Lady’s Review of the Fox & Anchor Pub in London

Today I want to share my review of the Fox & Anchor pub in London. It’s one of my favorite pubs in the city, and the fact that it has romantic alcoves in the dining area and rooms upstairs makes it unique.

London Pubs

I love the pub culture in London. Every neighborhood has its share of unique watering holes, and every Londoner is fiercely loyal to her or his ‘local’.

Every pub in the city is distinct. There are low-ceilinged, dimly lit pubs with labyrinthine mazes of tiny rooms that date back to the 17th century.

And there are modern gastropubs with designer interiors that vie for foodie accolades from the likes of the Michelin guide.

As a San Franciscan, I moved to London being accustomed to the chic wine bars that have popped up around the City by the Bay over the past decade. I had never set foot in a proper English pub before arriving in the Big Smoke.

But since I moved to London, I’ve not only grown to love the pubs in my adopted city, I’ve also had the chance to explore some of the best pubs in London.

These include everything from my own Hampstead local, the Duke of Hamilton, the famous Windsor Castle pub in Kensington, and the historic Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese pub in the City of London.

Fox & Anchor Pub in London

One pub I’ve visited many times is the Fox & Anchor pub in Farringdon.

Tucked away on a side street across from the famous Smithfield meat market, the Fox & Anchor pub is busy from morning to night. 

First come the market workers that pack the long, thin interior while most Londoners are still on their morning commute to the office.

They’re followed by the after-work city girls and boys that fill the pub and spill over onto the sidewalk from late afternoon until closing.

The Pub

I was introduced to the Fox & Anchor pub by a friend that lived in the neighborhood and insisted it was one of his favorite places for a pint in London.

Later I was invited to the pub’s restaurant for dinner with its PR agency. Back behind the bar was an intimate dining room that was all wood and dark green leather.

The space was complete with several small alcoves that provided the perfect atmosphere for a romantic dinner for two or a private meal for a small group. The pub food was as classically English as the decor.

The Rooms

It didn’t end there, though. Most people that visit the Fox & Anchor pub don’t know that some of the best things about the pub are the rooms upstairs.

Hidden away at the top of a separate staircase to the left of the main entrance, the six guest rooms are situated on three floors above the ground level.

The rooms above the Fox & Anchor pub had intrigued me ever since I first heard about them, not least because on my brother’s first trip to visit me in London, he was enamored with the idea of staying in such accommodations.

At the time I had no idea if there were any pubs with rooms in London, or where I would find one.

Staying at the Fox & Anchor Pub in London

Last week I was invited by the Fox & Anchor pub to stay in one of the rooms for a night. Before I arrived, I didn’t quite know what to expect from rooms above a pub.

Would they be nice? Would they be comfortable? Would they smell of beer?

I arrived during the after-work rush and picked up my key from one of the girls pulling pints behind the bar. Wading through the crowd, I walked around to the exterior door and up the three narrow flights of stairs to the top floor.

My room—called Smithfield’s after the market next door—was on the right.

I put the key into the lock, turned it, and pushed open the door. In front of me was a sight I wasn’t expecting: a gorgeous room that looked like it came straight out of a design hotel.

The bed was covered in bright white linen accented by velvety purple pillows. There was a cozy fireplace in the corner, a flat-screen TV above the mini-bar, and a wooden desk in an alcove by one of the three large blue-velvet-curtain-covered windows that lined the far wall.

Through another door was the bathroom, complete with a range of REN cosmetics, a big copper sink, an abundance of fluffy white towels that smelled deliciously of coconut, and a large shower with a rainforest head.

But the best part was the huge clawfoot bathtub sitting in the middle of the main room.

The last time I saw an in-room tub was in the hotel where I stayed in Tallinn a few summers ago, and since then I’ve been waiting impatiently to see another. It was a great finishing touch.

Dinner at the Fox & Anchor Pub in London

I only had a few minutes to admire the room before it was time to head back downstairs to have dinner in the Fox & Anchor pub’s dining room.

I was lucky they had reserved a table for two for me in the little alcove in which I had enjoyed my last meal at the Fox & Anchor a few months prior.

I sat down at the table, and was joined a few minutes later by a friend that had just moved to the neighborhood.

We settled in for a proper gastropub feast that started with a salad of fennel and walnuts as well as a fish board with salmon done two ways.

These were cleared to make way for our mains. One was a chicken pie, complete with a perfectly golden pastry crust that spanned the top of the bowl like a delicious balloon.

The other was a dish of succulent lamb with a side of mashed potatoes.

Dessert was sticky toffee pudding and ice cream, the latter of which was served in a tall glass filled with scoops of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. It made us smile as it brought back pleasant childhood memories.

Throughout the meal at the Fox & Anchor pub we enjoyed a bottle of 2008 Domaine de la Truffiere Pinot Noir.

It was our second choice after we found out that the pub was out of a California Pinot Noir—you can take the girl out of the San Francisco wine bar, but you can’t take the wine bar out of the girl—but it was still very good.

Night at the Fox & Anchor Pub in London

Dinner went late, and afterwards I was off to sleep. Back through the packed pub I went, and up the stairs to the room. The bed was as comfortable as it looked, and I dozed off quickly.

The only downside to the room was that it overlooked the street in front of the Fox & Anchor pub, which was noisy throughout the night.

Thankfully I was able to sleep in. Breakfast was served from 7 until 11, which made me infinitely happy. I got ready, walked down to the pub, and went back to the restaurant for breakfast.

As I made my way past the bar, I was amused to see that the Smithfield crowd had already filled the room with a convivial atmosphere as they enjoyed post-market pints.

I settled into a table in the main part of the quiet dining room. The breakfast menu was reasonably priced, and its contents ranged from the Fox & Anchor’s signature City Boy Breakfast—a veritable feast of bacon, kidneys, sausage, beans, liver, and a pint of stout—to eggs on toast.

I went with my favorite, eggs Benedict with smoked salmon.

Fox & Anchor Pub in London: The Verdict

When I finished eating I went back upstairs to collect my bags, then descended to the ground floor one last time to return the key and say thank you for a great stay.

As I walked away from the Fox & Anchor pub in Farringdon, I was happy to have been able to stay at my first pub with rooms in London, to have introduced my dinner guest to his new local, and to have finally found a place to recommend to my brother when he comes back to visit.

In the meantime, I’ll probably be back for a meal and a pint or two. Or ten.

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