5 Best Pubs in London (2026)

Old Shades is a Grade II listed traditional pub on Whitehall dating back to 1898, close to Trafalgar Square. It runs a full British pub kitchen alongside cask ales and a wine and spirits list, with fish and chips, homemade pies and Sunday roasts as the core of the menu. It holds the top rating among the pubs on this page.

Sherlock Holmes is a themed pub and restaurant near Trafalgar Square with a Victorian interior built around its Sherlock Holmes namesake, close to the National Gallery. It runs a full dining menu alongside its bar, with fish and chips and a range of puddings as menu highlights, and it is the most-reviewed pub on this page by a wide margin.

The Lamb & Flag, Covent Garden is a Fuller's pub tucked down a narrow alley, with a building history reviewers date back roughly 400 years. It serves refined pub classics including pies and a seafood pie that reviewers name specifically, alongside a full cask and craft beer selection, and it has been named among the Evening Standard's top London pubs.

The Harp, Covent Garden is a traditional British ale house that has won CAMRA's National Pub of the Year, the only London pub reviewers note has taken that award. It focuses on a wide, well-kept range of cask and keg beers plus traditional ciders and perries, with seating upstairs and in a snug rather than a large dining room, and it has operated under Fuller's ownership for over a decade after starting as an independent pub.

The Admiralty, Trafalgar Square is a Fuller's pub built around a naval theme referencing HMS Victory and the Battle of Trafalgar, with a location its site calls London's most central pub. It runs a full kitchen known for pies and bone marrow sharing plates alongside Fuller's cask ales, and it has private function spaces including the Admiral's Cabin for group bookings.