Bull & Royal

You're walking down Church Street on a Friday night and the Bull & Royal's got that welcoming glow spilling onto the pavement—the kind of place that feels like it's been there forever. Inside, it's got real pub bones: wooden beams, proper bar, the sort of space where locals actually know the staff and regulars have their spots. The food's honest and unpretentious—think decent pies, proper fish and chips, Sunday roasts that don't mess about—and they take their ale seriously without being snobby about it. It's the sort of place you can bring mates for a pint and a laugh, or settle in solo with a newspaper and nobody bats an eyelid.