CAMRA Good Beer Guide 2023: 35 central London pubs named best drinking spots

Dozens of central London pubs have been praised as some of the capital’s best drinking spots.

The guide surveys the UK’s 4,500 best pubs and is compiled by independent volunteers, with the newly released 50th anniversary edition featuring a cover design by Neil Gower.

CAMRA chairman Nik Antona said: “It is a huge achievement to celebrate 50 years of the Good Beer Guide, and a real testament to the hard work and dedication of our volunteers. The last few years have been an incredibly difficult time for the industry, and we need more support than ever before to keep our nation’s pubs open and thriving.

“I’d encourage everyone to use this year’s Guide to visit the very best pubs across the UK and support them for generations to come.”

Here are a few of the central London pubs featured in the guide. For full details of all 35 selected by CAMRA, please buy the guide on their website.

10 of central London’s best pubs:

Sir John Oldcastle

29-35 Farringdon Road, EC1M 3JF

This Wetherspoon pub is named after the Sir John Oldcastle Tavern, in the former grounds of Sir John’s nearby mansion - thought to be the model for Shakespeare’s Falstaff. There are various interesting framed prints and photos of the local area around the premises.

Craft Beer Co

82 Leather Lane, EC1N 7TR

This popular pub offers several cask ales, 20 keg lines, more than 100 bottled beers and two ciders. Downstairs it has stools, tables and standing room, with more seating upstairs and a small standing area outside. Food is pies and Scotch eggs and you can order in a takeaway.

Inn of Court

18 Holborn, EC1N 2LE

An ornate Fuller’s Ale & Pie House near Chancery Lane. The wood-panelled main bar has leather seating. A raised area, called the Dock, has framed historical newspapers and details of notable criminals, and there are legal artefacts, including judges’ wigs and gowns.

Wood Street

53 Fore Street, EC2Y 5EJ

Situated at the south edge of the Barbican complex, this is a hidden gem. The rear windows give a good view of the Barbican’s lake. There is a downstairs bar with two dartboards, two pool tables and a poker room. A varied food menu is available.

Hoop & Grapes

47 Aldgate High Street, EC3N 1AL

There has been an inn on this site since the 13th century. The Great Fire of London stopped 50 yards away, making it a rare example of a timber building. Originally the Hop & Grapes as it sold beer and wine, it was renamed in 1920. The Grade II*-listed building is bent by time.

Hung, Drawn & Quartered

26-27 Great Tower Street, EC3R 5AQ

Just a short walk from the Tower of London, famously a site of execution, this Fuller’s Ale & Pie House is housed in a Grade II-listed building dating from 1914. The interior area is quite compact, with a high ceiling and wood panelling. Popular with both city workers and tourists.

Old Bank of England

194 Fleet Street, EC4A 2LT

A Grade II-listed building belonging to the Bank of England until 1975. The ornate high ceiling and the gallery beneath it now contrast with a modern metalwork island bar. There are two function areas but the whole pub may sometimes be booked.

Dog & Duck

18 Bateman Street, W1D 3AJ

In the heart of Soho, this 1897 outlet has a nationally important historic interior. An elaborate mosaic depicts dogs and ducks, and advertising mirrors adorn the walls. The small pub is so popular, especially with media people, that it is not just smokers who have to drink outside.

Queen’s Head

66 Acton Street, WC1X 9NB

Narrow, late-Georgian premises off Gray’s Inn Road. The piano is used for jazz and blues on Thursdays and Sunday afternoons. Sharing snack platters are on offer at this comfortable pub frequented by locals and the occasional tourist. Local CAMRA Pub of the Year 2022.

Lamb & Flag

33 Rose Street, WC2E 9EB

Owned by Fuller’s since 2013, this Grade II-listed pub remains pleasant and traditional. Tucked away up Rose Street from Garrick Street, it has a regionally important historic interior. Charles Dickens and Karl Marx were both regulars.