BV London Pub of the Year 2025-26 - part one

Better late than never?

Some might argue it's actually better not to bother but, hey, I've been doing a London Pub of the Year for 14 years now, and for ten of those years I haven't even been living in London. It'll take a lot to stop me, even though I admit my research is nowhere near as comprehensive as it was when I was younger and more London. (Ooh, look at me using a Proper Noun as an adjective!)

Let's crack on then. Last year's top five will get their annual reassessment today, and in a few days time we'll have five new contenders, then, eventually, some sort of result.

See here for competition rules, past winners and general explanatory gubbins...

Right...

 

Last year's Winner:  Hope, Carshalton

The Hope stands alone as a four-time winner of this competition. It's a South London institution, and by far the best pub in the area, even though there is an argument that this might not necessarily be a universal good. It simply gets everything right. Beer. Food. Activities and events. General ambience. Honestly, it's very hard to fault by any metric. But is it a shoe-in for yet another win?

Beers in the marquee bar

Range of draught beers: You know what you're going to get at the Hope, and you know it's going to be pretty good. Seven cask ales, including the two 3.8 house beers (Windsor & Eton Knight of the Garter and Downton New Forest - unchanged for many years!) and about 12 keg taps, including a house lager. The beers change all the time (sometimes lasting less than a day) and you can expect a range of styles, pretty much all from independent/crafty breweries. 

The keg selection is particularly exciting for a suburban community pub - there's normally two different sour/fruit options, something 'strong and hoppy', and probably something even stronger fitting the 'dark and desserty' criteria. The cask selection is maybe a bit safer, but it's all good stuff, and when there's a beer festival on and the marquee bar out the back is open, the choice increases exponentially. There is a case for them increasing the number, possibly by having the marquee bar open at other times, but I get why they might be reluctant to deviate from a formula that has served the place so well for some years now. Score 2 points.

Quality of real ale: The cask at the Hope is consistently excellent. They shift a lot of it, and people come from miles around to drink the stuff. If you want to know how a brewer intended their ale to taste, there's probably no better place to try it than here. So close to perfection, it's very much still worth the full 3 points. 

Bonus points: The best time to visit the Hope is definitely during one of their 'most-monthly' beer festivals, which are often actually better than a 'real' festival taking place in some village hall with inadequate seating and beer coolage facilities. Another bonus point comes from their tried and tested food strategy - all day 'pot meals' that taste good and complement beer nicely during an extended stay at the pub, plus various specials served at 'full kitchen' times. The multi-room layout lends itself really well to hosting, for example, folk music nights, without being intrusive, and there are guitars, board games, interesting wall displays and even a little stash of nasal snuff! Trust me, there are so many things you could hand out bonus points for here, they easily achieve the maximum of 3. 

As always, it's a slightly intimidating gauntlet lain down for the other pubs in the game - can anybody compete?!?

 

Last year's Runner-Up: Cask, Pimlico 

The Cask Pub & Kitchen is a very different type of place to the Hope. Being walkable from Victoria station, it almost comes under the 'Central London' catchment, but it doesn't particularly feel like that sort of pub either. Having been converted to a dedicated craft beer destination over 15 years ago, subsequent refurbishments have maintained a thoroughly modern, and very beer-focused feel. This is the place that begat the Craft Beer Co. chain, and remains the original and best.

Range of draught beers: It probably doesn't get any better than this anywhere, at least not in London. 10 cask and 20 keg lines offer up an extraordinary selection that changes frequently and often includes tap takeovers from the very best British (and occasionally not British) craft breweries. Whether you're after a low-alcohol pale ale, some batshit-crazy adjunct Saison you're never going to get to drink again, or an everyday porter or best bitter, this is the place to drink. Ticker-friendly? You bet your pint it is! No macro stuff, obviously. 3 points.

Quality of real ale: 'Craft' doesn't always mean good cask, but you have nothing to worry about on that score here. Cool, refreshing, delicious perfectly conditioned pints come as standard. There are only a tiny handful of pubs in London where I'd score the cask above 0, and standards have slipped in some of the other places in the 'Craft Beer Co.' chain, but I'm giving them 2.5 points here. It's called 'Cask' and the name still holds up.

Bonus points: In the unlikely event that a beer to your taste isn't on the bar, there'll be something in the fridge to meet your exacting requirements - the bottle and can selection here is pretty much unrivalled, including some very rare stuff. They can also pick up a point for their 'top shelf' spirit selection which is, again, one of the best you'll find anywhere, though I can't see why you wouldn't be drinking beer in here. And their range of quirky bar snacks is also top drawer. But, there is a cost of living crisis and everything on sale here comes at a price - a Central London price. I'm not saying it's not worth it, but sometimes the expression 'eye watering' isn't inappropriate. As last year, I'm going to deduct a half point for this reason. 2.5.

 

Last year's #3: Southampton Arms, Gospel Oak 

A pub that has been in the contest since the first instalment and finished third three times, the Southampton Arms feels like a bit of a fixture here. And indeed the fixtures of this North London boozer feel even older. All 'wood and old', albeit dressed in slightly hipsterish plus-fours. 'Ale, Cider, Meat' proclaims the sign. And that's pretty much the deal you're signing up for here. 

View from the Street (view)

Range of draught beers: There might have been a slight shift away from cask towards keg in recent years - on my last visit I think there were seven cask beers on, and maybe ten keg, but that's not altogether surprising. There's also been a move away from local London brewers to encompass the entire country, though keeping things strictly micro. I had a Belgian pale from DEYA on cask on a recent visit, which wasn't my sort of thing at all, but shows that they're not afraid to look some way beyond the mainstream. They arguably lean a bit more into dark beers and 'trad bitters' than some of the other pubs I typically frequent - no bad thing. Overall it's a solid 2 for the range.

Quality of real ale: I have to be fair and consistent in my marking, and while it's perfectly drinkable, the cask quality here hasn't been up to the standard set by certain other pubs in the competition, which is a shame. Sometimes the beer here can be just a bit lukewarm and flabby - they can get away with that when it's a brown ale in a jug glass, but when I'm drinking a hoppy APA I want a bit more condition. A score of 1 isn't terrible (many pubs in the capital would be -1 or worse) but it might have me turning towards the keg. Or the cider.

Bonus points: Ah, yes, cider!  That's something the Southampton Arms really does do incredibly well. There might be a choice of half a dozen draught products, possibly even more, covering dry, medium, sweet and the modern stuff with added elderflower or chrysanthemum or whatever they put in it. Easily worth a bonus point. They also do a very fine line in pork pies, which bags them another. The interior decor with its piano, turntable and woody goodness is also worth a bonus point. I'm not going to deduct anything for the ropey outhouse-style 'facilities' because that's all part of the charm, albeit in a damp, uriney sort of way. There are a lot of reasons to visit, and it picks up the full 3 bonus points this year.

 

Last year's #4: Lyric, Soho

We're now in proper Central Zone One territory, which is typically not an area known for great beer. Plenty of pubs, but almost all of them fairly mediocre ones, serving bland macro slop at scrotally inflated prices. But occasionally there are exceptions, and the Lyrics is one of them.

Waxing Lyrical...

Range of draught beers: This the first pub we're encountering that isn't all craft/micro. Yes, the Lyric does stock some 'standard' draught products, made by multinational corporations for 'normal people'. I get the business decision, and most of the lines are occupied by good stuff, but this is somewhere where you'll see an ordinary person or tourist supping a Guinness or Peroni - just so you're warned! Otherwise, there's usually half a dozen casks on, which might include a 'mainstream' favourite like Timothy Taylor Landlord, but plenty of less conventional stuff too. Tiny Rebel, Oakham, Vocation - it's all good. There's an impressive number of keg taps and while you might not always find a super-strong Impy stout or TIPA, there's a good chance of a decent hoppy pale or a fruited sour. They've also gone big on offering low alcohol stuff on draught, often with a choice of two or three different ones. There are other pubs with better ranges (albeit not in the immediate vicinity) but it scores a solid 1.5.

Quality of real ale: The big issue with 'That London' is that cask beer quality is often really not very good. The 'Traditional West End Boozer' doesn't sell a huge amount of cask these days, but people still think that they do, and that might be part of the problem. However, the Lyric is very much above average in this department, even if passing Theatre-goers aren't particularly bothered. It's worth 1.5 points.

Bonus points: They use the Untappd live beer board, which is an excellent example of modern technology actually being useful rather than shitty. You can have a pretty good idea of what beers will be on before you head in their general direction, and that's always worth a point. Another point heads their way because they participate in the CAMRA discount scheme, and we need all the help we can get, especially in Central London. And it's a proper Victorian London pub, and unapologetically feels like it, and that's worth a point in itself. Pricey? Yes, but not painfully so for the area, and you do get that discount, so we're looking at the full 3 bonus points.

 

Last year's #5: Golden Ark, Selsdon

We haven't had that many modern micropubs feature in the competition over the years, but that'll probably start to change as the sector expands, big pubs struggle, and the line between the two continues to blur. Selsdon is a bit of a backwater, so you'll probably need to make a dedicated trip to get to the Golden Ark but, trust me, it's plenty worth it!

Some guy providing 'entertainment'...

Range of draught beers: Three or four casks usually, plus six kegs, all of which are ever-changing, apart from the house lager from Harbour (which is surprisingly decent). For a micropub this is a reasonable selection and there's always a couple of hazy IPA type beers on keg, which is unusual for this kind of establishment. The cask choice usually includes a dark mild, stout or porter and some of the breweries featured are very small suppliers that don't seem to show up anywhere else. Yes, it's a smaller range than many of the pubs featured, but it's a good mix. 1.5 points.

Quality of real ale: No complaints from me. The cask here is always well above average, whatever beer you choose. There have been a couple of instances during their 'Arktoberfest' beer festival when some of the beer on stillage has been a bit worse for wear, so a fair score would probably be another 1.5 points. 

Bonus points: A major reason to visit the Golden Ark is their snack selection - obscure crisps from the continent, some weird nut mix with raisins and pretzels mixed in, smoked charcuterie... it's probably the most impressive range of bites you'll find in any pub anywhere. More of a tuck shop, really. They also get a bonus point for their support for local community projects, musicians, artists and other stuff - there's always something going on here. And I'm going to give them a point for the bottled and canned selection in the fridges - again, it's an area where they've made an extra effort and gone beyond what a regular micropub would normally do. 3 points. 

 

So that's your first five pubs. Five new contenders will be reviewed in just a few short days time. Keep it thirsty!

Where to find 'em...

 

The Hope
48 West Street,
Carshalton
SM5 2PR (map)
website / CAMRA guide
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Cask Pub & Kitchen
6 Charlwood Street
Pimlico
SW1V 2EE (map)
website / CAMRA guide
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Southampton Arms
139 Highgate Road
Gospel Oak
NW5 1LE (map)
website / CAMRA guide
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Lyric 

37 Great Windmill Street,

Soho 

W1D 7LT (map)
website / CAMRA guide
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Golden Ark
186 Addington Road,
Selsdon
CR2 8LB (map)
website / CAMRA guide
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