London


<p>It&#8217;s common knowledge pubs are closing down at an alarming rate, however London&#8217;s bucking the trend right now with the opening of some buzzing new design-led boozers serving food that&#8217;s as impressive as the drinks and interiors.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-bush-tavern-shepherd-s-bush"><a href="https://thebushtavern.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Bush Tavern</a>, Shepherd&#8217;s Bush </h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="684" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/12/The-Bush-Tavern-Cocktails-1024x684.png" alt="the Bush tavern " class="wp-image-17255" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/12/The-Bush-Tavern-Cocktails-1024x684.png 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/12/The-Bush-Tavern-Cocktails-300x200.png 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/12/The-Bush-Tavern-Cocktails-768x513.png 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/12/The-Bush-Tavern-Cocktails.png 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p>The team behind neighbourhood favourites The Hawk’s Nest, Peckham Arches and Bird House Brewery have just launched hot new indie&nbsp;pub The Bush Tavern on Goldhawk Road. A perfect place to meet up for Xmas drinks with friends,&nbsp;it gets extra brownie points for being the new permanent home of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/nodrama.w3/?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>No Drama</strong></a>, the West London burger outfit whose original Acton spot was lauded by Ed Sheeran as serving the&nbsp;&#8216;<em>best burger in London</em>&#8216;.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-trafalgar-chelsea"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/thetrafalgarchelsea/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Trafalgar,</a> Chelsea</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="623" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-17-at-14.23.16-1024x623.png" alt="The Trafalgar Chelsea " class="wp-image-16286" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-17-at-14.23.16-1024x623.png 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-17-at-14.23.16-300x183.png 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-17-at-14.23.16-768x467.png 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-17-at-14.23.16.png 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p>The first pub to open on the King&#8217;s Road for ONE HUNDRED YEARS was worth the wait. The brainchild of Three Cheers Pub Co founders Tom Peake, Mark Reynolds and Nick Fox (they also run Avalon in Clapham and The Latchmere in  Battersea), Trafalgar opened at the end of October and it&#8217;s already a hit with locals who have fallen for the elegant building, with its Edwardian windows, chandeliers and cosy booths, lush bar serving craft and alcohol-free beers, wine, cocktails and Champagne, and its hush hush basement Havannah Room, for private parties, live gigs, comedy nights and cabaret. Like all good gastro pubs, there&#8217;s also a dream Sunday roast menu, think chateaubriand, Suffolk red pork belly, Irish Wagu beef and garlic, sage &amp; lemon chicken. We predict its location opposite Chelsea Town Hall will make it THE hot spot for wedding parties in 2026. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-hart-marylebone"><a href="https://www.thehartw1.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Hart</a>, Marylebone </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/24/2025/11/PublicHouseTheHartSep25-23677-Edit-1024x683.jpg" alt="The Hart, Marylebone " class="wp-image-16288" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/PublicHouseTheHartSep25-23677-Edit-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/PublicHouseTheHartSep25-23677-Edit-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/PublicHouseTheHartSep25-23677-Edit-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/PublicHouseTheHartSep25-23677-Edit.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p>Marylebone already has more than its fair share of amazing places to scoff and quaff, so it seems slightly unfair that gorg gastro pub The Hart has chosen to open at the corner of Chiltern Street in the, err, heart of the village. Not only is it good-looking and cosy, it&#8217;s also serving sensational, seasonal food along the lines of Cotswold favourite The Bull in Charlbury, both of which are run by friends James Gummer, Phil Winser and Olivier van Themsche. Bar bites include simple dishes like sardines on toast while dining room mains are channelling mouth-watering comfort food such as steak and potatoes, kedgeree and lamb chops and beans, best enjoyed with a good bottle of plonk &#8211; make it a £225 bottle of English Nyetimber Cuvée if you&#8217;re celebrating something special. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-stranded-charing-cross"><a href="https://www.thestrandedldn.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Stranded</a>, Charing Cross </h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="678" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-17-at-14.29.47-1024x678.png" alt="Liu Xiaomian at The Stranded " class="wp-image-16287" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-17-at-14.29.47-1024x678.png 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-17-at-14.29.47-300x199.png 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-17-at-14.29.47-768x508.png 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-17-at-14.29.47.png 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p>Another just-opened watering hole on an iconic road, this time The Strand (see what they did there) opposite Charing Cross station and close to Covent Garden. It&#8217;s more basic boozer than posh pub, however it makes it on to our list because its location opposite Charing Cross Station and a stroll from Covent Garden makes it a great place for a post-work drink, plus it&#8217;s just announced a pop up with <a href="https://www.liu-xiaomian.com/booking" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Liu Xiaomian</a> restaurant in Covent Garden, which serves some of the best spicy noodles in the city. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-devonshire-soho"><a href="https://www.devonshiresoho.co.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Devonshire</a>, Soho </h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="983" height="1024" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/devonshire-pub-restaurant-soho-983x1024.jpg" alt="The Devonshire in Soho " class="wp-image-16291" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/devonshire-pub-restaurant-soho-983x1024.jpg 983w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/devonshire-pub-restaurant-soho-288x300.jpg 288w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/devonshire-pub-restaurant-soho-768x800.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/devonshire-pub-restaurant-soho-1474x1536.jpg 1474w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/devonshire-pub-restaurant-soho.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 983px) 100vw, 983px" /></figure>



<p>Ok it&#8217;s not new (there&#8217;s actually been a pub on the site since 1793!), but this much-loved boozer has just expanded with the launch of some fancy new private dining rooms which is worth shouting about as Xmas party time approaches. The Devonshire bills itself as &#8216;a classic London pub&#8217;, but we&#8217;re not sure how many other city watering holes serve lobster and wagyu ribeye, hold parties for JW Anderson and Sabrina Carpenter, or have Lewis Capaldi and Margot Robbie propping up the bar. This celeb-magnet is always busy and it&#8217;s extremely hard to get a table upstairs, so we predict the three new dining rooms (seating up to 25, 26 and 35 guests) in an adjacent building on Sherman Street will be a sell out too. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-barley-mow-mayfair"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/thebarleymowmayfair/?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Barley Mow</a>, Mayfair </h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="638" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-17-at-15.48.09-1024x638.png" alt="The Barley Mow, Mayfair " class="wp-image-16292" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-17-at-15.48.09-1024x638.png 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-17-at-15.48.09-300x187.png 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-17-at-15.48.09-768x478.png 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-17-at-15.48.09.png 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p>This beautifully renovated pub with a ground floor bar, first floor restaurant and private snug for hire, is on our radar as it has just celebrated the opening of Sunday roast season with the Miller clan (Sienna, Savannah and their glam mum Josephine). The movie star and friends took over the joint last weekend, and the resulting snaps on our Instagram feed gave us major FOMO and the urge to scoff a Sunday roast with all the trimmings asap &#8211; apparently the potatoes were insanely good and the puddings &#8216;off the hook&#8217;. *Books Sunday roast immediately*. </p>


Not doing Dry Jan? These are the posh new pubs you need to know

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