Lamb & Flag

Formerly the Bucket of Blood, on account of the bare-knuckle fights that took place behind its thick walls, this legendary Covent Garden boozer earned its street cred when poet John Dryden was beaten up in the alleyway outside by supporters of Charles II’s mistress, after he assassinated the old trollop in verse. The Lamb was taken over by Fuller’s brewery during 2011, so drinkers who queue patiently at the bar can now expect a full range of Chiswick brews rather than Young’s and other draught beers of old. The food is likely to change too – although it’s unlikely to affect the character of the atmospheric ground-floor saloon with its settles and open fire or the agreeably ramshackle, Dickensian dining room (the novelist was once a regular here).