The most-loved bars and pubs in London

This Soho institution may have mellowed somewhat since self-proclaimed ‘London’s rudest landlord’ Norman Balon finally hung up his polishing cloth in 2006, but there’s still plenty to make it stand out from the crowd, including a rotating cast of excellent independent ales and their own line of merch. Decor, meanwhile, is stuck firmly in the past, with carpets worn threadbare by decades of post-work sessions as well as wood-pannelled walls from the 1970s, and vintage logos of Double Diamond and Ind Coop displayed behind the bar. It all adds up to a curious mix of old-timey standards and progressive ideas which, crucially, work together like a charm.  Time Out tip They might not serve food, but they do have an impeccable array of crisps aka ‘London's greatest tuckshop’. Make ours a bag of pickled onion Monster Munch. 

A fun, friendly neighbourhood pub that's as popular with Nunhead locals and dedicated drinkers as it is art school students and the Goldsmiths crowd. Karaoke, Irish trad music nights, quizzes, a perpetually popular pool table and great Thai food make it one of the best boozers for miles around. 

Irish pubs with Thai food: a combo first trailed by Notting Hill’s Churchill Arms at the tail end of the ’80s. With it being a winning way for pubs with smaller kitchens to diversify beyond pie and mash, the trend spread. But let’s face it: beer and spice just go really well together. That’s definitely proved at Mc & Sons, a new pub and Thai kitchen near London Bridge from the Irish family-operated Windmill Taverns Group (Southwark’s Jack’s Bar, The Ring and The King’s Arms). It’s a wood-clad space with framed photos and newspaper clippings paying homage to past generations. Keep an eagle eye out for a seat in the snug with its own bar hatch and (apparently) room for ten cosy punters. I imagine the compact smoking terrace at the rear being just as popular in the summer, although many punters choose the pavement at the front to pursue their habit. Beers from near and far are in regular rotation on tap. Options can include pale ales from Eight Degrees in County Cork, as well as more familiar Beavertown, Belleville and Hammerton brews, while Continental bottles are also in ready supply. All noodle and curry dishes come in under a tenner, and a bartender with a twinkle in his eye advertised the khao soi as the ultimate hangover cure (not that I was suffering). It was a generous noodle dish with an unctuous coconut milk base, chicken that fell off the bone and a nest of crispy noodles and shallots on top. A massaman curry fell flat by comparison. A less common sight in London’s...

With its prime location right off Soho Square, its customers sipping a pavement pint on sunny afternoons, the intimate two-floor Toucan could easily be mistaken for a Guinness museum: publicity posters for the black stuff cover the walls, overlooked by a trio of toucans. At the bar, two varieties of the stout (one Extra Cold), Magners and Grolsch are served, along with Jameson’s on the optics and rarer whiskeys (Knappogue Castle, Clontarf Reserve). These days there are even spicy olives on the bar. In the equally small (and darker) basement, where Jimi Hendrix once played, food is served: Irish stew, Rossmore County Cork oysters (£5 for six) and anything requiring ketchup. The Toucan tapas selection includes baked beans, so it’s far from pretentious. There are also Guinness cocktails, a top-of-the-range Black Velvet of Guinness and champagne, or the poor man’s variety with cider instead.

London’s recent infatuation with Guinness has been incredibly well documented over the past couple of years, so much so that tired jokes about ‘splitting the G’ are infinitely more likely to solicit eyerolls than amusement these days. But if you do happen to be a lover of the black stuff, this narrow little Irish boozer is often touted as one of the best places to enjoy it in the capital. Its tiny facade hides a deceptively large interior decked out in all the paraphernalia you’d expect to see in an Irish boozer – tricolour flags, Six Nations paraphernalia, hurling sticks, Guinness-branded everything – with a large beer garden out back that’s busy year-round thanks to ample heaters. Like all good Irish boozers it hosts regular trad music nights during the week, and shows all the major Irish sporting fixtures.  If Guinness isn’t your thing, you might not be left with an awful lot of choice; there are no ‘modern IPAs’ here, just one good old fashioned pale ale and a few commercial lagers, and as far as we can tell the wine list pretty much just runs to ‘red’ or ‘white’, but we doubt you’ll really notice what you’re drinking after a couple. It’s the sort of place where you pop in for ‘a quick one’ mid-afternoon and end up stumbling home at closing time after bumping into somebody you haven’t seen in eight years and/or making life-long friends with the group on the table next to you.   No wonder its diverse clientele – a perfect balance of Irish expats, cheerful auld fellas...

Picture your classic hotel bar. It’s probably got dark wood panelling, a wall of leather-bound books to rival an Oxbridge library, low lighting, squidgy arm chairs, and maybe a jazz band playing smoothly in the background. This is Scarfes Bar, an elite embodiment of the quintessential hotel watering hole. This is the kind of place where you might find Gossip Girl’s Chuck Bass moodily sipping a Scotch alone at the bar. The crowd gives an equally sophisticated vibe; millennial couples on date night, people who look like they have important jobs and cash to spend, and fashionistas dressed all in black. The name is not an ode to having a warm neck, but to the cartoonist Gerald Scarfe, whose jaunty drawings line the walls. They’re probably not to everyone’s taste – think a giant-nosed caricature of King Charles, and an ultra flamboyant David Bowie – but they certainly add a unique flavour to décor that could otherwise be seen as identikit. Order this  The gimlet on the vine was my winner of the evening, a trendy riff on a gimlet, with a base of Bombay Premier Cru. But instead of lime-y sweetness, this savoury delight tastes just like a ripe cherry tomato, and a saltiness is supplied by a pleasingly massive floating caper. Time Out tip Get down earlyish, because after 8pm there was already a line at the door. Plus you’ll want to have ample time to have a bash at the 20-strong list of inventive, complex drinks (hello Smoky Maria, a concoction of tequila, smoked clamato juice and...

Well, you can’t miss it, can you? The pub’s exterior – a bonanza of exploding foliage in pinks, purples, yellows, reds and everything in between – is a clue to the eccentricity at the heart of this fabulous old boozer. It’s a sort of living tribute to Winston Churchill, with a big bust of the former Prime Minister on the bar and a large photo of him in one of the bar rooms, as his grandparents were reportedly regulars. Along with the bric-a-brac (everything from baskets to brass bits and pieces) and Union Jack bunting that hangs from the ceiling, it’s catnip for tourists. Yet the Irish-owned pub, which dates back to 1750, is also beloved among locals whose roots in the area extend as far back as Churchill’s. That might be down to its top-tier Thai restaurant, which the owner reckons was London’s first. You might say it was their finest hour. In bloom The Churchill Arms is, perhaps unsurprisingly, a regular winner in its category in the London in Bloom competition, which encourages greenery in the capital. Get spicy This is a Fullers pub, so there’s naturally a cracking selection of ales – which is handy, as you’ll need something thirst-quenching to wash down that spicy stir-fry. RECOMMENDED: London’s best Thai restaurants.

In recent years this brick and timber 1930s boozer has become south east London’s favourite unofficial queer venue, thanks to an array of campy entertainment including drag and cabaret, plus queer speed-dating events and nights like Flapjack and Pop-Up Dyke Bar. Drinkers and diners are also all happy here; the former get a sterling selection of cask and craft ales, plus cocktails and an acceptable wine list. The latter get a menu that changes regularly, depending on the pop-up kitchen – at the moment its some of the best pizza in London, courtesy of Dough Hands – plus hefty Sunday roasts. There’s plenty of seating: at large wooden tables next to the central bar, in the back garden and in the front yard facing Nunhead Green. It might also be the only pub in London with a shrine to Britney Spears. And the name? A nunnery once occuped this site; the rebellious Mother Superior was murdered during the Reformation and her head stuck on a pikestaff on the green. Lovely stuff!

If you find yourself yearning for red cups, beer pong and running around a stranger’s house while buzzed on rum punch, this one is for you. House Party, co-founded by rapper Stormzy, is a unique bar concept modelled around an old-school house party, slap-bang in the middle of Soho. Set across a seven-floor townhouse, you’ll find a teenager’s bedroom, complete with Page Three pin-ups tacked to the wall and a clunky, noughties-style PC; the parents’ room, where you can roll around in a double bed and queue karaoke songs; a kitchen (known to host secret gigs); a rooftop (for beer pong); a living room with game consoles and a DJ-soundtracked basement that fills up like a club. The attention to detail is quite wild – at moments I felt genuinely nostalgic (especially when I was belting out Avril Lavigne in the bedroom). It’s recommended you register for a party ‘invitation’ online for priority access, rather than risking not being let in on the night. Make sure you arrive before 10pm, so you don’t miss any surprise performances.  Order this The cocktail menu has all of the classics, but the standout is the ‘Kitchen Punch’, made with rum, blueberry purée and pineapple juice. It sounds like the sort of questionable concoction you made in university halls using leftover mixers and odd spirits, but actually tastes good.   Time Out tip Want a little privacy for you and your mates? You can book rooms – the basement, terrace treehouse, living room, parents’ bedroom and teenager’s...

One of London’s cosiest LGBT+ boozers. Just off the main Columbia Road drag, its Sunday roasts are pretty special (served from 12-5pm, with booking recommended) - as is the impressive, and every so slightly NSFW wall-art of various hand-drawn, cartoon genitals. There’s also drag queen-hosted karaoke every Saturday night from 8pm. Wetherspoons it certainly ain’t.