Bars & Pubs

With its site opposite Christie's, in a district full of gentlemen's clubs, you might expect the Golden Lion to have an exclusive air about it. In fact, the staff at this splendidly traditional pub, with its frosted lattice windows and elegantly curved, columned and balconied façade, are entirely without pretension. The punters, a predominantly liquid lunch and post-work crowd, are mainly concerned with sinking ales (London Pride or Hogs Back Brewery TEA) or bottled lager (Kirin Ichiban or San Miguel) before returning to the grindstone. There's a cramped little bar on the ground floor, and a slightly more spacious dining room and bar upstairs that serves bog-standard pub-grub.

Time Out Bars, Pubs & Clubs Guide 2008/9