Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, London

Rebuilt after the great fire of 1666, the Cheshire Cheese has probably changed little since Charles Dickens, Doctor Johnson, and Arthur Conan Doyle used to drink at the upstairs bar. The basement and sub basement offer endless nooks and crannies for a quiet drink, serving organic German lager and a range of Adnams ales. Lawyers mix with City office types on weekday lunchtimes, and it's standing room only. Evenings are quieter, though, you have to arrive before eight to get a seat on a wooden bench on Friday nights. St Paul's Cathedral is a 10 minute walk up Ludgate Hill, and Dr Johnson's House is five minutes away, clearly signposted from Fleet Street. There are also two restaurants in the pub - the Johnson Room and the Chop Room, both of which serve a stodge-lover's heaven of fish and chips, steak and kidney pie, treacle sponge, spott! ed dick and the like. On display you'll find the very chair that Dr. Samuel Johnson would sit in while at work or enjoying a pint, and a famous stuffed parrot who entertained patrons with his foul language and mimicry for over 40 years.