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Independent, London 465 guides to London Nobody pays to appear Every price checked at the source We take no bookings Est. 2026

Pubs

The London pubs worth crossing town for, and the historic ones whose famous claims do not survive checking. Verified against the statutory listings rather than against other guides.

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Almost every old pub in London claims to be the oldest, and several of them claim it simultaneously within a few streets of each other. The oldest pubs works through those claims against the listed building record, which is the only source that settles any of them.

The best pubs is the wider list, judged on the room and the beer rather than the plaque by the door.

The pub quiz page came out of a different problem entirely. Individual pubs bury their quiz nights and the big groups publish nothing centrally, so the answer was to go to the quiz operators instead. Not one of the one hundred and forty one London quiz nights found that way falls on a Friday or a Saturday.

A historic English pub on a street corner with outdoor seating
Pubs

Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese: One Beer, Three Levels and a Great Fire Cellar

It serves no changing beers and one regular beer. The front bar being full does not mean the pub is.

5 min read
A dark pub interior with a neon sign, an events board and posters behind the bar, and drinkers at the tables in front
Pubs

Pub Quiz London: Nobody Runs One on a Friday

Across 141 quiz nights at 140 London pubs, not one falls on a Friday or Saturday. Tuesday takes 43 of them. The pub pays 120 pounds a week for it and funds your 50 pound prize.

9 min read
An old clock hanging from the ceiling of a historic pub
Pubs

The Oldest Pubs in London: Which Claims Hold Up

London's most historic pubs, with what each claims set against what the statutory listing says. Most of the famous age claims do not survive checking.

20 min read
A dimly lit pub room with wooden tables and chairs
Pubs

The Best Pubs in London: Where Londoners Drink

The best pubs in London for beer, interiors and atmosphere, checked against each pub's own information. Including several things other guides get wrong.

20 min read

Elsewhere in the guide

Questions we get asked

What are the opening hours of London pubs?

Most open around 11am and call last orders at 11pm. City of London pubs keep office hours and many close entirely at weekends, which catches visitors out constantly.

Which is the oldest pub in London?

It is genuinely disputed, because the claims rest on different things: the oldest licence, the oldest building, the oldest continuous trading on one site. Several London pubs can each make a true version of the claim, which is why you will see different answers everywhere.