Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese

Covent Garden / Soho, London –

Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese had already been a London landmark for more than a hundred years when the Great Fire of 1666 destroyed it – and much of the city.

Rebuilt shortly after, the pub saw famous scribes like Charles Dickens and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle become regulars over the years, and today’s pint- and history-loving tourists usually take the time to explore its historic nooks before settling in for a plate of bangers and mash to go with their Smithwick’s.

A labyrinthine space of twisting, narrow hallways, spiral staircases, and tiny rooms with crowded rustic tables, the venue’s colorful past is evident right down to the hand-painted porcelain tap handles, open coal fires, and myriad antique grandfather clocks.

Conversation fills the air across four floors and four full bars bustling with a diverse mix of boisterous students, pub crawlers, and literature buffs settling in for a rousing evening, while first-time visitors are often left speechless by the hundreds of years of history – or maybe just by Polly, the stuffed parrot in the tap room that resided in the bar until he croaked in 1926.

Great for drinking ale and people-watching in the courtyard on a summer day or nibbling savory meat pies on a rainy night, Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese is a cut above ye olde standard.