From fancy desi pubs to classic British eateries, here’s our guide to the best gastropubs London has to offer.
The gastropub gets a bad name. Too often are they accused of being the cause of decline in the numbers of classic British boozers in this country.
Sure, maybe too many pubs are chucking out their pool tables to make way for a few more diners, and maybe that classic pie and mash didn’t need to be replaced by a confit tomato and rabbit’s thigh salad, but it’s undeniable that some of the best cooking that’s happening in this city is happening on its gastropub scene.
We celebrate it. After all, is there really anything better than tucking into a hearty meal as a fire roars beside you and your mate returns from the bar clutching an armful of pints? We think not.
So gather your pals, let’s get to eating and drinking our way around the best gastropubs in the capital.
The Best Gastropubs in London
The Culpeper
Aldgate
Famed for having its own roof garden where it grows much of the veg and greenery that you’ll find on your plate, The Culpeper is a bit of a stalwart on the London gastropub scene.
The food here is classically gastropubby, drawing blurred lines between creative cooking and hearty comfort food.
We’ve been plenty of times and never been let down. The menu changes regularly so it’s unlikely that anything we recommend will be there when you go, but if you see the pork bon bons, jump on them.
Read More: Dining At: The Culpeper – The Full Review of East London’s Wholesome Gastropub
The Camberwell Arms
Camberwell
The Camberwell Arms is famed for its Sunday roasts, thanks in part to it ranking in The Guardians’ 50 Best Sunday Roasts list. But if you ask anyone who’s spent a bit of time eating around South London (yes, that’s us), the rest of the food deserves just as much credit.
They have a strong focus on using quality produce and they don’t drown out those flavours by dressing it up too much. It’s not just about the food either. They have a fantastic programme of cocktails too.
The Negroni in particular is unputdownable.
The Pelican
Notting Hill
Looking for the best gastropub London has to offer? You’ve got a good candidate in The Pelican. They write a daily menu up on a board each day and it’s regularly filled with dishes you’ll want to return to eat again and again.
The dining area itself is lovely – a low sunk semi-basement with a really rustic, autumnal feel and long wood tables to gather big groups of your hungry friends around. Once the meal’s in full swing it’s easy to feel like you might not be in leafy west London, but out in the country somewhere in a cosy village pub.
The French House
Soho
Ok, maybe it’s a stretch to call The French House a gastropub, but it is a pub, and it does do food, and that food happens to be some of the best in the city so here we are.
You’ll be eating from a menu that’s penned out in biro daily. It consists of whatever is available at the market that day and drawn from a recipe book of staples that have been feeding the customers here for years.
A lot of the food is sustainable stuff, meaning you’ll be seeing some funky animal parts on the menu alongside more conventional French-inspired dishes.
The place is iconic too. Downstairs has been the boozer of most of London’s artistic elite. Upstairs is where Charles de Gaulle used to pen out his speeches to the Free French during World War Two. You don’t get much cooler than that.
The Hicce Heart
Angel
The Hicce Heart is one of the best gastropubs north London can boast. Food here takes the form of some creative and hearty plates that use fresh, seasonal ingredients and make the most of all the animals.
We ate there when it first opened in 2023 and loved everything about the place. Its dining room on the second floor is dark and moody and feels a million miles away from the crafty vibes of the ground floor watering hole. It’s a nice dichotomy and adds to a bit of an exclusive feeling around dinner.
The Prince Arthur
London Fields
It’s tempting, when a pub turns gastro, to reinvent the place – to strip it of the old bits that don’t express that feel of a rustic sort of modernity and replace them with the battleship greys and painted woods that you see a bit too much of these days.
That’s not the case at The Prince Arthur. They’ve kept things true to the way they’ve always been and that makes for a delightful setting for a good pub meal. Bonus points come in here because that meal is going to be excellent.
They run a simple menu of seasonally changing food that’s as charming and artful as you’d find in any fancy restaurant but never ever flirting with becoming pretentious.
The Eagle
Farringdon
Having celebrated its 30th birthday in 2021, it might be worth talking about what went into making The Eagle as much of a success as it is. The pub began as a passion project between manager Michael Belben, and chef David Eyre.
At the time big breweries had too much control over the market and they felt it was time the little guy took back a bit of that power. They started sourcing quality beers, wines and ingredients elsewhere and put them all together in a pub that’s gone on to be one of the most popular in London.
The place is such a roaring success that they’ve even published a cookbook with some of the most popular recipes.
The Jugged Hare
Barbican
With touches of style reminiscent of Victorian London and stags’ heads hanging from the walls you can’t find more of an atmospheric gastropub in London.
Sustainability is at the heart of the cooking here and the chefs work closely with their suppliers to guarantee that they know what they’ll be plating up for you. What’s on those plates? A daily menu of hearty British classics, or if you’re here on Sundays, one of the best roast dinners you can find in the capital.
All of the above deserve partnering with a bottle of something or one of the Hare’s signature cocktails for the perfect meal.
The Tamil Prince
Islington
It’s pretty common to go into a gastropub anywhere in Britain and expect to see British food but The Tamil Prince doesn’t stick to that formula. The place has been described as a ‘Desi Pub’ – a pub that serves up a menu of Indian delights.
And boy is that food good, especially the lamb chops – make sure you try them. Pretty much all the food here could rival any at London’s top Indian restaurants. You’re in very safe hands.
If you want anything to back that point up, know that getting a table here can be a difficult task. You’ll be battling with half of London’s food obsessed, but it’s worth it.
The Cadogan Arms
Chelsea
The Cadogan Arms has been around for longer than we can remember. It closed briefly in recent years to make way for a renovation and revamp and opened in force, climbing its way to new heights as a gastropub as well as a spot in our hearts.
The food is seasonal and British. The team in the kitchen are hot on knowing where their produce comes from and like to know exactly how it was produced to ensure that nothing polluted with badness goes into your meal.
They also select their wines very carefully and run a great selection of classic cocktails so you ensure what you’re washing that meal down with is just as on point as the food.
Practical Tips for Exploring The Best London Gastropubs
- Gastropubs are highly highly popular in London so getting a table at some of these locations can be difficult. Expect to wait a few weeks or more for spots to become available or be prepared to compromise and eat lunch/dinner at a bit of a funny time of day.
- Most of these places will switch menus on a Sunday to honour the great tradition of piling a plate high with meat and potatoes to see the weekend out. If you’re more interested in trying a la carte, make sure you book on a different day.
