When Vittles last published a pub guide, we lived in a very different era. It was 2022 and having a pint with friends in a pub still had that post-pandemic frisson. Twitter was at its unruly height, and people wanted to do nothing more than fight online about pubs and about whether a pub list might ruin their favourite pub. The word ‘pubfluencer’ had yet to be coined. In other words, it was the perfect time for one.
The guide, led by journalist Andrew Kersley, remains one of our most popular, and celebrated every reason that we might have for loving pubs: the beer, the landlord, the vibe, the history, the food, the decor, or just as rooms where life plays out. One of the contributors was Jimmy McIntosh, who ran an Instagram account documenting closed pubs called @londondeadpubs, and had a particularly encyclopaedic knowledge of wet-led pubs. In the past few years, as his account pivoted to surreal, Blue Jam-style reels, it’s hard to think of anyone who has had more of an influence on how Londoners think about these type of pubs than Jimmy. This is undoubtedly a good thing – we need more people going to them before they end up being another dead pub to document.
For the 2026 guide, therefore, we asked Jimmy to revamp the list and be lead editor on all 99 entries. If the 2022 list was a democracy, the 2026 list is a dictatorship – there have been some controversial omissions, while the guide has expanded heavily into the suburbs. It is opinionated, knowledgeable, unreasonable, and rooted in unshakeable personal taste, like all good lists should be. I hope it gets you thinking, and maybe even disagreeing, about what makes a good pub. JN
Words by Jimmy McIntosh. Artwork by Dan Biddulph
The London pub is having a real moment. You can see it in the fashion campaigns and photo shoots. You can see it in the endless social media content around and about pubs (sorry about that). But most of all, you can see it in the fact that most nights, most pubs are really, really busy.
A list of the finest pubs in the capital has been attempted countless times. They have, pretty much, all been wrong. Indeed, the idea of a ‘Best of…’ list for pubs is entirely futile, because pubs are deeply personal. Your favourite pub is probably all about proximity, or tied up in memory. How can you decide if one is better than another?
So, in that spirit, here’s my definitive guide to the best, most interesting, most alive boozers in town: 99 of them, separated by compass point, a top ten – and then a top one. I’ve been drinking in London pubs for just over 20 years now, and have darkened the door of 1,183 establishments by my last count. I’ve been to most of the ones worth going to – and plenty worth giving a wide berth to too. This means I like to think I have more of a claim to objectivity than your average list-maker – but, ultimately, it is all a matter of taste (although I also like to think you either have taste or you don’t). You will see that, generally, I like a certain type of pub, and much of this list has been guided by one main criterion: would I happily spend several hours here, alone or with friends, over-oiling the engine? So discuss, dissect, send me expletive-laden DMs because your local isn’t/is on the list (actually, please don’t do that). But if there’s any you haven’t been to: pay them a visit. You just might find your new favourite pub.
London, for the purposes of this list, is everything inside the M25 (it’s always been odd to me that we have a man-made barrier to define the ever-expanding city, but still people argue on the basis of postcodes, bus routes or vibes).
I’ve largely ignored gastropubs. There are, of course, some fantastic ones in the capital – from The Blue Stoops to The Albatross to The Knave of Clubs – but for me, no matter how good the food is, the majority of these places simply aren’t proper pubs: they lack that informal, relaxed comfort, or that frisson of chaos. I am also incredibly bored by the recent trend for pub-themed restaurants, which have been opening with disconcerting regularity. Although some pubs on this list do serve food, it’s never the main focus.
Beyond these two, my recommendations are guided by vibes, atmosphere and aesthetics. Interiors are a hugely important part of what makes pubs special, and what separates them from the common bar. The major trends over the past 20 years have been for minimalism or naff stylisation: stripping out carpets, furnishing with uncomfortable wooden chairs, making a thing of exposed industrial vents, bricks and lighting or, worse still, grotesque weathered Chesterfields. This is a load of rubbish, and the antithesis of what a pub should be. Thankfully, the tide does seem to be turning, with pubs like The Coach & Horses and The Red Lion in Stoke Newington recently putting in carpets, dimming the lights, and bringing back a level of glamour to their establishments.
I am not a craft connoisseur or an ale aficionado. I like lager, and I like stout on a hangover. Therefore, I haven’t really given much consideration to whether a pub serves Rockin’ Rudolph or Rembrandt’s Revenge – I’m simply not that interested in such things. However, I do care about the quality of the hooch on offer, so you can be assured there are no dirty pipes on this list.
Finally, some of my picks were also included in the first Vittles pub guide all the way back in 2022, for which we owe huge thanks to Andrew Kersley. Where this is the case, I have kept the original author’s entry. A massive thank you to all of those legends.
I hope you enjoy visiting the 99. Cheers. Jimmy McIntosh, November 2026
The Dolphin Tavern
Pre-Covid, there were plenty of pubs in the centre of London that operated hours you might describe as ‘pleasingly old-school’ (although, if you ever turned up to one on a Saturday gasping for a pint, you might also call them ‘bloody annoying’). Today, The Dolphin Tavern in Holborn is probably the most notable, but its rigid trading times (closed on weekends, open from 4pm most days of the week) only serve to increase its magic. Pop in on a weeknight and you’ll find a largely untouched wedge-shaped space with tight booths, a soporific atmosphere and, in the corner, a battered clock that still shows 10:40pm – the time a German airship dropped a bomb on the pub on 8th September 1915. Thankfully, the only bombs found here nowadays are made with Jägermeister.
The Seven Stars
In case its proximity to the Royal Courts of Justice didn’t give it away, the Seven Stars is a pub for the legal profession. If not, you can tell from the barristers’ wigs and historical law ephemera hanging on the walls. A cat named The General is the latest in a long line of cats employed here, and he wears a chorister’s ruff as he lurks around the bar. A cheerful yellow awning outside, low lighting inside and bistro-like oilcloths on the tables give the Seven Stars a slightly continental feeling. Don’t expect music or anything else fussy: pubs like this are for conversation, celebration or commiseration. This is one where the toilets are reached via a hazardous climb up the stairs and the charismatic landlady, Roxy Beaujolais, will let you know if you’ve left the front door open on a cold day. Ana Kinsella
Behind the paywall: The rest of the central London pub guide. You can subscribe to Vittles for £7/month or £59 for the whole year, which will give you access to the whole week’s guide, which will take in north, south, east and west London, along with a top 10 on Saturday. At the end of the week, we will release a map of all 99 entries, plus all the entries from the 2022 guide.
