Pillars of Hercules

Covent Garden / Soho, London –

Although named after a Greek demigod and located on Greek Street, Pillars of Hercules is a pure English pub – a quiet place for a pint without the bells and whistles or musclemen seeking to slay the nine-headed Hydra.

The site of a tavern since the 1700s, the venue has a good bit of history hidden inside its revamped imitation-Tudor façade. Charles Dickens mentions it in A Tale of Two Cities, and modern English novelists like Martin Amis, Clive James, and Ian McEwan spent a good bit of time here penning prose in the 1970s.

Inside, the surprisingly narrow space features English flags and banners hung from the low ceiling and across the back of the bar, which touts a half-dozen hand pumps for cask ales, along with traditional keg standards and a tidy selection of wine.

Chalkboard communiqués with menus and prices litter the walls, as do mirrors and ink engravings of London circa the 1800s.

Tired office workers and laid-back creative types squeeze around the handful of wooden tables, or pop outside for a quick smoke before warming up again with traditional fare like kidney pudding or mac and cheese.

The pub is by no means a party hotspot, but whether it’s the best of times, the worst of times, or all the times between, Pillars of Hercules serves up an authentic English pub experience in the heart of tourist-trap Soho.