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One of Time Out’s favourite London pubs, McGlynn’s, is set to reopen.
Which is fantastic news, but equally fascinating is the story of who’s behind it. The backstreet King’s Cross boozer – which has been closed since the 2023 death of its long-term landlord – has apparently been bought by artist Peter Doig and his gallerist partner Parinaz Mogadassi, reports the Camden New Journal.
McGlynn’s was much-loved for its status as one of London’s best kept secrets, a neighbourhood pub off the tourist track and on the fringes of Bloomsbury with carpets, cask ale and a cat.
The Whidborne Street pub was put on the market for over £3 million at the start of 2025 (the above image was from the Zoopla listing). Listed as a ‘substantial three-storey public house’, the property included the pub’s open plan bar, nine former letting bedrooms, a two-bedroom manager’s flat, and ‘a large cellar with potential for commercial kitchen’. It sold for £3.15 million in April, and Doig and Mogadassi have started work on renovations to ‘secure the continued use’ of the pub.
A new licensing application has also been made, and the renovation application said: ‘By reinstating original elements where possible and carefully managing modern interventions, the works will preserve the building’s special architectural and historic interest while ensuring it can continue to function as a viable public house.’
An opening date for McGlynn’s has not yet been revealed, but Peter Doig’s latest exhibition, ‘House of Music’, opens October 10 at The Serpentine Gallery in Hyde Park.
UPDATE, October 14: McGlynn’s has officially reopened... sort of. McGlynn’s Staff Accommodation has opened as an exhibition space, with two floors’ worth of art. The first shows are ‘MERRY ALPERN, DIRTY WINDOWS’ and ‘BEHRANG KARIMI’, and you can find out how to visit here.
The best pubs in London, according to Time Out.
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