This is my favourite pub in the whole of London’s West End. Forget your touristy trapping, six, seven pounds or more-a-pint O’Neill’s, Waxy O’Connor’s, the Porterhouse, the Punch & Judy (I’ll stop there) and head here instead.
Off the beaten the track this pub definitely is. Located in an alleyway just off the Strand (Bull Inn Court), chances are you would only come here if you already knew about it. Named after the mistress of King Charles II, this pub was under threat from developers in 2016 but thankfully stayed alive to tell the tale.
Refurbished and under new management back then but keeping with the sticky wooden tables and wooden armchairs that pub-goers throughout the country have come to expect from their local haunt, pubs about to have a makeover, take note.
The jukebox is amazing, with its selection of Britpop and other music eras being just a few coins away from soundtracking your session.
And a session it should be because this is one of those pubs where you could stay all afternoon and evening.
It’s also where you would take anyone to impress with your knowledge of secluded drinking holes. But when you do leave, let’s hope it is because you are safe and sound after negotiating the steep steps and very low ceiling down to the toilet. Dickensian, country pub in the heart of London — this pub feels like both of those combined.
