The Harp

London has loads of new bars opening up that serve craft beer mostly which I like, but for when I want to go have a more traditional pint or lager/​ale or cider The Harp is one of the best choices in Central London.
Their beer selection comes from various breweries around London and the UK and they rotate regularly, so be sure to check back often. Even though the Harp has been bought by Fullers Brewery, they have largely left this pub to it’s previous state which is a refreshing decision.
This pub is narrow which means during their busier hours it can be crowded, so be prepared if coming here on a Friday/​Saturday night. The upstairs is a nice place to sit when it’s quieter and has nice comfy chairs to rest when sipping your pint of choice.
CAMRA had rewarded The Harp National Pub of the Year ²⁰¹⁰⁄₂₀₁₁ and is frequently in many beer blog’s best pub lists. So in short: Good pub for ale/​lager/​cider but best for off-​peak times.

One of the best pubs in London definitely deserves five stars. It sells a large range of really good craft cask beer (real ale) just a stone’s throw from Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden and The Strand.
Visiting London and want to experience a real pub, rather than a fake ‘real ”English” pub’? Come here.
It’s not even that expensive for central London, especially for the quality of the beers on offer. It is very difficult to get a seat between around 4−7PM weekdays, so it’s not perfect for everyone, but surely its business just goes to show how popular this place is, for a very good reason.

This place was great. Very lively with customers having a great time and a staff that is friendly. The staff was courteous and kept up with the full house. They have a great beer selection as well.

This is a great place to go and enjoy a drink. Have multiple beers on tap and great options of cider. Must go!

I like that the top of the bar is covered with stickers (?) from all sorts of different ales, and for a tourist like me, that was kind of cool.
It seemed like more of a local place and I like that service was efficient and friendly.

If you like cider/​perry/​ale, come to The Harp. It’s about a 2 minute walk from Trafalgar Square. There are no frills about The Harp (except the flowers, which are a lovely touch). It’s a small cosy pub that’s always buzzing. It is usually packed on any weekend day, with people spilling outside.
In short: Cute pub right around the corner of Trafalgar Square with a great selection of ciders and ales.

Solid pub in the west end with s great selection of cask ales. Always busy. My go to place for a pint in the area.
Has nice flowers in the summer.

Stumbled upon the gem en route to dinner and love the atmosphere. Can’t believe that we only spent £5.50 on 1.5 pints of delicious brews. We’ll definitely be back!

Nice pub with a friendly atmosphere and lots of space between the two floors and outdoor area. The upstairs is cozy and secluded while the downstairs seems more like a busy traditional English pub. They have a decent Guinness a good selection of English beers. Worth checking out when you’re in the area!

Epitome of pub.
Came here as I heard it’s the best real ale pub in London or something to that effect.
The beer was good! Good range and I don’t normally go big for real ale but it was really good.
The staff were friendly and welcoming. We even got seats on a Saturday afternoon!
Pop by if you’re in the area and like beer. Highly recommend it.

80 degrees and sunny out in Covent Garden = swarms of tourists everywhere. I wanted to go to a pub with a relaxing atmosphere, without having to elbow my way up to the bar.
My friend led the way, walking through a small alleyway and arriving at this lovely pub. You have the option to sample a beer before ordering a pint, which I thought was a perfect way to sample new beers. I didn’t try the food, but loved catching up with friends at this quaint pub!

Decent pub. They have a wide selection of ales on tap, and their entire bar area is covered with tap keys! I grabbed a cheap pint and enjoyed the warm outdoors with friends. You can definitely ask to taste different ales/​beers/​ciders before you commit!

A traditional English Ale Pub. We came in on a late Sunday afternoon to grab a few pints. It was lightly packed downstairs, with some smokers out front and a good crowd inside. They were kind in offering samples of some different ales before we chose and settled on a whole pint. They have a huge collection of tap keys adoring the top of the bar. Bar tenders were super friendly and beer was relatively cheap, considering London is pretty expensive. Bathrooms and bar were super clean too and upstairs looked like a fun place to sit.
Tip: Ask to try before you settle on an ale (so you can get something new). Also, their food menu isn’t that long and is mainly pre-​packaged. Go for drinks, not food.

A pub, is a pub, is a pub. This place is really cool if you happen to be in the area and want to feel a somewhat authentic English pub with a happy mix of tourists, ‘locals’ and the old school English pub vibe without using your Oyster to get to Zone 3. Downstairs is small and intimate and it’s very fun with hundreds of (thousand?) coasters decorating the top of the bar, but it’s still just a pub situated in ‘tourist central’ trying to offer something authentic and still stay in business. I like it, because it’s fun, has a happy atmosphere and when the weather is nice — it opens to the pavement. So, if you’re in the area, fancy a ‘real’ pub and some ‘real’ ale. It’s well worth it – I promise!

This is an incredible real ale pub just out of the tourist’s way from Trafalgar Square (shhhh — don’t tell the Americans! :D) We’d just had a drink over at the Sherlock Holmes, but this pub was more indicative of the type of drinking establishments we were interested in — historic interiors and a few real cask ales on tap.
So, let’s talk about cask ale. For those concerned about the English stereotype of serving ‘warm beer’, you really need to get over that urban legend. These ales are hand pumped up from pub cellar casks, and although they are not ice cold like your typical Bud Light might be, they are by no means warm. Ales like this are not meant to be served ice cold, but if you think you’ll be drinking something akin to the temperature of slightly cooled tea, you’re simply incorrect. The truth is, cask ale is properly served between 11 — 13 °C (most residential fridges are set to between 0 and 4 °C with most bottled beers served in pubs between 4 — 6°C) So although it’s slightly warmer than a drink out of a fridge at home, it’s still served cooler than a glass of red wine (16 — 21°C) and slightly cooler than the proper serving temperature of a white wine (12 — 15°C).
The Harp regularly serves 10 cask ales and ciders, which makes it worth finding. They also do a great handmade sausage, but unfortunately they do not serve them on Sundays. I had a half pint of Cornish Gold Cider from Cornish Orchards in Cornwall, and my husband had a half of Sussex Best Bitter from Harvey’s Brewery in Lewes. We also shared a half of Belgian Honey Porter from Black Jack Beers in good old Manchestah. Visiting a good cask ale pub in England is like going to Napa Valley — there are so many varieties and flavours to try from all over Great Britain. Most of the pubs we visited were recommended by CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale), a respected British consumer organization known for promoting real ale and cider and is at the forefront of protecting the traditional British Pub. Real ale is a type of beer defined as «beer brewed from traditional ingredients, matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous carbon dioxide». Adding extra carbon diioxide makes a beer ‘fizzy’, so you’ll find very little ‘fizz’ or ‘bubbles’ in a real ale. Real ale has a much shorter shelf life than mass-​produced commercial beers such as Carling or Newcastle Brown Ale, so it is served in smaller quantities and is worth seeking out as a real treat that you’ll only find in England. If you want to find a ‘proper’ British pub, check out CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide — where the Harp comes highly recommended!

What I would call a proper boozer! Looking for somewhere to meet up with my older brother, we needed somewhere close to tubes and fairly noticeable. After The Harp was suggested (and a quick look on City Mapper), we had a wander through Embankment Memorial and then took the short walk across to the pub.
It’s small inside, and I can see why it would attract tourists — it reminded me very much of the pub we frequented in Sydney, which advertised itself as the oldest pub in the city. Dark wood, lots of people, and a good selection of beers.
We didn’t think we’d be able to get a seat at first, but a visit to the loos up the stairs proved a success all round as we discovered the additional seating area. It was empty bar one other group, so we quickly settled down in the middle of the room and started our afternoon’s drinking.
Family folk, it’s worth noting that a group with a young child did get asked to leave, so perhaps not the most family oriented pub in London…
A morris dancing group even started outside, so entertainment sometimes included!

Very cool pub. It is filled with locals for some after work drinks. Great spot to hang out and enjoy some beers with lots of fun people!
The best pub i’ve been in london!

A bit on the small size, but we got to try a pub in London! Beers were good, and the staff were super friendly! Loved how they decorated the place with the various beer coasters. They also have a standing outdoor area for those that get a bit claustrophobic or want some fresh air rather than being in a stale beer area inside.

If you like cask beer, you would be hard to beat this pub. It is always packed and is a pleasure to drink in. The staff are sharp, fast and very efficient. Big turnover in cask beets means there is plenty of variety. Often voted a CAMRA pub if the year!

punkte: 10
(10 top, 0 flop)
allgemein: super pub, grosse bierauswahl, sensationelle hot dogs, und all das vis a vis der polizeistation
empfang: sehr freundlich
auswahl: viel bier und cider, auch weine sind gut
frische: sehr gut
service: super
wein: sogar der wein schmeckt.
einrichtung: coole einrichtung, wenig platz draussen
preise p/​p: 10 euro für 1 bier & hot dog
anmerkung: das harp ist sensationell. in keinem führer vermerkt, mit super freundlichem personal. man kann jedes bier probieren und erhält einen guten snack.

As I was navigating through the streets of London trying to swipe my London Pass as many times as possible, I needed to stop for a drink and The Harp was a great place to obtain that desire.
The Harp is a great bar that has lots of taps, lots of places to sit, and reliable wifi (for us tourists who constantly need it). A lot of people say it’s the best pub in London and it’s not hard to see why because it’s a great open environment downstairs with nice places to sit upstairs, not to mention power outlets to charge your electronics.
This is the ideal to meet up and talk over good-​priced London brew if you’re local or a tourist. Cheers!

Super geiles Pub in toller Lage zwischen Trafalgar Square und Covent Market!
Riesen Bierauswahl und echt stylisch mit den vielen Bierdeckeln über der Bar.
Personal is total freundlich und unterstützt einen bei der Wahl des richtigen Ales.
Auch vorher probieren ist kein Problem.
Oben auf ist noch ein sehr ruhiges Zimmer in dem man gut entspannen kann!

Zugegeben, etwas komisch ist es für uns Deutsche schon Nachmittags um 15 Uhr ein oder zwei Ale zu trinken. Im «The Harp» fällt das aber nicht auf, da hier scheinbar zu jeder Zeit Leute im Anzug sowie locker gekleidete Menschen rumstehen und dieses Bier trinken !
Das macht Spass, das ist angenehm und es sieht so aus, alsob das die letzten 200 Jahre auch schon so war! Cheers!