A modern, food-oriented pub set in Victorian surroundings, The Washington must surely be unsurpassed — in North London certainly — in terms of the sheer number of original fittings.

The secret of the Southampton Arms is simplicity itself. Take a tired, run-down boozer, throw out the forlorn carpets, strip the wooden floor and decoration back to the basics, add in some former church pews and wooden tables and a wood burning fire that pierces the chill even on the coldest day, sell an ever-changing [...]

The ‘village’ of Primrose Hill is tucked behind Regent’s Park and London Zoo, a collection of wide, tree-lined streets and elegant houses. The hill and sloping park around it cover 112 acres; one of the highest points in London, at 206 ft, it boasts wonderful panoramic views across the city once you have puffed your [...]

Not much a pub as a theatre with a great front of house. The King’s Head has been a pub theatre since 1969, before which the auditorium was a boxing ring. It is probably the most famous of London’s numerous pub theatres, the largest concentration of which lies in and around Islington (such as the [...]

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then the Southampton Arms in Kentish Town should be very flattered indeed. It has become a bit of a talking point that the Jolly Butchers, which took on its current guise in 2010 has a similar ‘Ale and Cider House’ sign to the Southampton, set up some [...]

The Flask owes its name to a philanthropic bequest of 1689 when ‘six acres of waste land lying and being about certain medicinal waters called the wells’ were given over to the benefit of the poor of Hampstead. The wells being the only positive feature of the land, the trustees of the bequest hit on [...]

The Assembly House takes its name from a building of 1796 that was a meeting point for people gathering together to make up a party before setting off for Hampstead Heath and other places north — the occasionally vain hope was that travelling in numbers would deter the highwaymen who infested the woods and lanes [...]

The Albert is a medium-size Victorian pub which has received the modern treatment in a most sympathetic and successful fashion. Bare wood floors and a motley crew of non-matching wooden tables and chairs in different styles are in vogue, as are the fresh flowers on each table. The history is confined to the walls and [...]