The Best Bars and Pubs in London’s Covent Garden

Set on a pretty corner of Covent Garden just a stone’s throw from the London Film Museum and Royal Opera House, the Marquess of Anglesey is a traditional Covent Garden pub offering craft beers, a range of ales and a selection of wine and spirits. After suffering heavy bombing during the Blitz, the historic boozer was completely rebuilt, and today has a modern interior adorned with historical photos. While the majority of patrons are there for drinks, it’s also an ideal spot for a pre- or post-theatre meal. We recommend the fish and chips, but the full menu offers an array of seasonal dishes.

Mr Fogg’s Tavern gets its name from the fictional traveller Phileas Fogg, the protagonist of the 1873 Jules Verne novel Around the World in Eighty Days. Its interior is wonderfully eccentric, with all manner of artefacts transporting punters back to the Victorian era. The food is fairly typical – sandwiches and salads during the week, brunch on Saturdays and Sunday roasts with all the trimmings – but the cocktails are more inventive. Try the Punch of the Bison, a mix of Żubrówka Bison Grass vodka, Belvedere grapefruit vodka, orange juice, fresh lemon juice, earl grey tea and honeydew melon syrup.

It may look small from the outside, but The Harp manages to pack in a lot of beer and cider behind its stained-glass windows. It has 10 hand-pumps, plus guest brews, ciders and perries from around the country. This really is a drinker’s pub; while they do serve bar snacks, the booze comes first.

The Lamb & Flag is a Grade II-listed pub on Rose Street, an area of Covent Garden once known for its violent past. The pub itself, which has been serving drinks since 1772, once hosted bare-knuckle prize fights in its upstairs and was a favourite haunt of Charles Dickens. Today, it’s packed with charm and has plenty of ales, beers and an extensive whisky selection. The kitchen serves traditional British pub fare, with a Sunday roast menu.

Convenient for theatre-goers, Garrick Arms is a traditional pub right outside the Garrick Theatre. Offering a wide selection of beer, wine and cocktails, its central location means it does fill up quickly, but high ceilings and large windows keep this traditional boozer from feeling stuffy.

Split over three floors and 12 different levels, The Porterhouse in Covent Garden is one of London’s biggest pubs – but still manages to feel surprisingly intimate. Run by Irish brewers, the cosy establishment offers up a range of beers and cocktails and brews its own stouts, ales and lagers.