Old Red Lion Pub & Playhouse

You'll find yourself on St John Street in Islington, pushing through the doors of what looks like any other local boozer, except there's a whole 60-seat theatre hidden upstairs. The ground floor is exactly what you want from a proper pub: dark wood, sticky carpets in the best way, and the kind of crowd that's been coming here for years. Order a pint, settle in with the regulars, then head up if there's a show on—anything from new writing to comedy to experimental theatre. It's the sort of place where you genuinely feel like you've stumbled into something real, not a tourist trap pretending to be one.