The City of London is mostly glass towers and bankers on weekdays, but tucked between them are some of the oldest, oddest and most atmospheric pubs in the country. Many were rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1666, and several sit on top of much older history: Roman walls, medieval alleys and the cellars of long-gone merchants.
Here are a few of our favourites, and what to look out for when you visit.
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, Fleet Street
You’ll find the entrance down Wine Office Court, a narrow alley off Fleet Street. A sign by the door says the pub was rebuilt in 1667, the year after the Great Fire, and inside it’s a warren of dark, wood-panelled rooms with low ceilings and sawdust-era charm.
Charles Dickens was a regular, and the Cheshire Cheese even appears in A Tale of Two Cities, when Sydney Carton takes Charles Darnay there for dinner. The pub’s most famous resident, though, was Polly, an African grey parrot who lived there for around 40 years. When she died in 1926, her obituary ran in around 200 newspapers.
The Jamaica Wine House: London’s first coffee house
Down a cobbled alley near Bank, the Jamaica Wine House (known to locals as “the Jampot”) stands on the site of London’s first coffee house, opened in 1652. Coffee houses became the City’s meeting rooms, where merchants, shipowners and insurers did business; some of London’s great financial institutions grew out of conversations like these. Today it serves ale rather than coffee, but the Victorian interior is worth the trip on its own.
Under the Royal Exchange
The Royal Exchange opened in 1571 as a trading hall for merchants, and the vaults beneath it have been used for storage and trade ever since, including by the East India Company. Some of those spaces now house bars, so you can have a cocktail where traders once stacked their goods.
A pint against a Roman wall
London began as Roman Londinium, and fragments of the old city still turn up in the strangest places. A few City pubs have Roman masonry in their foundations or cellars. Finding them is half the fun, and it’s a great excuse for a second round.
Tips for a City of London pub crawl
- Go on a weekday afternoon or early evening. Many City pubs close early or completely at weekends, because the area empties out.
- Look for the alleys. The best pubs are rarely on the main road. Wine Office Court, Ball Court and St Michael’s Alley are worth exploring.
- Mix in a gin palace. London’s Victorian gin palaces, with their mirrors, etched glass and carved wood, are worth a visit for the decor alone.
- Eat as you go. Pub food in the City is hearty and good value at lunchtime.
Waddle through the City’s pubs with a local
Our Pub Waddle is a three-hour walk down the City’s side streets, soaked in drunken history. You’ll have a pint against a Roman wall, visit one of the City’s most haunted pubs, sip in a bar under the Royal Exchange and finish where London’s first coffee house once stood. It runs every Monday at 1:30 PM.
Thirsty for history? Book the Pub Waddle.
