Two London bars named among best 100 in Europe
It's old-school entries all the way for The European Bar Guide's top 100
The European Bar Guide just revealed its top 100 bars in Europe for 2025, and jolly old London has claimed two spots on the list.
Seems stingy? Just think about how many cities there are across Europe, and suddenly claiming 2% of the share doesn’t seem so bad.
The European Bar Guide’s top selections are what we’d regard as thoroughly old-school picks. They’re the kind of places you might take a friend of family member making their first ever pilgrimage to the capital.
They are Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, at number 40, and Gordon’s Wine Bar at number 44. You can stroll between the two in around 20 minutes, with a pleasant walk across the Thames.
Ye Olde Chesire Cheese is known for being really old (it's in the name after all) — so old it had to be rebuilt after the Great Fire of London — and for being frequented by famous literary types. Folks who have supped pints there over the decades include Charles Dickens, P.G. Wodehouse and Mark Twain.
It’s currently a Sam Smith’s pub, so a pint of Taddy Porter or Imperial Stout will have to do if you’re craving a Guinness. But it’s a genuine curiosity worth a visit if you usually hang around the more bar-packed areas. It sits just off Fleet Street, nearby the City Thameslink.
Gordon’s Wine Bar is more centrally located for the tourist swarms, sitting just beside the Embankment and Charing Cross stations.
It claims to be London’s oldest wine bar, although it has nothing on the Cheshire Cheese, with a mere 1890 inception date.
Wines start at £33 a bottle before heading off into the tannin-soaked sky. But you do get a much wider selection than you’ll find in most of the surrounding establishments.
Bookings are highly recommended as it’s a popular spot for both locals and tourists. You can even book the Cage, a 12-person space in the wine bar’s cellar. Candle-lit romance at the ready.
Here’s the top 10, as picked by The European Bar Guide. Who’s up for a Euro tour?
- 1. La Fleur En Papier Doré in Brussels
- 2. Szimpla Kert in Budapest
- 3. Retsins Lucifernum in Brudges
- 4. t'Brugs Beertje in Bruges
- 5. Zlatna Ribica in Sarajevo
- 6. Papa Joe's Jazzlokal in Cologne
- 7. U Hrocha in Prague
- 8. Le Pot Au Lait in Liege
- 9. Goupil Le Fol in Brussels
- 10. Kulminator in Antwerp
Check out the full list of 100 over ash the European Bar Guide website.
