George IV

You'll find yourself on Liverpool Road in Islington, where this isn't some Instagram-ready gastropub trying too hard. George IV is the kind of place where regulars actually exist, where the bartender knows what you drank last week, and where the beer list reads like someone genuinely gives a toss. The food is straightforward but proper—think elevated pub classics rather than molecular gastronomy nonsense. The crowd's a real mix: after-work drinkers from the offices nearby, proper locals propping up the bar, and people who've travelled across London because they've heard good things. It's got character without being trying.