Part of our Best Pubs in London microsite. Is your local listed?
This tiny corner house seems to have issues sticking the business, as it's changed hands thrice in the past decade. We remember it from yore as the Northumberland Arms, a cute little bolthole that always seemed to have a seat free despite its diminutive size. It then became part of the micro-chain of Draft House pubs, which sadly dissolved around the Covid pandemic, and was subsumed by the BrewDog empire.
In 2025, the Charlotte reopened as an almost-independent. The 'almost' on account that it is the sister pub of Borough's Blue Maid (are the owners deliberately going after old places with female names? Watch out Betsey Trotwood and Princess Louise).
Like its sibling, the Charlotte has a large and ever-changing range of ales — mostly keg, but with a trio of casks — all splayed out on an easily-missed menu board to the right of the bar. It's the best selection anywhere in Fitzrovia, we reckon, which'll ensure that the limited space is quickly filled each evening. The place is too small to have its own kitchen, but you're very welcome to bring food in from one of the surrounding cafes (so long as you buy a drink to go with it).
