BV London Pub of the Year 2025-2026 - the results

It takes a lot of hard work and strenuous drinking to run this little Pub of the Year contest. 

Yes, there's travelling and making notes and taking the occasional photo'n'shit, but it mostly involves drinking beer, which is what I love about it. 

(Except when the beer isn't up to much, obviously, but that hardly ever happens because we're talking literally the best pubs in the area and even That London, for all its myriad faults and horrors, can still boast a fair few decent pubs if you know where to look. And if you don't, read on because I'll tell you!)

In part one we reassessed last year's finalists, and in the second part five new contenders and retreads joined the party, with the ultimate aim of picking out the best pub in Greater London.

Once again it's now time to pick out an overall winner, and, like so many of life's little experiential trinkets, it comes around faster and faster with every passing year, so let's get on with it, before it's next year or 2038 or the 14th segment of Advanced AI Supertime...

 

For the second year in a row, 5th place goes to the Golden Ark in Selsdon, bringing somewhat rare beers and possibly even rarer snack products to an obscure corner of Croydon.

In 4th we find the Traf(algar) in Merton - the community pub that recovered from long-term closure to take on the threat of demolition and win! They're doing fantastic work and now will surely be a fixture of this competition for years to come.

Your five-time winner!

Most of the pubs making the final this year lie South of the river. This is the only one in the top five that isn't, but it's still relatively close to it! Our 3rd place pub is perennial favourite the Cask Pub & Kitchen in Pimlico, which remains an absolute showcase for craft beer in all its wonderful forms.

And so, we come to our Runner-Up. It's a brand new entry this year, and a sister pub to the Traf, but the reason it figures so highly is because the very best cask pints I enjoyed in the past 12 months were here - it's the Hand & Marigold in Bermondsey.

But there can only be one Winner - well, one winner every year, and the Hope must be getting used to it, having won the award five times in the past nine years! I would say, you've put Carshalton firmly on the map, now let another pub have a chance, but this place has just been so consistently excellent for so long.

The survey period for next year's contest is already underway (technically it has been since July 1) and these five pubs will be joined by five new ones. Maybe some day there will be a new champion, but the Hope is such an awesome place to drink, it's a lot to ask!

Congratulations to the Hope and all the Finalists - keep up the great work, and I'll be in shortly for a pint!