Nags Head

With its Dickensian frontage and an interior like a well-stocked bric-à-brac shop, the award-winning Nags Head stubbornly resists any contemporary touches in its appearance. Compact and bijou, it's located in a quiet mews near Harrods, its front and back bars connected by a narrow stairway and boasting wooden floors, panelled walls, and low ceilings. It was built in the early 19th century to cater for the footmen and stable hands who looked after the horses in these Belgravia mews. The walls are covered with photos, drawings, mirrors, helmets, model airplanes; there are even penny-slot machines. The atmosphere is best described as 'entertaining' if you're in the right frame of mind. It's a mobile phone-free zone, too. The waist-high bar is another oddity, but the full Adnams range is served, along with a good value menu that includes sandwiches; a daily roast; and traditional pub favourites like shepherd's pie, and sausages and mash.