The versatile kitchen provides diners on both levels with first-rate seafood and pies. Plates of rock oysters sit atop the bar counter, invariably accompanied by a decent pint of Guinness. Other choices on tap include ESB, London Pride, Hoegaarden and delicious amber De Koninck from Antwerp. More Belgian brews feature by the bottle. Not surprisingly, the wine list is discerning.
Cow, 89 Westbourne Park Rd (W2 5QH (020 7221 0021/www.thecowlondon.co.uk) Royal Oak or Westbourne Park tube.
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Eagle
Lounge at one of the Eagle’s big wooden tables and tuck into some of the food that made the pub’s name (steak sandwiches, tapas and heartier Med-influenced meat and fish dishes). Drinkers are well taken care of, with Kirin and Red Stripe, plus Bombardier and Eagle IPA for ale-heads; there’s also a good wine list. The only complaint we have about this stalwart is that, 15 years in, it’s still near impossible to get a seat.
Eagle, 159 Farringdon Rd, EC1R 3AL (020 7837 1353) Farringdon tube/rail.
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Gun
Drinkers should head to the right of the central bar, to either the snug or the large, heated riverside terrace. You can eat outside, but diners wanting to enjoy the full menu should look for the white tablecloths to the left. The broad drinks selection include Adnams Broadside, Young’s Ordinary, Greene King IPA and Hoegaarden on tap, plus an extensive wine list, an array of premium spirits, rums, ports and sherries and a smattering of classic cocktails.
Gun, 27 Coldharbour, E14 9NS, (020 7515 5222/www.thegundocklands.com) Canary Wharf tube/DLR.
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The Narrow
Yes, it’s Gordon Ramsay Holding’s first foray into gastropubs. More than half the ground-floor space is still dedicated to drinkers, and there are six real ales, benches outside with fine river views, and a bar menu that lists proper pub snacks such as scotch eggs. The wine list is extensive too.
The Narrow, 44 Narrow St, E14 8DQ (020 7592 7950/www.gordonramsay.com) Limehouse DLR.
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Pig’s Ear
The Pig’s Ear has a mellow vibe that makes you want to linger, either in the white-tableclothed first-floor dining room, or in the comfortable ground-floor bar. The menus are pretty similar in both and, despite the casual surroundings (the bar stops just short of cluttered), food is upmarket fare. The French-biased wine list will more than cover most people’s needs, while ale fans get Pig’s Ear (natch) and Deuchars IPA on draught.
Pig’s Ear, 35 Old Church St, SW3 5BS (020 7352 2908/www.thepigsear.co.uk) Sloane Square tube.
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Rosendale
This cavernous, echoey space is divided in two: restaurant at the back, bar with its own shorter menu at the front. As we dithered over a vast wine list, our pleasant waitress suggested we consult the sommelier. He’s co-owner Mark Van der Goot, but the very notion highlights the drastic gentrification of the gastropub. Still, with food of this quality, it’s hard to complain.
Rosendale, 65 Rosendale Rd, SE21 8EZ (020 8670 0812/www.therosendale.co.uk) East Dulwich or West Dulwich rail.
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Seven Stars
This magic little pub-cum-bar-cum-eaterie fulfils its brief to near perfection while keeping a healthy tongue in cheek. Craftily conceived daily dishes chalked up by the bar (Napoli sausages and mash, dill-cured herring) are devoured on green and white checked tablecloths in one side room; the other, purple in hue, copes with the inevitable bar overflow. A bar counter offers draught Bitburger, Adnams Bitter and Broadside and Licher Weizen, and guests such as London Pride and Crouch Vale’s Brewers Gold.
Seven Stars, 53 Carey St, WC2A 2JB (020 7242 8521) Chancery Lane, Holborn or Temple tube.
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St John’s
Once the social hub of Irish Archway, St John’s is an impressive space, with a high bronze ceiling, apple-green walls and scrubbed tables Guinness is still on offer; other draughts may include Grand Union wheat beer, Brakspear and Abbot Ale. The wine list starts at a reasonable £12 a bottle. Dishes from the semi-open kitchen are cut-above renditions from the gastropub songbook.
St John’s, 91 Junction Rd, N19 5QU (020 7272 1587) Archway tube.
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West End | Hotel bars | Spirits & cocktails | Real ale & good beer | Historic pubs | Good mixers | Wine bars | Gastropubs

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