Horse & Groom

You walk into the Horse & Groom and immediately feel like you've stepped into a proper London pub that actually exists for drinkers, not for Instagram. It's all dark wood, low ceilings, and the kind of worn-in comfort that comes from decades of people just getting on with their pints. Located on Great Portland Street near Fitzrovia, it's the sort of place where you might bump into architects from the nearby design studios, office workers escaping their desks, and locals who've been coming here since the nineties. Samuel Smith's pubs are known for doing things the old-fashioned way—real ale, affordable prices, no nonsense—and this one is no exception. It's exactly what you want when you can't be bothered with craft beer theatre and just fancy a proper drink in a proper pub.