London's best pubs named by Good Food Guide as four make UK top 20
The Good Food Guide has announced the top 100 pubs in the UK in 2026 - with four London establishments cracking the top 20.
The guide is published each autumn and is dominated by upmarket gastropubs with 14 London pubs in its top 100, up from 12 in last year's rankings..
The Cow in Notting Hill is the top London entrant at number two on the list, having not featured at all last year.
The pub, which was opened by Tom Conran in 1995, is renowned for its Guinness and oysters.
The Queens Arms in Eccles, Greater Manchester, topped the rankings and was also a new entrant this year.
Built in 1828, the Grade II-listed pub is billed as the world's oldest passenger railway pub and is under Hong Kong ownership, and has an authentic Japanese izakaya-style menu.
Other establishments from the capital to crack the top 20 include The Kerfield in Camberwell at 12, The Pelican in Notting Hill at 15, and The Shaston Arms in Soho at 18.
The Parakeet in Kentish Town, The Waterman’s Arms in Barnes, and The Eagle in Clerkenwell also feature highly on the list.
The list was compiled in partnership with Timothy Taylor’s Landlord to celebrate pubs that bring communities together through a combination of "great food, atmosphere and a well-poured pint".
Adam Hyman, owner of the Good Food Guide, said: "While our industry continues to adapt to the new norm of what running a hospitality business looks like in Britain, our Best Pubs list once again shows that some of the best food and hospitality can be found in pubs."
All the London pubs in The Good Food Guide’s 100 Best Pubs in 2026
2. The Cow, Notting Hill
12. The Kerfield Arms, Camberwell
15. The Pelican, Notting Hill
18. The Shaston Arms, Soho
29. The Parakeet, Kentish Town
30. The Waterman’s Arms, Barnes
37. The Eagle, Clerkenwell
40. The Latimer, Notting Hill
46. The Hawthorn, Shepherd’s Bush
51. Camberwell Arms, Camberwell
60. The Canton Arms, Stockwell
61. The Devonshire, Soho
77. The Andover Arms, Hammersmith
79. The Tamil Crown, Islington
1. Queens Arms, Eccles, Greater Manchester
2. The Cow, Notting Hill
3. The Highlands Laddie, Leeds
4. Greyhound Inn, Pettistree, Suffolk
5. Red Lion, Brinkley, Cambridgeshire
6. The Compasses Inn, Tisbury, Wiltshire
7. The Beckford Arms, Fonthill Gifford, Wiltshire
8. Inn at the Sticks, Llansteffan, Carmarthenshire
9. The Radnor Arms, Folkestone, Kent
10. The Abbey Inn, Byland, North Yorkshire