Part of our Best Pubs in London microsite. Is your local listed?
So, views don't really get better than this. We're on the north bank of the Thames, looking across to Shakespeare's Globe, Tate Modern and all the rest of it. All yours for the price of a pint at the Samuel Pepys.
This Shepherd Neame pub languished in relative obscurity in an old tea warehouse down a dead-end alleyway until 2023. Then, a new stretch of the Thames path opened up, bringing the place a passing trade it never enjoyed before.
Still, it remains pretty quiet of a weekday lunchtime. Where the rest of the City is all frantic sandwich-hunting bustle, this place has tables to spare and, miraculously, plenty of free stool on its world-beating balcony.
Inside is a modern, U-shaped drinking space with plenty of little nooks and an unexpected shuffleboard table. As a Shepherd Neame pub, the beer choice is a little predictable, though always hits the spot. The food menu is laudably extensive with all the pub classics and more.
Find a time in your diary for this place... Pepys would approve.
