This queer boozer is officially the greatest pub in south London, according to Time Out drinks experts

At the end of last month, Time Out dropped its newly updated ranking of the 50 greatest pubs in London. It’s a list that we take very seriously. Over the last 12 months, we’ve pulled up stools at old pubs, new pubs, revamped pubs and lesser-known pubs across all corners of the city to determine the new ranking. 

Last year’s number one boozer was bumped down a few spots and replaced by ‘salt-of-the-earth’ Clerkenwell establishment The Shakespeare’s Head. However, it’s still a very firm favourite and took the crown for the best pub in south London. We’re of course talking about The Old Nun’s Head. It’s also the capital’s greatest queer pub and our favourite pub in Zone 2. 

Rosie Hewitson, Time Out London’s things to do editor, wrote that the Old Nun’s Head is ‘an excellently offbeat, queer-friendly boozer in the bones of a grand 1930s building’ and is ‘incapable of standing still’.

Beyond the lineup of independent craft ales and its shrine to Britney Spears, this place should be on your radar for its outstanding year-round programme of campy entertainment, from drag-king cabaret, life-drawing and speed-dating to the infamous Cake Sit, a queer talent show where all the acts sit on cake in the silliest, most seductive way they can.

From Monday to Saturday it serves divine New York-style pizzas from its resident kitchen Slice Circle, and every Sunday you can feast on its whopping Fit Roasts, one of the finest roasts in the capital. 

Wondering about the pub’s name? During the Reformation, the site was home to a nunnery, where the rebellious Mother Superior was murdered and had her head stuck on a pikestaff on the green. RIP Reverend Mother – you would have loved the Cake Sit. 

The Old Nun’s Head, 15 Nunhead Green, SE15 3QQ.

Explore Time Out’s top 50 pubs in London for 2026 here.