Bars & Pubs

This may well be the oldest area of London, but it seems to embrace contemporary style like no other - something that's made an endangered species of the old-school City pub. The Bell, however, survives, half-hidden off Cannon Street and serving well-kept ales (including Sharp's Atlantic IPA and Courage Best) in a cosy room for which the term 'unpretentious' could have been coined. Plentiful perches and lots of standing room mean there's ample space for perusing the scenes of City life gone by that adorn the walls and the roll of honour listing every landlord since the Great Fire. A gem.

Time Out Bars, Pubs & Clubs Guide 2008/9