From 14th-century taverns to steel-and-glass edifices

Observer

An ancient pub steeped in history and dark woodwork,on the river,near the Globe and Tate Modern.You 'd be forgiven for thinking all this meant tourists,hordes of braying city workers, culture seekers,curators and actors.But The Anchor is still lovely.Creep upstairs,get a comfy chair and savour a quality pint.The three floors of rooms clustered around the central bar mean it's easy to get into little groups and talk,which is just what the 30-something international clientele do.Currently undergoing refurbishment,it 's due to reopen 22 April.
High point:The living room atmosphere of each separate room
Low point: Whoops of delight from the tourists who do find it
Beer:Directors £2.35
G&T:£2.85
House wine:£12.95
Food:Bar food downstairs (meatballs, chicken);simple à la carte upstairs,including pre-theatre menu
Music: Piped pop
Popular with:Tourists,FT journalists,theatregoers,students
Best for:Thameside socialising

Atlantic Bar
20 Glasshouse Street W1, 020 7734 4888

Everything about the Atlantic is big,from the generous measures to the marble pillars which dominate the enormous bar and dining room.As you walk down the winding staircase it feels like you 're stepping back in time to the 1940s;you half expect to find everyone wearing white tuxedos.Not as ultra trendy as it used to be,but that 's no bad thing:now ordinary mortals can also get in.For a more intimate atmosphere,try the adjoining Dick 's cocktail bar.
High point:The enormous banqueting chamber
Low point:Braying suits at the bar
Beer:Bottled Mash £3
G&T:£6
House wine:£13.50
Food:Bar snacks;modern British in the restaurant
Music:DJs Thursday,Friday, Saturday
Popular with:Office workers,romantic couples,tourists
Best for:Cocktails,dinner,more cocktails

Bar Evissa
48 High Street, Kingston, 020 8408 4900

This low-ceilinged,candlelit club-style bar is a perfect haunt for sophisticates and smoochy couples on a date,or for anyone who wants to get away from the area 's many students.There 's a smart-casual dress code,and it 's over-21s only,which can be tiresome but does ensure that the place kicks.Cocktails are served.Good-looking clientele and loudish music creates enough verve to make you forget you 're not in the West End.
High point:Licensed till 2am Mon-Sat,12.30am Sun
Low point:It 's a bit flashy
Beer:Bottled beers £3.10
G&T:£2.70
House wine:£9.95
Food: Fusion,lots of seafood
Music:Funk,house
Popular with:High-earning suburbanites;students on Mondays
Best for:Avoiding the students who drink just about everywhere else

Bed Bar
310 Portobello Road W10, 020 8969 4500

A little piece of north Africa on London 's doorstep,the Bed Bar is based on the edge of the capital 's Moroccan quarter.This expansive two-floor lounge and cocktail bar is beautifully kitted out with battered leather armchairs,enormous earthen-ware pots and dozens of beds.The only place in town,claimthe bar staff,where you 're invited to take your shoes off and fall asleep.As long as you 've had a couple of jars beforehand,presumably.
High point:The opium den-style décor:lots of browns and reds
Low point: Bed envy:beat the crowds or you 'll end up on a rickety chair
Beer:Bottled Stella £2.70
G&T:£2.50
House wine:£10.50
Food:North African:squid, hummus
Music:DJs playing 70s soul to house
Popular with:A trendy smart crowd in large groups
Best for:A big Saturday night out with your mates

Bread & Roses
68 Clapham Manor Street, SW4, 020 7498 1779

Managing to look like your local pub and a stylish lounge bar at the same time,this headquarters of the Workers 'Beer Company is a lesson in modernisation.A smarter rethink of socialist values than anything New Labour could achieve, Bread &Roses (its name comes from a textile workers' anthem)combines a garden,a conservatory,real ales,arty shows and food fairs -all on a semi-rural back lane off the Common.Stunning.
High point:Its eclectic mission:that everybody 's happy
Low point:Can 't keep everybody happy
Beer:Workers Ale £2
G&T:£2.25
House wine:£7.95
Food:Pub grub to gastro:sausage and mash,tuna
Music:Live African on Sunday;otherwise laidback Motown and easy indie CDs
Popular with: Labourites-come-lately,Clapham families with kids
Best for:Long chats

Brixtonian Havana Club
11 Beehive Place SW9, 020 7924 9262

Brits have overdosed on Buena Vista Social sounds more than any self respecting Cuban, but hat's no reason to avoid this bright, lively, little bar-restaurant down a dark alley in central SW9. Choose from 300 rums, 20 rum-based cocktails, or other tropical tipples. The ambience is relaxed, unpretentiously cool, and the Cuban tone is natural, and unforced. There's also a lively courtyard for Brixton's balmier nights.
High point: Anxiety-free atmosphere
Low point: Pricey
Beer:Bottled beers £2.50
G&T: £3.50
House wine: £14.95
Food: The restaurant cooks up food from a different Carribean island every month
Music: Guess
Popular with: A mixed south Lonfon crowd
Best for: Hearing Cuban music without having to praise it

Coach and Horses
29 Greek Street W1, 020 7437 5920

Once the favoured watering hole of Jeffrey Bernard, this creaking West End pub is the antithesis of today's anaemic bar chains. With the walls covered in Private Eye cartoons and tributes to JB, it's barely changed since the war. If it wasn't for the absence of Double Diamond, you could almost mistake it for Bob and Terry's boozer in the Likely Lads. No jukebox, no fruit machines, no food (apart from a sandwich or two), one day all pubs were like this...
High point: The bohemian atmosphere
Low point: No mod cons or creature comforts
Beer: London Pride £2.60
G&T:£3.50
House wine: £8.30
Food: Sandwiches during the week
Music: None
Popular with:Shoppers, theatre-goers, a Soho crowd
Best for: A beer after the cinema/theatre/long day shopping in the West End

Cork & Bottle
44-6 Cranbourn Street WC2, 020 7734 7807

Many years ago, when wine was Blue Nun and Liebfraumilch,this basement,discreetly hidden from the frightening crowds of Leicester Square,opened as a refuge for those who worship Bacchus.Now over 30 years old,it is still respected and attracts tipplers who were there at the beginning.Now wine is so popular yet somehow still the preserve of pseuds,Cork and Bottle is a refreshingly plain and functional old den.
High point:250-300 wines,over 20 available by the glass
Low point: Leaving and emerging in Leicester Square
Beer:Just wine G&T:Ditto
House wine:£12.50
Food:Basic pub food:steaks,fish dishes
Music: Piped smooth piano jazz,easy listening
Popular with:Connoisseurs, regulars,not tourists
Best for:Wine with no distractions

The Cow
89 Westbourne Park Road W2, 020 7221 5400

House speciality at this premier-league gastropub is oysters -and lots of them.The £40 seafood platter is a gut-busting selection of crab,oysters,prawns,clams,winkles,whelks and shrimps.The Guinness and Cuban cigars are also recommended.Only one thing worries:the enormous mural, depicting ale-guzzling crabs,lobsters shepherding herds of clams and riding giant fish.Makes you wonder what they put in those cigars.A favourite of Stella McCartney 's,apparently.
High point:Prawns and a pint of Guinness never tasted so good
Low point:Surrounded by guffawing Notting Hillbillies,it 's easy to feel like an extra in a Richard Curtis film,and not in a nice way
Beer:Guinness £2.70
G&T:£2.80
House wine:£12 Food:Shellfish Music:Live bands on the first Wednesday of the month playing R&B,jazz,funk
Popular with: Trustafarians
Best for:A slap-up fish supper

Detroit
Earlham Street WC2, 020 7240 2662

More than five years old now,this laid-back underground lounge bar isn 't showing its age just yet.Detroit prides itself on its mouthwatering range of cocktails (around 50),headed by their very own Detropolitan:Absolut Mandrin,cranberry vodka,lime and cranberry juice.Inside you can hide yourself away in one of the many little nooks and crannies far away from the scrum of the bar.Get there early to secure yourself a table,and you 'll be there all night.
High point:The tunnels that extend like wormholes in all directions
Low point:Rather small,and can get too 'cosy 'on Saturday night
Beer:Bottled Stella £3
G&T £4.10
House wine:£12.75
Food:Bar snacks including tiger prawns with spicy sauce
Music:DJs every night,playing soul,drum 'n 'bass
Popular with:A trendy (but not achingly so)laid-back crowd
Best for:Sanctuary from the crowds of Covent Garden

Dog Star
389 Coldharbour Lane SW9, 020 7733 7515

Since 1995 the Dog Star has been doing its bit to alter popular perceptions of oft-condemned Brixton.Open from noon every day,it always seems to be really pick up at weekends around midnight when lesser mortals go to smarter bars or more capacious clubs.The Dog Star is devoted to full-on fun and quality DJing and the dancing is so seductive you 'd have to be a bit weird to bother hitting on the opposite sex here.You may even forget to drink.Somehow feeding off the tangible energy and edge of Coldharbour Lane,this pub is the closest London will ever get to an unpretentious,indiscriminate,hedonistic public fiesta.Shuts at 4am.
High point:Getting in after the queues and past (fairly gentle)bouncers
Low point:Sunday headstorms and empty Monday nights if you go looking for the hair of the dog
Beer:Stella £2.50
G&T:Double £3
House wine:£10
Food:Organic Sunday lunch 'sourced from Borough Market ';southern Med on Sat &Sun afternoons
Music:Sexy soul/drum 'n 'bass/ hardcore/techno -it 's all a blur;DJ nights
Popular with:18-to 40-year- olds who think they 're immortal

The Dove
24-26 Broadway Market E8, 020 7275 7617

The gloomy exterior doesn 't promise much,but this Hackney pub oozes character.The kind of place everyone wishes they had as their local,the Dove has more than 100 bottled beers including tea beer,chocolate beer,and a Trappist ale weighing in at an impressive 11.3%.Look closely in its pleasantly gloomy back room and you 'll notice the tables made out of marble tombstones.
High point:The fruit beers
Low point:Getting there:no tube,the nearest station is London Fields
Beer:Becks £2.50 G&T:£2.20 House wine: £11.99
Food:Sausage and mash-style pub grub
Music:Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin
Popular with:Students,families -a real mixture
Best for: Sausage and garlic mash with a pint of raspberry beer -unbeatable

Duke Of Cambridge
30 St Peter's Street N1, 020 7359 3066

Between Essex Road and the Grand Union Canal,everything at this spacious Islington pub is organic:beer,food,wine, even the spirits.The first organic pub in the world to be certified by the Soil Association no less,it 's the kind of place you feel healthier walking out than you did walking in.And the food -'British rustic with a regional European influence '-is highly recommended.A blessed relief from the anonymous pub chains of Upper Street,it 's definitely worth a visit,even just for the chance to say:'A pint of Eco Warrior,please.'
High point:The organic food and drink
Low point:Big windows and high ceiling mean it 's not the cosiest bar in town
Beer:Freedom lager £2.90 G&T:£2.65
House wine:£11
Food:Modern British
Music:None
Popular with:An older Islington crowd,who bring their kids on a Sunday afternoon
Best for:Discovering if organic booze really doesn 't give you a hangover

The Eagle
159 Farringdon Rpad EC1, 020 7837 1353

One of the reasons Clerkenwell became trendy,this is one of the original so-called gastropubs,and still among the best.Established 10 years ago,and just down the road from The Observer,the Eagle 's Mediterranean menu changes twice a day,with one ever-present dish:Bife Ana,a marinated rumpsteak sandwich with chillies and red wine.The food is rightly acclaimed -it is all cooked in front of you behind the bar -but unlike some gastropubs it never detracts from the atmosphere of a cracking good pub.
High point:The seasonal menu
Low point:Not the biggest of venues,and gets busy very quickly
Beer:Eagle Bitter £2.40
G&T:£2.40
House wine: £10 Food:Mediterranean
Music:None
Popular with:Media types,suits, and tourists at weekends
Best for:Going for a 'swift one 'after work ...and then staying for dinner

The Engineer
Gloucester Avenue NW1, 020 7722 0950

One of Primrose Hill 's finest,the Engineer is all about the food.The modern British menu boasts all organic meat,and you can even get a good old-fashioned fry-up -organic style - first thing in the morning.The bar is compact but there are dining rooms on two floors;book at weekends.Now seven years old,it is also a popular celebrity hangout:Ewan McGregor, Paul McCartney and Liam Gallagher among them.
High point:The garden,when the weather allows
Low point:Small bar area
Beer:London Pride £2.30
G&T:£2.60
House wine:£11.50 Food: Modern British
Music:None
Popular with:A smart,well-heeled crowd; family friendly Best for:Sunday lunch followed by a stroll along the nearby Grand Union Canal

Exhibit
Balham Station Roadf, 020 8772 6556

Perhaps inspired by the grimmest of semi-suburban locations -a Sainbury 's car park,the wall of Balham station -the interior decorators of this spacious converted box (itself once a ware- house for the supermarket)have gone for a cheeky pastiche of Eastern European functionality:austere browns and clean creams,chrome curves,refectory seats and barcode patterns at the bar.A large aquarium and,in winter,a lovely coal fire, produce warmer tones,and the overall effect works.The beaten leather sofas are best of all,ideal for hugging your latest flame or one of the cocktails:mojitos,piscos or polska frappé,the latter made with Polish honey vodka and strawberry frappé. Staff are affable,the view from upstairs is surprisingly sky-full and there 's a beer garden.Drink till midnight Fri and Sat.
High point:Interior hues
Low point:Exterior views
Beer:Red Stripe £2.70
G&T £2.70
House wine:£11.60
Food:Full-blown restaurant upstairs:international and Med/oriental fusion
Music:Laid-back soul, cranked up a bit Friday,Saturday evenings
Popular with:Young pros and Clapham overflow
Best for:Lounging and lazing

Fitzroy Tavern
16 Charlotte Street W1, 020 7580 3714

OK,so this is the ultimate literary-nostalgia pub,the hangout of Dylan Thomas on his messy inspiration-seeking visits to London lowlife and George Orwell.Compared to just about anything else on the culinary/style gauntlet that is Charlotte Street,this is a pleasant,unpretentious place for a chat and a drink.Quiet at lunch,after 6pm it can get rammed.Downstairs in the writers 'and artists 'bar are cubbyholes for serious intercourse.On Wednesday nights,there 's a comedy show.
High point:The ale;the prices
Low point:The souvenirs
Pint:Sovereign bitter £1.64
G&T £2.40
House wine:£11.75
Food:Italian-style lunches, baguettes,jacket potatoes
Music:Customers bring their own CDs of pop, rock,reggae,blues
Popular with:Pre-dining slicksters,tourists,students from UCL
Best for:Getting so drunk you feel like a Welsh poet

The George Inn
77 Borough High Street SE1, 20 7407 2056

This sprawl of snugs and lounges is sure to evoke images of its past clients:highwaymen,merchants,murderers,smugglers. The current building,now National Trust-owned,dates from the end of the 17th century,but there had been a pub serving coaches bound for London Bridge since at least 1542.The beautiful parlours and balconies are intimate,private,almost seedy,in a saloon type of way,while the spacious stableyard is one of the city 's best refuges for summer quaffing.
High point:Unaffectedly ancient
Low point:Tourists and summer hordes
Beer:George Ale £2.50
G&T:£3.05
House wine:£8.95 Food:Quality traditional British grub
Music:None
Popular with:City folk,groups of medical students and locals
Best for:Sunny evenings in the courtyard

Gordon's Wine Bar
Villiers Street WC2, 020 7930 1408

Like a London Dungeon but with booze,this cavernous wine cellar dates back to 1364.The walls are lined with dust-covered champagne bottles and newspaper cuttings that have been there since the war.After negotiating the narrow,steep staircase,the first thing you notice is the pungent waft of a dozen cheeses.But don 't let that put you off.With a selection of 40-50 wines,you 'll be coming back for more.
High point:The unique cellar decor
Low point:Wine and port are the only drinks sold
Beer:Not served
G&T:Not served
House wine:£9.95 Food: Lots of cheese and hot pub grub
Music:None
Popular with:Professionals, after-work drinkers,better-informed tourists
Best for:Good company, fine wine -and lots of it