Rounding up the best new pub openings from the past year or so.
Pubs are struggling. No question. We read about old favourites closing all the time. It’s not quite a story heading in only one direction, however. New pubs open, too, and some of them are very good indeed.
Below, we’ve rounded up some of the better openings from the past year or so, including a handful of reopenings. We’ll aim to renew this list every six months or so.
The Black Cap, Camden Town
The Black Cap, 171 Camden High St, NW1 7JY
Not so much a new pub as a welcome return for one of north London’s most celebrated LGBTQ+ pubs. The Black Cap closed down in 2015 amid much acrimony. Fortunately, a vociferous community campaign led to the Black Cap’s reopening in March 2026. Once again, the joint sparkles with drag bingo and karaoke sessions — and if you have a particularly good night here, you can even book a room.
The Black Eel, Dalston
The Black Eel, 41 Kingsland High St, E8 2JP
You *think* you’re going to booze in an old pie-and-mash shop… and you are. But the Black Eel has hidden depths. Progress through to the back rooms and you’ll find an assortment of handsome drinking spaces, plus a games room and a sizeable rear garden. One of the best new openings of recent times.
The Golden Tooth, Stoke Newington
Golden Tooth, 79 Green Lanes, N16 9BU
Arguably a restaurant with a pub tacked on the front, the Golden Tooth is a follow-on project for chef Matthew Scott, who wowed the crowds with London Fields restaurant Papi. The GT’s drinking area is, however, also very welcoming, with around a dozen tables, a hearty range of kegs up on the chalkboard (no cask), and Dexy’s Midnight Runners followed by ELO on the speakers. Great vibe.
Hand and Marigold, Bermondsey
Hand and Marigold, 244 Bermondsey Street, SE1 3UH
What a charmer this place is. Independently owned (well, in a microchain with the much-loved Trafalgar in Merton), the H&M stocks an ever changing range of cask from small breweries. The interior looks like a survivor from the early 20th century, but it’s mostly (good) pastiche.
The Horsemen, Broadgate
The Horsemen, 1 Broadgate, EC2M 2QS
Ostensibly an ‘American-Irish’ pub, but any cultural niceties are lost in the mega-scrum for the bar. As Broadgate’s only proper pub (the White Horse is now closed), this place can get decidedly busy of a weekday evening. Come a little earlier, though, and you can enjoy a pleasantly wooden bar with prominent Guinness taps reminding all and sundry that this is supposed to be an Irish pub.
Mary Wollstonecraft
Mary Wollstonecraft, 181 Stoke Newington Church Street, N16 0UL
A slim, attractive bar, not unlike the nearby Auld Shillelagh in layout. The offering is very different, however, with a veritable xylophone of fun keg choices, and an octet of cask, mostly from small breweries. There’s a bit more space in the garden out back, which was in use for a wedding on our visit… hence no photos. The pub is, of course, named after the early feminist writer and mother of Mary Shelley, who started a boarding school down the road in Newington Green, which also boasts an unusual sculpture/statue of the writer.
Ninety One, Brick Lane
Ninety One, 91 Brick Lane, E1 6QL
Having opened earlier this year inside the former Brewmaster’s House on Brick Lane, Ninety One already boasted an enviable courtyard for summer sips. Now it’s teamed up with the Jamaican/Turkish mash-up maestros of Jurkish, to serve dishes like plantain hummus and curry goat manti. They even do a twist on the Sunday roast. The main area manages to feel simultaneously like a bar and a classic pub, with cosy corners circling the more open-plan floor in front of the bar. Fun place.
The Pocket, Upper Street
The Pocket, 25 Canonbury Lane, N1 2AS
Widely feted since its opening in March 2025, The Pocket has quickly established itself as one of London’s best pubs. This is hardly surprising, seeing as it’s from the same team behind the Southampton Arms in Gospel Oak, long held as the gold standard in craft ale pubbery. The Pocket is an utter joy for beer (or cider) fans, with two dozen options on keg and cask. And it’s bigger than it pocket-sized, too, with plenty of space at the back and an upstairs room.
The Stranded, Strand
The Stranded, 430 Strand, WC2R 0JR
Strand has always been a bit lacking in pubs, bar the wonderful Coal Hole and the George. The Stranded has more of a bar feel about it, but it does serve proper fancy beer, and comes from the same people as the Euston Tap and the Jackalope, so gets the nod in our book. Expect a strong range of continental lagers and ales, leading on variations of Budvar.
The Trafalgar, Chelsea
The Trafalgar, 224-226 King’s Rd, SW3 5UA
King’s Road really needed a good pub. The Cadogan Arms looks gorgeous, but also feels a bit cliquey and exclusive. The Trafalgar, converted from an old NatWest banking hall, definitely has the touch of ‘posh’ about it, but the place is very open and friendly. A side room handles the gastro-seekers, but the main bar is a glorious drinking space, easily the best in the area. Also: Harvey’s on cask… you don’t see that very often in this here London.
Walham Green, Fulham
Walham Green, 472 Fulham Road, SW6 1BY.
A poke in the eye to anyone who’s snobbish about Wetherspoons, Walham Green is one of those must-visit pubs with heritage aplenty. Built into the former Tube ticket office, the place is a time capsule of old rail paraphernalia. All this with Wetherspoon prices (Ruddles £1.99? Yes please), and we have a winner. The chain has opened numerous other bars recently, notably at Waterloo, London Bridge and Paddington, but this is the only one to write home about.
The Wild Swan, Holborn
The Wild Swan, 99 Fetter Lane, EC4A 1BT
Hard to credit it when you step in the door, but this is a completely new build. The pub is simultaneously modern and fresh, yet also somehow olde-worlde. Not sure how it pulls the trick off, to be honest. The pub is tied to Yorkshire brewer Thornbridge, and thereby has an exotic (to us Londoners) range of cask ales. If the downstairs is busy, try the well appointed room upstairs.
Coming soon…
Benjamin Franklin, a new Wetherspoon’s at 11 Strand (24 November 2026). The website makes it sound like the pub will be in Franklin’s old house on Craven Street, but it’s actually in a modern-ish office building.
The Hero’s Return, Pink Floyd-themed pub at Battersea Power Station (late summer 2026)
Kong, a Chinese-style pub in Norton Folgate, on the site of the Water Poet (late 2026)
Piccadilly Hall, a giant Wetherspoon’s on Shaftesbury Avenue (13 October 2026)
Talli Queen, Indian pub in Shepherd’s Bush (late summer 2026)
