The best pub in London has been crowned for 2025

Pub pros CAMRA – AKA the Campaign for Real Ale – have revealed the organisation’s London Pub of the Year 2025.

The annual competition sees 16 regional and national winners crowned in UK, and the capital’s title has been taken by a six-time winner of the London contest.

So congratulations are in order (again!) to the Hope in Carshalton (which yes, is in the Greater London area – we checked!). According to CAMRA, the community pub is ‘by beer enthusiasts for beer enthusiasts’, and features two regular ales, five changing guest ales and craft keg beers. ‘There is a piano in the conservatory room but no fruit machines, TV or ‘muzak’.’

The 16 regional winners are now in the running to be named CAMRA’s overall Pub of the Year. Four finalists will be announced in October, and the overall winner will be revealed in January 2026. The current holder of the title is The Bailey Head in Oswestry, Shropshire.

Speaking about the finalists, Andrea Briers, CAMRA’s Pub of the Year Co-ordinator, commented: ‘It is a real pleasure to announce this year’s top 16 pubs, each of which has demonstrated exceptional quality, warmth and dedication to their communities. These pubs are shining examples of what makes the Great British pub so special, from perfectly kept pints to a genuine welcome for all.’

‘Achieving this in the face of rising costs and other pressures is no small feat, and we want to see these pubs, and thousands of others like them, continue to thrive. That’s why we’re calling on the Chancellor to give pubs a fair deal in the Autumn Budget, so they can keep serving their communities for many years to come.’

It was recently reported that since last year’s Budget, nearly 80 per cent of pubs and restaurants have had to put up their ­prices since last year’s Budget, because of rising costs and business rates, and that the UK has lost 1,100 pubs and restaurants.

The best pubs in London, according to Time Out.