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We look at some of the best pub gardens in London, where the alfresco space is more than matched by a great food menu.
North London
The Clarence Tavern
Stoke Newington - 102 Stoke Newington Church St, London N16 0LA
From the team behind the highly rated Anchor and Hope, this Stokey pub has a lovely courtyard garden, protected from the elements and on a sunny day it's dappled with sunshine. Menus change regularly, the pie is always a good option and there are plenty of vegetarian dishes on offer here too. On top of that, there's a particularly good natural wine list.
The Albion
Islington - 10 Thornhill Rd, Islington, London N1 1HW
Come at the right time of year and you’ll find the back garden here covered in wisteria and it’s also weatherproofed in cooler months. The front looks crazily pretty too. Food-wise you can stick to pub standards like a burger of fish & chips or try dishes like butterflied sea bass, beurre noisette, brown shrimp, monk’s beard & capers.
The Bank of Friendship
Highbury - 226 Blackstock Rd, Highbury, London N5 1EA
Popular with both Arsenal fans and locals alike, this Highbury local doesn’t cook its own food but does have a handy arrangement with Yard Sale Pizza down the road, who deliver right to your table. The garden is pretty big and it has plenty of covered space along with heated booths.
The Beehive
Tottenham - Stoneleigh Rd, Tottenham, London N17 9BQ
Bruce Stove Kitchen are currently in residency at The Beehive, and they’re serving up great jerk chicken, falafel burgers and more. The large garden is covered during the winter and heated too, with the covers taken down for the summer. There's a BBQ bar in the garden and it's a very handy spot for pre or post-match drinks.
The Faltering Fullback
Finsbury Park - 19 Perth Rd, London N4 3HB
From the outside you'd be forgiven for wondering where exactly the pub ends and garden begins (it looks as though it's being eaten by ivy). But step inside this popular Irish pub and you'll also discover the hanging gardens of Finsbury Park in an inner courtyard. It's a great pub for rugby matches in particular and the Thai menu goes perfectly with one of London's best pints of Guinness.
The Colonel Fawcett, Camden
Camden - 1 Randolph Street, London NW1 0SS
The back garden here is fully covered (and heated if necessary) while the front sun trap terrace is also partially sheltered. The food here is now all about pizza as they've brought in pass time to serve up a very British menu. The bar food menu in particular is worth attacking with options including monkfish scampi with a tarragon emulsion and pumpkin and sage chipolatas with maple.
Drapers Arms
Islington - 44 Barnsbury St, Islington, London N1 1ER
“A determination to serve rewarding food and drink” is how this well-regarded Islington gastropub sets out its stall. They have a particularly lovely back garden with tables much sought after on sunny days. The menu changes regularly but you can always be sure of a superb pie and a good wine list, as the pub is on the prestigious Star Wine List.
The Flask
Highgate - 77 Highgate W Hill, Highgate, London N6 6BU
This Fuller's pub serves great gastropub food - so there might be a Cobble Lane charcuterie board or steak from Southampton's Owton's butchers. The huge courtyard garden is one of Highgate’s loveliest spots for a weekend lunch.
Lion & Unicorn
Kentish Town - 42-44 Gaisford St, Kentish Town, London NW5 2ED
This Young’s pub in Kentish Town has a decent-sized terrace at the front and an astroturfed and covered back garden at the back. Food-wise there are snacks like cod popcorn or you can look at the specials list with dishes like ’s usually a great pie on the menu, along with dishes like rabbit rigatoni with wild garlic, broad bean, spinach and parmesan. The Sunday roasts are deservedly popular.
The Londesborough
Stoke Newington - 36 Barbauld Rd, Stoke Newington, London N16 0SS
Owned and managed by the Wright Brothers who are also behind the Peasant pub in Clerkenwell, this idiosyncratic Stokey pub serves up amazing Sunday roasts, proper pork pies and they even make their own lavender custard to go with dessert. The very pretty back garden is also a popular location for small London weddings.
Red Lion & Sun
Highgate - 25 North Rd, Highgate, London N6 4BE
One of our personal favourite spots in the whole of London, this award-winning Highgate pub has two great spaces for alfresco dining. The front garden is covered by a marquee while the sheltered back garden is uncovered. There’s usually great Cornish seafood on the menu and the wine list here is one of the best in London.
Smokehouse, Islington
Islington - 63-69 Canonbury Rd, Islington, London N1 2DG
As the name suggests, the menu here focuses on smoked and grilled food. If you fancy a steak, they butcher on site every day - but there are also plenty of plant-forward dishes too. The garden may be sandwiched between two roads but it’s fringed by jasmine hedges and enjoys a cover during the colder months.
The Canonbury Tavern
Islington - 21 Canonbury Pl, London N1 2NS
Tucked away in leafy Canonbury this Islington pub has one of the largest gardens in the area and is as popular as you'd expect both on match days and when the sun is out. As a Youngs pub you know what you're getting food-wise - a seasonally changing menu with plenty of British produce on it whether that's crab from Dorset, chicken from Shropshire or venison from Oxfordshire.
South London
The Avalon
Clapham - 16 Balham Hill, Clapham South, London SW12 9EB
There’s plenty of alfresco choice at this Balham Hill pub - from the covered and heated front terrace and courtyard to the extensive summer garden with its own outdoor bar. The seasonally changing menu has a special pizza section and it’s also great for vegetarians and vegans.
The Brookmill
Deptford - 65 Cranbrook Rd, Saint John's, London SE8 4EJ
Strewn with hanging baskets, the heated beer garden at The Brookmill is a great place to enjoy dishes like vegan superfood salad or a great shortcrust pie. They pride themselves on using local suppliers like Jones The Butcher on Herne Hill and their breads are by Chas & Momo in nearby Penge.
The Duke of Edinburgh
Brixton - 204 Ferndale Rd, Ferndale, London SW9 8AG
South London’s biggest beer garden could easily coast by on the size of its alfresco offering alone, but the food here is as full-on as the space itself. Bando Belly are behind the food here, which means you can find everything from bulgogi cheesesteak sarnies to fried Oreos on the menu here. Sunday lunches come with miso sesame roasties.
Four Thieves
Battersea - 51 Lavender Gardens, London SW11 1DJ
Alongside the delights of the Four Thieves’ Games Arcade, there's also fun to be had in their Gin Yard. They serve up 350 variations on the G&T to entice you in, and the food menu is split between pizzas to burgers and sharing platters. There's also a tap room to check out.
The Perry Hill
Catford - 78-80 Perry Hill, London SE6 4EY
This Catford pub is run by Jamie Younger who also owns The Begging Bowl. There's a simply massive pub garden here with a mix of covered and uncovered tables to choose from. Food-wise the best dishes are from the smoker in the garden - whether that's house-smoked pork or 18-hour smoked brisket.
The Selkirk
Tooting - 60 Selkirk Road, London SW17 0ES
The Selkirk’s garden is extremely capacious - making it a lovely spot to enjoy dishes like a Lincolnshire Poacher tart, or HG Walter dry-aged burger. the pub prides itself on making as much as possible on site and the Sunday roasts here are legendary.
The Ship
Wandsworth - 41 Jews Row, Wandsworth, London SW18 1TB
This riverside pub has tonnes of outside space - lots of which is covered. It’s a grand place to sit and enjoy a beer overlooking the Thames, but the food menu’s also worthy of note. Outside there’s a special burger shack, or the main menu features well-considered sharing plates with Dorset coppa, and Cobble Lane saucisson.
White Swan
Twickenham - Riverside, Twickenham TW1 3DN
Perched on a turn of the Thames overlooking Eel Pie Island, the White Swan’s riverside patio can’t be booked, so come early if you want a coveted spot. Just be aware of tide times as the water can creep up. The tiny kitchen serves up a short, but good, menu of seasonal dishes whether you’re after their spiced chicken thighs with coriander couscous or crispy fried whitebait with garlic mayo.
The Woolpack
Bermondsey - 98 Bermondsey St, Bermondsey, London SE1 3UB
The beer garden at this pub right by Borough Market features some great bookable covered booths - good for whatever the British weather throws at you. Their burgers are worth crossing town for, but they also do a mean Sunday roast and their salt-beef bagels are great stomach-lining fare.
The Castle
Tooting - 38 Tooting High Street, London SW17 0RG
The pub garden at this Tooting Young's pub is quite something. Covered during winter and unveiled during the summer months there are even mini 'castles' or shacks to rent out if you want to be sure not to rely on the British summer. For food hit up the Burger Shack in the garden.
East London
The Birds
Leytonstone - 692 High Rd Leytonstone, London E11 3AA
The pub garden at the Birds is a great space (during the winter it's covered and heated). Running the food here are BBQ folk Smok'd and while that might sound like it's all back ribs and pulled pork buns they also do a nice line in vegan dishes too like buffalo cauliflower and vegan lamb kofta wraps.
Chesham Arms
Hackney - 15 Mehetabel Road, London, E9 6DU
Well rated by CAMRA this indie pub has a large garden overlooked by a terrace at the back with walls tall enough to make it a total sun trap in the summer. Best of all there's a standing agreement for deliveries with nearby Yard Sale Pizza so you know the food's going to be good too.
The Coach
Clerkenwell - 26-28 Ray St, Farringdon, London EC1R 3DJ
This historic Clerkenwell pub is well worth a detour, more so if you're lucky enough to nab a seat in the lovely courtyard garden at the rear of the dining room. It has a menu celebrating seasonal British produce and French influences with dishes like Landes foie gras ‘au torchon’ mi-cuit on there. The wine list is great here too.
The Crooked Billet
Clapton - 84 Upper Clapton Rd, Clapton, London E5 9JP
The huge garden’s not the only draw to this gussied-up Clapton pub - everything else is great from the must-have bar snacks menu (chips and curry sauce sit alongside spiced aubergine flatbreads) to the thoughtful wine list and extensive beer options supporting local breweries.
Dog & Duck - Walthamstow
Walthamstow - 222 Chingford Road, London E17 5AL
It’s all about the sourdough pizza at this welcoming Walthamstow boozer and if you’re looking for somewhere alfresco to enjoy it, this is the place with a huge yard complete with bookable huts along with a large beer garden.
People’s Park Tavern
Hackney - 360 Victoria Park Rd, London E9 7BT
This huge pub garden is right on (or should that be in) the park. They say “you won’t want to be anywhere else this summer” - we say the humongous Yorkshire puddings that come with their Sunday roasts all but demand a visit. They have their own microbrewery on-site alongside an extensive list of draught, bottled and canned beers.
The Scolt Head
Dalston - 107A Culford Rd, London N1 4HT
The bucolic garden at this Dalston pub makes you feel like you’ve found your own secret garden to while away a sunny afternoon. The food is very good and they have an impressive list of suppliers from Rare Breed in Essex through to Rinkoff bread and Neals Yard cheese.
The Spread Eagle
Homerton - 224 Homerton High St, Homerton, London E9 6AS
This award-winning high street pub has a particularly pretty pub garden tucked away at the back. Its USP is in being London’s only vegan pub - from the food and drink through to fixtures and fittings. Expect innovative vegan fare - including a proper Sunday roast selection.
The Victoria - Mile End
Mile End - 110 Grove Rd, Mile End, London E3 5TH
Not only does this Mile End pub have a rather lovely beer garden, but food-wise they’re supporting our day boats with a seafood-focused menu that could feature potted shrimp, salmon gravalax or freshly shucked oysters alongside the catch of the day.
West London
The Princess Royal
Notting Hill - 47 Hereford Rd, London W2 5AH
From the Cubitt House team (who also run The Orange and The Coachmakers among others) this Notting Hill pub has a lovely front garden along with a courtyard space at the back and both serve up a Mediterranean-style menu by executive chef Ben Tish.
Duke of Sussex
Chiswick - 75 South Parade, Chiswick, London W4 5LF
Right on the edge of Acton Green Common, this Chiswick pub is a little slice of Spain in London. Enjoy padron peppers with your pint or go large with a seafood (or vegetable) paella. The garden’s quite lovely - a real London oasis.
The Marlborough
Richmond - 46 Friars Stile Road, Richmond, Surrey TW10 6NQ
In the leafy borough of Richmond it takes a lot to make a pub stand out, but the pub garden here is seriously impressive. the good news is that the food more than matches its surroundings with a thoughtful menu that champions both British farmers and sustainable food practices. That might mean croquettes made with Welsh lamb or a proper pub dish of ham egg and chips where the eggs are Ewes rich yolk eggs.
Old Ship
Hammersmith - 25 Upper Mall, London W6 9TD
With two riverside terraces and an extensive garden at the site, this Thameside Young’s pub is blessed with alfresco spaces aplenty. The food may be standard pub fare, but it’s pub food done well and with thought including chicken, leek, ham short crust pie and more.
The Phene - Chelsea
Chelsea - 9 Phene Street, London SW3 5NY
This Victorian pub has been a mainstay of the Made in Chelsea set for years. The garden is stupidly pretty - all floral arches and comfy banquettes. Chef Sidy Kounta ensures there are plenty of plant-based dishes for veggies and vegans and the Sunday roasts are unmissable.
The Swan
Chiswick - 119 Evershed Walk, Acton Ln, London W4 5HH
The Swan has a distinct Med-feel to its menu from the grilled Tuscan sausages to the Osso Bucco alla Milanese. The garden is leafy, spacious and sheltered too - just perfect.
The Troubadour
Earl's Court - 263-267 Old Brompton Rd, London SW5 9JA
An iconic pub in every sense of the word - the first Private Eyes were produced here, Bob Dylan played his first London gig here and even Led Zeppelin were known to throw after-parties at this Earls Court pub. The menu is simple, but good - including a slow braised brisket burger and a shepherd's pie - and the walled garden at the back is a hidden secret worth knowing.
White Swan
Richmond - 26 Old Palace Ln, Richmond TW9 1PG
This historic pub (it dates back to the late 18th century) is a perfect place to stop after a riverside walk down the Thames. Find a space in the large beer garden and enjoy treats like Peterhead cod with Sicilian caponata with your bottle of St Emilion Grand Cru Classé.
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