The pub — short for public house — has been at the centre of London life for centuries. London’s oldest surviving pubs date to the 17th century, though drinking establishments on those sites are far older. The pub is many things: a place of business, a community hub, a refuge, a theatre of social life.
The Victorian Gin Palace
The Victorian era produced the gin palace — grand, gilded, mirror-lined drinking establishments designed to make working-class customers feel they’d entered somewhere magnificent. Many of London’s finest pub interiors date from this period. The Black Friar in Blackfriars, the Princess Louise in Holborn, and the Salisbury in Covent Garden are among the best preserved.
Real Ale and CAMRA
The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), founded in 1971, saved cask-conditioned ale from extinction at the hands of mass-produced keg lager. Today London has hundreds of craft breweries and the capital is arguably the best city in the world for beer diversity — from East End microbreweries to West End cocktail pubs.
The Gastropub Revolution
In 1991, the Eagle in Clerkenwell started serving proper food from an open kitchen, becoming the world’s first gastropub. It transformed British pub dining. Today, London’s best gastropubs — places like the Harwood Arms in Fulham, the only pub in London with a Michelin star — would not embarrass a restaurant of similar price.
Leave a Reply