The Red Lion, Parliament Street

You're on Parliament Street, basically in the shadow of Big Ben, and you could easily walk past this place thinking it's just another tourist trap. But step inside The Red Lion and you'll find something refreshingly unspun—wood-panelled walls, proper ales on tap, and a crowd that's actually there to drink rather than tick a box. It's the kind of pub where MPs bump shoulders with office workers and the occasional tourist who's stumbled onto something real. The beer selection is what gets people talking; this isn't a venue apologising for being traditional. It's confident in what it is.