The Cross Keys, Covent Garden
Although a commercial juggernaut within one of London West End’s main shopping and entertainment district that is dominated by chains and high end label shops there are some more deliciously humble venues to refresh after traipsing around the busy street.
A question that has baffled and divided Londoners and visitors alike for decades is what is Covent Gardens best pub? There are some fine other contenders to the crown in the area in the shape of The Harp and Lamb & Flag. If not perhaps the best the Cross Keys certainly would give any other a run for its money.
Central London, and especially around the West End, has some truly awful pubs that are soulless and unashamedly there to do nothing more than lighten your wallet, but while making very little effort in return. I cringe seeing some tourists and non-Londoners enter others around here thinking they’re about to experience a real London hostelry. It actually angers me and I make no apology that in the past I’ve hijacked unsuspecting visitors plans on the street offering guidance on where to go for a real slice of London pub life.
The Cross Keys is everything a proper London boozer should be: brass and copper everywhere, bar foot rest, dark and cosy with low lighting and a solid pub carpet. This place hasn’t changed in the near 20 years I’ve been going here and the consistency is welcomed and quietly comforting.
The tat / bric-a-brac might not be to everyone’s taste but, say what you like, this place has character, both internally and externally. It’s been serving since the 1840s amid a changing City and I’d recommend it as the place to go before a West End show, shopping in the market or a general booze.
The dark interior feels like someone’s front room when the lights are low and they’re nursing a brandy just before retiring for the evening. It’s not often you can witness that sort of private scene recreated in a public setting where intimacy is there for all to experience and enjoy in such a delightful authentic setting.
