Seven Stars

There aren’t many London boozers like the incomprable Seven Stars, known not just for a resident cat who wears an Elizabethan ruff (currently The General, though regulars will remember its feline predessor, Clement Attlee), but their near-lethal martinis.

Tucked away behind the Royal Courts of Justice, the tiny, charismatic pub - and long-standing Time Out favourite, named our Best Pub of 2003 - is where barristers bring their clients for celebratory champagne or commiseratory scotch after a big case. More importantly, it’s where in-the-know Londoners sequester themselves away for an all-night session under the watchful eye of legendary Aussie landlady and London hospitality hero Roxy Beaujolais.

Known for its resident cat who wears an Elizabethan ruff 

Dating back to 1602, a good 64 years before the Great Fire of London, the Seven Stars creaks with history, thanks to ancient, rickety floorboards, and terrifyingly steep steps to the loos, though the interiors are largely Victorian thanks to decades of refits. Walls are covered with vintage crime movie posters, as well as black and white photos of Roxy with the great and the good of Soho across the years, giving the place the feel of a rough and ready French wine bar.  

Seats at the tables covered with green and white checked oilcloths are hard to come by, but considerate bar staff do their best to alert customers to vacancies, and if you’re peckish the blackboard bistro menu always delivers.