London’s best Victorian pubs.

The Princess Louise in Holborn is one of London's most atmospheric Victorian pubs: and the beer is surprisingly cheap too! (Image credit below)

Victorian architecture is one of London’s great delights.

From the multicoloured brick of the Natural History Museum in South Kensington, to the Gothic castle romanticism of St Pancras Station or the gold-encrusted splendour of the Albert Memorial, the city is full of amazing buildings and sculptures of the period – avoiding the ugly monstrosities.

And if you look carefully you can even find real Victorian pubs to drink in.  A big favourite of mine is the Princess Louise, on High Holborn – featured already in our survey of London’s best historic pubs.

It’s a palace of beer – sparkling cut glass panels, colourful glazed tiles, rich plasterwork, the subdued gleam of wood panelling.   The whole effect is of amazing decorative exuberance.  Since it’s run by Yorkshire brewery Sam Smiths, the beer is good – and cheap, for London too.

The Argyll Arms is hard to miss once you step outside Oxford Circus tube station (Image credit below)

Then there’s the Argyll Arms, just around the corner from Oxford Circus.  It doesn’t look like much from outside, but inside it’s superb.  A maze of little frosted glass compartments afford drinkers their privacy – very different from the huge open-plan bars we’re used to these days.

With its mahogany and red ceiling it feels a bit warmer and more intimate than the Princess Louise’s glitzy sparkle – though maybe not as grand.

A little bit further from central London is the Prince Alfred in Little Venice (a short walk from Warwick Avenue tube).  It’s a super little pub, divided by glass screens into several different areas round the central bar.  The doors between the sections are so low you have to bend right over to crawl though – or does the Prince Alfred host the local limbo dancing team?

Some of the detailing on show at the Prince Alfred near Maida Vale (built in 1863) is truly remarkable (Image credit below)

The etched glass is gorgeous too.  All in all, it’s the Victorian pub at its best – and has been kept that way despite going trendy in other ways (such as the drinks available which include cocktails as well as Young’s ale).

Lots of people visit ‘traditional’ pubs in London with similar elements – the dark wood bar, a couple of pieces of etched glass, even a ‘snug’ or two.  But the three pubs above take architecture and decoration to a new level.

If you’re tired of the blandness of modern bars, take a trip to one of these pubs and swallow a dose of real London history with your pint!  And don’t forget while you’re at it to neatly sidestep our top 10 London “don’t dos”.

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Photo credits: erin kkr’s photostream, ell brown’s photostream, ktylerconk’s photostream.