The Michelin Pub Guide is different from the main Michelin Guide to hotels and restaurants in Britain, which hands out (or takes back) the much-coveted Michelin stars. The pub guide instead reviews over 500 of the best dining pubs and inns in the UK and Ireland. However, 66 of those pubs are in London, listed by district from Brent to Westminster. They include good eating options in many of the central areas most popular with visitors, so if you're planning to visit London and want to combine some pub atmosphere with good dining, consider some of the following, all highly-rated by the Michelin pub inspectors.
Camden
168 Highgate Road, Dartmouth Park
The Bull and Last is a Grade II Listed Building near Hampstead Heath and Parliament Hill, which has both bar dining and a separate restaurant upstairs, although both menus are the same. The pub buys and butchers all its own animals, so expect the meat to be good. The menu changes constantly but typical dishes include octopus carpaccio, a homemade charcuterie board, onglet steak, mushroom risotto, and Yorkshire rhubarb clafoutis.
30 Well Walk, Hampstead
Convenient for both Hampstead Heath and Hampstead High Street, The Wells is a Georgian building and the cooking here has won plaudits from the Good Food Guide and the Egon Ronay Guide as well as the Michelin men. You can enjoy the pub downstairs or head for one of the three dining rooms upstairs, where menu options might include a superior sausage and mash, salt beef with latkes, or a Blackface Barnsley lamb chop.
Islington
24 York Way, King's Cross
If you're looking for somewhere good to eat near King's Cross Station and the Eurostar Terminal at St Pancras, head round the corner up York Way for two minutes to The Fellow. And a jolly good Fellow it is, too, with a cocktail bar upstairs and good dining on the ground floor. The sophisticated menu often includes a confit duck leg with puy lentils and cabbage, and steak tartare with duck egg and aioli.
Kensington and Chelsea
23 Smith Street, Chelsea
A ten-minute walk from Sloane Square, the Phoenix has a lively front bar and a separate dining room at the rear. One plus point is the wine list, with over 30 offered by the glass, while mains on the menu might include slow-roasted pork belly with a wholegrain mustard mash.
These are just four of the 66 pubs in London singled out for their exceptional food. If planning a visit, it's well worth investing in the 2011 Michelin Eating Out in Pubs Guide. It costs £14.99 in the UK and is available in book shops and online.
Mike Gerrard - Mike is an award-winning travel writer who has worked for National Geographic, the London Times, and many other clients. ...
