London


<p>Winter&#8217;s all about crisp cold days and the kind of expertly prepared triple-cooked chips that only a really good gastropub can deliver (or pan-fried trout if you’re in a virtuous mood). And so, with the timed perfection of an expertly cooked fillet steak, along comes the <a href="https://www.top50gastropubs.com/list/1-50" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs list</a> of the country’s finest gastropubs, voted for by more than 350 hospitality industry experts from across the UK, as well as the core 1-50 list of the best pubs. And the big news this year is that a London pub has snatched the #1 position, formerly held by <a href="https://theunrulypig.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Unruly Pig</a> in Woodbridge, Suffolk for two years on the trot. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-devonshire-soho-no-1"><a href="https://www.devonshiresoho.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">THE DEVONSHIRE</a>, Soho (No. 1)</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/02/the-devonshire-pub-dining-room-1024x683.jpg" alt="The Devonshire in Soho" class="wp-image-8592" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/02/the-devonshire-pub-dining-room-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/02/the-devonshire-pub-dining-room-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/02/the-devonshire-pub-dining-room-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/02/the-devonshire-pub-dining-room.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p>The Devonshire has been a roaring success since former Guinea Grill legend and publican Oisin Rogers took over the pub with Flat Iron founder Charlie Carroll and former Heston Blumenthal chef Ashley Palmer-Watts. What makes it so special? The premium quality, homemade&nbsp;food, focusing on the best of British produce &#8211; it even has its own in-house butcher&nbsp;and bakery. Dishes include ingredients like Scottish beef, dry-aged and butchered on site,&nbsp;creel-caught langoustines from Oban and lobster and hand-dived scallops from Devon. And this isn&#8217;t the only award its been given &#8211; last year it was also given gongs for Opening of the Year and Gastro Pub of the Year at the National Restaurant Awards *round of applause*. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-red-lion-amp-sun-highgate-no-3"><a href="https://www.theredlionandsun.com/index" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">THE RED LION &amp; SUN</a>, Highgate (No. 3)</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="576" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/02/Unknown-1024x576.jpeg" alt="Red Lion &amp; Sun Highgate " class="wp-image-8594" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/02/Unknown-1024x576.jpeg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/02/Unknown-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/02/Unknown-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/02/Unknown.jpeg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p>Since the 16th Century a pub has sat on the site, but it&#8217;s only in recent history the gastropub has earned itself the reputation of Highgate village’s centre of outstanding food. Offering a menu rich with “rustic, modern British pub food”, meats are supplied by Highgate Butchers and all other produce carefully sourced from respected producers. A pub for all seasons, you can either nestle yourself away near the log burner inside or find a comfy spot to relax in the garden with some seafood and peruse what is widely recognised as one of London’s best wine lists curated by its wine fanatic owner, Heath Ball. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-canton-arms-stockwell-nbsp-no-11"><a href="https://cantonarms.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CANTON ARMS</a>, Stockwell&nbsp;(No. 11)</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="662" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-04-at-10.31.32-1024x662.png" alt="Canton Arms, Stockwell " class="wp-image-8601" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-04-at-10.31.32-1024x662.png 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-04-at-10.31.32-300x194.png 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-04-at-10.31.32-768x497.png 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-04-at-10.31.32.png 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p>This boozer on South Lambeth Road doesn&#8217;t look much from the outside but do make it through the door because there are many delights on offer, like oxtails cooked in Guinness, with pumpkin and rosemary. Other flavoursome meat dishes include a curried lamb pie with buttered greens and a seven-hour Salt Marsh lamb shoulder served with potato and olive oil gratin. Those after a gastropub classic can enjoy Essex coast cod, bubble and squeak or a Cornish brill, chips and Hollandaise. More adventurous diners could order a foie gras on toast with chutney. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-baring-islington-no-17"><a href="https://www.thebaring.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">THE BARING</a>, Islington (No. 17)</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="576" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/02/Unknown-1-1024x576.jpeg" alt="The Baring, Islington " class="wp-image-8600" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/02/Unknown-1-1024x576.jpeg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/02/Unknown-1-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/02/Unknown-1-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/02/Unknown-1.jpeg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p>The Baring opened in August 2022 on the site of the former Poet pub and its simple, sustainable cooking was a hit from the get-go. Totally refurbished in a clean, stripped-back London gastro-style, it’s a bright and airy space, elegantly furnished with stools at the bar for those who’d just like a drink and a snack. If you need to be tempted to a table for a full meal, all you need to know is that the head chef here is Rob Tecwyn who used to run the kitchen at Fitzrovia’s fashionable Dabbous. Keen to reflect a strong sustainable ethos, the menu has an emphasis on seasonal ingredients, thoughtfully sourced, simply cooked and creatively plated. You might start with a quail shish with garlic yoghurt and pul biber chilli; or pig cheek, cabbage, chorizo and chestnut, and follow that by tucking into a wild mallard with crushed swede and pickled walnut ketchup; or Cornish pollock, salsify and brussel tops. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-marksman-public-house-hackney-no-23"><a href="https://www.marksmanpublichouse.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MARKSMAN PUBLIC HOUSE</a>, Hackney (No. 23)</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="576" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/Unknown-3-4-1024x576.jpeg" alt="Marksman Hackney " class="wp-image-18018" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/Unknown-3-4-1024x576.jpeg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/Unknown-3-4-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/Unknown-3-4-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/Unknown-3-4.jpeg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p>Locals love this bustling boozer, which has a ground floor that feels like it hasn’t changed in decades, and a calmer (posher) upstairs dining room. Chefs owners Tom Harris and Jon Rotheram say they prefer eating in pubs because the atmosphere’s less stiff than formal dining rooms, and they’ve created the best of both worlds at Marksman.&nbsp;Food’s a nod to London’s culinary history, with beef and barley buns with horseradish cream, smoked cod’s roe, native oysters, snails , bone marrow and parsley and devilled pig’s skin on the menu.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-hero-maida-vale-no-24"><a href="https://theherow9.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Hero</a>, Maida Vale (No 24)</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/TheHeroMay24-6389-scaled-1-1024x683.jpg" alt="The Hero Maida Vale " class="wp-image-18040" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/TheHeroMay24-6389-scaled-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/TheHeroMay24-6389-scaled-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/TheHeroMay24-6389-scaled-1-768x513.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/TheHeroMay24-6389-scaled-1.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p>The owners of popular pubs The Pelican in London, and The Bull in Charlbury, Oxfordshire, are behind The Hero, which serves pub classics alongside some posher nosh. If you’re looking for comfort food, linger on the ground floor where you can order a perfect cheese toastie or sausage and mash. Upstairs, things are a higher level (literally and cuisine-wise), with dishes like monk fish and sprout tops, or venison and chard on the menu. Go up yet another level and you’ll reach The Library, where you can sip a cocktail in comfort, or hire The Loft, an event space with dedicated bar.&nbsp;However you&#8217;ll have to put a hold on a visit for now, because The Hero&#8217;s currently closed for a kitchen refurb until 4 Feb. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-kerfield-arms-camberwell-no-25"><a href="https://www.thekerfieldarms.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">THE KERFIELD ARMS</a>, Camberwell (No. 25)</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="819" height="1024" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/Unknown-4-3-819x1024.jpeg" alt="Kerfield Arms " class="wp-image-18019" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/Unknown-4-3-819x1024.jpeg 819w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/Unknown-4-3-240x300.jpeg 240w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/Unknown-4-3-768x960.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/Unknown-4-3-1229x1536.jpeg 1229w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/Unknown-4-3.jpeg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px" /></figure>



<p>A meal out at this friendly local on Grove Lane is an absolute bargain, considering the high standard of ingredients and imaginative cooking. The vibe’s relaxed &#8211; walk-in drinkers and diners are welcome &#8211; and the mid-week lunch specials (dish and glass of wine) like lamb ragu with parmesan polenta and steak frites, can be scoffed and quaffed for less than £20. Evening meals are still a steal, think tempura sardines followed by roast Yorkshire partridge with haggis, purple hips and walnut ketchup&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-tamil-crown-islington-no-35-nbsp"><a href="https://www.thetamilcrown.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Tamil Crown</a>, Islington (No 35)&nbsp;</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="989" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/shibani-mishra-PPgBVHj0ecQ-unsplash-1024x989.jpg" alt="The Tamil Prince pub " class="wp-image-18028" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/shibani-mishra-PPgBVHj0ecQ-unsplash-1024x989.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/shibani-mishra-PPgBVHj0ecQ-unsplash-300x290.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/shibani-mishra-PPgBVHj0ecQ-unsplash-768x741.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/shibani-mishra-PPgBVHj0ecQ-unsplash.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p>If you&#8217;re curry crazy, you need to head to this south Indian-inspired pub spread across two floors of a converted Victorian boozer. It’s full of old school charm mixed with a side of sophisticated dining (and a banging playlist) and, as you’d expect from the team behind gastropub The Tamil Prince and restaurant Tamila, the food&#8217;s delicious. Coconut prawn moilee and Thanjavur chicken curry, fresh roti and creamy shrikhand, made from strained yogurt scented with cardamon? Err, don&#8217;t mind if we do. Sundays deliver Indian roasts, like lamb shanks and masala curry, with trimmings like turmeric roast potatoes and spiced fried cauliflower. Yum.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-bull-amp-last-highgate-nbsp-no-39"><a href="https://thebullandlast.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">THE BULL &amp; LAST</a>, Highgate&nbsp;(No. 39)</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="672" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-04-at-10.19.39-1024x672.png" alt="The Bull and Last, Highgate " class="wp-image-8596" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-04-at-10.19.39-1024x672.png 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-04-at-10.19.39-300x197.png 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-04-at-10.19.39-768x504.png 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/02/Screenshot-2025-02-04-at-10.19.39.png 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p>Highgate&#8217;s clearly on a culinary (bread) roll, with another top ten entry.  The Bull &amp; Last reopened in 2024 after a two-year refurb and it&#8217;s looking mighty fine. The menu offers twists on pub classics, think buttermilk chicken sandwiches and legendary Scotch eggs &#8211; so extensive and varied is the food offer that it recently published a beautifully presented cookbook featuring 70 recipes from the last 12 years alongside a history of the pub’s loyal customers, four-legged friends, local residents and a history of Hampstead Heath.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-knave-of-clubs-shoreditch-no-43"><a href="https://www.theknaveofclubs.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">THE KNAVE OF CLUBS</a>, Shoreditch (No. 43) </h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/Unknown-7-2-1024x683.jpeg" alt="The Knave of Clubs " class="wp-image-18038" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/Unknown-7-2-1024x683.jpeg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/Unknown-7-2-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/Unknown-7-2-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2026/01/Unknown-7-2.jpeg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p>After reopening as a pub after 30 years, the Knave has gone from strength-to-strenght. It lies in a Grade II-listed building on Bethnal Green Road and is busy serving Guinness, oysters and roast chicken to hungry Eastenders. The main focus of the menu is the Rotisserie grill, including the Knave Special which has food critics in a tither: Rotisserie chermoula spices chicken, fat potatoes, green salad, baguette and aioli. Prefer bar snacks? What could be better than a cuban toastie &#8211; ham, roasted pork, Swiss cheese, mustard and pickles.&nbsp;</p>


Which London gastropub has been voted best in the UK?

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