Sherlock Holmes

You're stood on Northumberland Street, that narrow lane tucked between the National Gallery and the Thames, and you duck into a pub that actually feels like it belongs in London rather than a theme park version of it. The Sherlock Holmes has the dark wood, the old-school bar setup, and genuine period character—it's been trading since the 1950s and looks every bit the part. The ground floor is all bustling conversation and clink of pints, whilst upstairs the dining room is where you can actually sit down with proper food: fish and chips, pies, that sort of thing. It's not trying to be clever or Instagrammable, which is precisely why it works this well when everywhere else round here is rammed with coach parties.