Coach & Horses

You're walking down Wellington Street in Covent Garden, dodging tourists, when you spot the Coach & Horses' dark wood frontage—unchanged since about 1987, which is precisely the point. Step inside and you'll find yourself in a proper London pub: low ceilings, sticky carpets that somehow work, and a crowd that's equally likely to include an actor between matinees and a builder from Holborn. The drinks are honest, the food is decent British fare without anyone getting precious about it, and the atmosphere has that rare quality of feeling lived-in rather than designed. This is the kind of place where regulars have their spots at the bar and nobody minds if you nurse a pint for two hours.