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It is officially beer garden season! The weather is now clement enough for you to sit outside the best of London’s pubs and sip a shandy in the sun.
It’s also time for a lucky boozer to be named the best in London. Congrats to the Punch Bowl in Mayfair, which lifestyle guide Muddy Stilettos has named the city’s ‘best destination pub’ in the 2025 Muddy Stilettos Awards. Now in its 12th year, each year the awards recognise a host of shops, pubs, hotels and venues according to public votes.
The Punch Bowl is a Georgian pub on a central London backstreet (Farm Street, to be exact). It used to belong to Guy Ritchie and Madonna, who bought it from Greg Foreman, son of gangster and Kray twins associate Freddie Foreman, in 2008.
Ritchie sold the pub in 2013 and it was refurbished in 20914. It’s now run by Butcombe Brewery and, impressively, is open from 8am for breakfast, serving a £50 sharing brekkie grill platter. The Grade II-listed boozer dates back to 1750.
Speaking about the pub’s win, The Punch Bowl’s general manager Kyra Roberts said: ‘We’re absolutely delighted to have won Best Destination Pub in London! The team works tirelessly to give our guests the very best experience – from our exceptional food and drink to the live music, supper clubs and quiz nights we organise each month.
‘We love the community we serve and to know our reputation for quality is spreading, leading to us winning an award as prestigious as this, is incredible!’
The Punch Bowl beat out other pub finalists The Albion in Islington, The Holly Bush in Hampstead, The Three Crowns in Stoke Newington and The Wolfpack Inn in Fulham.
The Muddy Stilettos Awards also crowned the best cafe in London for 2025 and the best deli.
Want to know Time Out’s favourite pub in London? Check it out here.
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