Best Irish Pubs in London (2026): The Complete Guide | Irish in London

London has around 70 Irish pubs. Not clustered in one tourist corner, spread across the whole city, from Zone 2 Kilburn to the outer reaches of Harrow and Enfield, from the City to South London. If you are Irish in London, there is almost certainly one not far from where you live. This guide is here to help you find it, and more than that, to help you find the right one.

What Kind of Irish Pub Are You Looking For?

The Irish pub in London is not one thing. It is a network of genuinely different places, and knowing what you want makes finding it much easier, so, here is our complete guide to help you discover London's brilliant line-up of Irish pubs.

The traditional local. The one where the bar staff know your name by the third visit. Not showy, not branded, just a proper Irish pub that has been part of its neighbourhood for generations. The Auld Shillelagh in Stoke Newington is the reference point; the Sir Colin Campbell in Kilburn and the Sheephaven Bay in Camden belong in the same category. These are the pubs that sustain a community rather than perform for it. Find traditional locals near you →

The trad session pub. The music is the point. Some run formal sessions on a fixed night every week; others have live music more broadly across the week. The Faltering Fullback in Finsbury Park runs Sunday sessions, McGoverns in Willesden runs Wednesdays, Skehans in New Cross runs every second Tuesday. If live Irish music is what draws you out, find trad session pubs near you →

The sports pub. Showing the Ireland matches, the GAA championship, the Six Nations, the county finals, and doing it in a room full of people who actually care. The Faltering Fullback in Finsbury Park, Feeneys in the City, Twomey's in Wembley, The Ramble Inn in Tooting. The kind of pub where a big match feels like it means something. Find sports pubs near you →

The city-centre experience pub. Built for groups as much as for regulars. Waxy O'Connors in Soho is the grand version, four bars across six floors, live music every night. The Porterhouse in Covent Garden is the more considered version: an extraordinary building, rare beers, and a genuine commitment to quality. The Devonshire in Soho has earned a reputation as one of the best-poured pints in London. These are Irish pubs with serious ambition behind them. Find city-centre pubs →

The community hub. Somewhere between a pub and a community centre. The London Irish Centre in Camden has been the heartbeat of Irish welfare and cultural life in London for decades, the Wednesday sessions at 7:30pm are worth the journey on their own. The Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith runs a Friday evening session alongside a full programme of Irish arts and language events. These are places where being Irish in London is taken seriously. Find community venues near you →

The newer arrival. In recent years, a handful of pubs have opened and quickly established themselves as genuinely good places to drink. Nancy Spain in Shoreditch is the standout, a pub that draws comparisons to Dublin's south inner city and has raised what people expect from an Irish pub in East London. Homeboy in Islington is another. These are Irish because they are run by Irish people, not because they have shamrocks on the wall. Find newer arrivals near you →

Where Are You Based?

London's Irish pubs are spread across every part of te city. Here is the quick picture, area by area:

North London - Islington, Holloway, Finsbury Park, Haringey, Stoke Newington - the deepest concentration of Irish community life outside Ireland itself, with pubs that carry decades of history. See all North London pubs →

Kilburn and NW London - The High Road has been an Irish corridor for more than half a century; the Irishness here is embedded in the community, not performed for visitors. See all Kilburn and NW London pubs →

West London - Hammersmith, Chiswick and surrounds have their own layer of Irish community life, anchored by the Irish Cultural Centre. See all West London pubs →

Central London - A handful of pubs that have managed to stay genuine in Zone 1; Covent Garden and Soho are the main beats. See all Central London pubs →

East London - The Hackney and Dalston corridor has long-established locals, and some of the most interesting newer openings in the London Irish scene have landed here. See all East London pubs →

South London - Brixton, Clapham, Tooting, New Cross - neighbourhood locals in the truest sense, well-embedded and often with strong GAA connections. See all South London pubs →

Outer NW: Harrow, Wembley, Stanmore - An often-overlooked network sustained by Irish families who settled along the Metropolitan and Jubilee Lines in the postwar decades. See all Outer NW pubs →

Find Your Nearest

The full directory has all 70 Irish pubs in London, searchable and organised by area. Whatever part of the city you are in, there is one closer than you think.

Browse the full Irish pubs directory → By the way, if there are any pubs missing from our list, please make sure to let us know.