Part of our Best Pubs in London microsite. Is your local listed?
"How's things?" the barman asks a punter. "Hopefully about to get better," they reply, eagerly eyeing up the beer selection, "They usually do in here."
The Little Green Dragon is one of those places beer lovers will definitely have heard of but not necessarily been to. In 2024, CAMRA named it the best pub in all of Greater London — a remarkable accolade given there are some 3,500 to choose from. It's hardly central though; the LGD's lofty location — at the tippity top of Green Lanes, and over 10-minutes' walk from the lesser-known Winchmore Hill station — might be off-putting to some.
We're here to tell you top set out on a quest to this mythical pub; even if it takes you half a day to get here, the treasures that await are manifold.
There are admittedly few micropubs we don't like, but this place pulls out all the stops, with an ever-fluctuating board of well-priced beers and ciders (on our visit, Burning Sky's Aurora was doing a roaring trade), bar games (including shove ha'penny and table skittles), snacks (pickled eggs and properly piquant Mr Singh's crisps — you'll be breathing fire after a packet of these) and live music sessions from local musicians.
It only opened in 2017, yet you get the impression this pub very quickly established itself at the heart of the community. Aside from all the dragony gew-gaws, the walls are peppered with paintings and photos of the area, and bus blinds of local routes. Early on a Tuesday evening, a steady trickle of punters — old and young, men and women — sidle up to the bar, have a quick catch up with the barman, then sink into a sofa, easing into the evening over a pint of Golden Boar. We're horribly jealous of anyone who lives within walking distance.
Then again, maybe it's for the best that it takes us 90 minutes on public transport to get to the Little Green Dragon. If it was our local, we'd never get anything done again.
