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Pubbers and pintspeople, listen up. The nominations have just been announced for this year’s National Pub & Bar Awards – and no less than eight of London’s finest drinking holes have made the cut.
The National Pub & Bar Awards are run by Pub & Bar magazine and they’re intended, as you may have guessed from the name, to celebrate the best of Britain’s boozers. The awards take into account stuff like ‘marketing, digital presence, design, service, style of offer and investment’, dishing out a range of regional and national awards.
In the 2025 edition of the National Pub & Bar Awards a total of 256 pubs and bars across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have been shortlisted. In London the nominees are split into two ‘regions’, with three pubs in the City of London and five in Greater London.
Leading the noms from Greater London are two legendary Soho pubs: Time Out favourite The French House and hyped boozer The Devonshire (which was also named London’s best gastropub earlier this year). Islington’s The Baring, Highgate’s The Red Lion and Sun and The Walmer Castle – one of Notting Hill’s top pubs – round out the five.
In the City, the shortlisted establishments are sports bar Goldwood, Leadenhall Market’s Lamb Tavern and The Wren Tavern (pictured above) near Bank. Here are those eight shortlisted pubs listed.
London pubs nominated in the 2025 National Pub & Bar Awards
City of London
- Goldwood
- Lamb Tavern
- The Wren Tavern
Greater London
- The Baring, Islington
- The Devonshire, Soho
- The French House, Soho
- The Red Lion & Sun, Highgate
- The Walmer Castle, Notting Hill
‘The aim of the National Pub & Bar Awards is simple,’ said Tristan O’Hana, editor of Pub & Bar magazine. ‘We want to showcase how brilliant these businesses are and how valuable pubs and bars are to fabric of society across the whole of the UK.
‘It has never been harder in hospitality. Whether it’s a countryside pub with rooms or a city centre bar showing live sport, these operations deserve widespread recognition and more customers – hopefully the National Pub & Bar Awards can help with both.’
The county and regional winners of the National Pub & Bar Awards 2025 will be announced on June 24 at an event at Walthamstow’s Big Penny Social.
The 50 best pubs in London for boozing, according to Time Out.
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