A Grade I listed pub sitting right on the water's edge in Greenwich, the Trafalgar Tavern has been welcoming Londoners since 1837. Its Georgian bay windows frame sweeping views of the Thames, while inside, walls lined with naval paintings and maritime artefacts give the place an atmosphere that few London pubs can match. The menu leans into classic British cooking, and is especially delicious enjoyed outside on the cobbled terrace in the Summer.
Claiming to be the oldest riverside pub in London, the Prospect of Whitby in Wapping has been drawing drinkers to the banks of the Thames since 1520, back when it was known as the Devil's Tavern and counted smugglers, pirates and the notorious Hanging Judge Jeffreys among its regulars. The original flagstone floor, rare pewter topped bar and a wooden gallows overlooking the river make it one of the most atmospheric pubs in the city, and the balcony views of the Thames are as good today as they were when Turner and Whistler came here to paint them.
Tucked inside the Grade II listed Battersea Power Station, Control Room B is one of the most visually striking bars in London, built around the building's original 1950s control desks, switch dials and switchgear racks, all meticulously restored and frozen in time. By day it's a relaxed spot for coffee and champagne overlooking the vast Turbine Hall; by night it transforms into an intimate cocktail bar with a menu of inventive, electricity themed drinks that match the extraordinary setting.
Set inside Sir George Gilbert Scott's spectacular Gothic Revival dining room at St Pancras, Hawksmoor's newest London restaurant is one of the grandest places in the city to eat a steak. The double height ceilings, ornate Victorian detailing and Hawksmoor's signature parquet floors make for a genuinely breathtaking room, and the adjoining Martini Bar, with its soaring ceilings and terrace, is arguably even more impressive and well worth arriving early for.
Housed in a Grade II listed Georgian townhouse on Conduit Street that was once Christian Dior's London atelier, Sketch is one of Mayfair's most spectacular and deliberately hard to categorise destinations. Created by restaurateur Mourad Mazouz and French chef Pierre Gagnaire, it spans five wildly different spaces, from the forest-filled Glade and the golden Gallery to the three Michelin starred Lecture Room and Library upstairs, all united by an obsession with art, design and theatre. The egg shaped pod toilets alone are worth the visit.
Tucked inside the Langham Hotel on Regent Street and set in a former banking hall with soaring ceilings, the Wigmore is a modern British pub with a distinctly luxurious edge, its menu overseen by Michel Roux Jr. The food elevates classic pub fare without losing sight of what makes it comforting in the first place, and the signature XXL stovetop three cheese and mustard toastie, made with Montgomery Cheddar, Ogleshield and Raclette and served under a cast iron bacon press, is one of the finest things you can eat in London for the price.
Dishoom's more relaxed, bar-forward sibling, Permit Room opened its first London outpost on Portobello Road in 2025, housed in the former Portobello Road Distillery. Named after the drinking dens that sprang up in Bombay after prohibition was lifted in the 1970s, it serves all-day Bombay-inspired small plates, smoky grills and Dishoom classics alongside inventive cocktails and resident DJs, with the walls covered in art and two boutique hotel rooms upstairs for those who want to make a proper night of it.
Tucked into Queen's Yard in Hackney Wick, Howling Hops is home to the UK's first dedicated tank bar, where every pint is poured fresh and unfiltered straight from the gleaming steel vats behind the bar. The result is beer that tastes noticeably fresher and more flavourful than anything from a keg or can, and with new brews rotating weekly across a range of styles, it is one of the best places in London to drink craft beer at its source.
Smokestak is a Michelin Bib Gourmand barbecue restaurant from David Carter, who grew up in Barbados and spent time travelling America's Deep South before bringing his obsession with smoke and slow-cooked meat to East London. The industrial space of blackened walls and rough wood sets the mood perfectly, and the beef brisket, slow smoked overnight over English oak and served in a brioche bun with pickled red chillies, is one of the finest things you can eat in London.
