Sherlock Holmes, London

With Scotland Yard, various hotels on Northumberland Avenue, the Turkish baths enjoyed by the duo and other locations that feature in Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories all close by, it is perhaps not so surprising to find a pub named after the (fictional, please be reminded!) detective so far away from his home in Baker Street. So it was here, in the former Northumberland Arms, that, in 1957, Whitbread chose to create their eponymous theme pub, complete with a replica of the 221b sitting room, preserving material rescued from the Holmes exhibition component of the 1951 Festival of Britain.

Today this is a Greene King house and all but one of the ales on offer, including the house-badged Sherlock Holmes Ale and Watson's Golden Ale, come from the GK/Morland range. The wide food menu includes sandwiches and Sunday roasts, and a kids' menu.

The main bar is spacious, airy and light, with bare wooden flooring, a variety of seating and decorated with Holmesean memorabilia. Upstairs has more of a period feel in the restaurant rooms and, viewable through a glass walls, the replica Holmes and Watson's sitting room. There is a small roof terrace which is generally opened during the summer and otherwise sometimes on busy evenings.

The local office worker regulars mix happily with awe-struck tourists who always make a point of photographing each other under the iconic image on the pub sign outside. For some real history, note that the pub featured in the 1969 short film "Under the Table You Must Go", which was later included in the "Roll Out the Barrel" DVD of beer-related shorts.

Refurbished Spring 2025 at a six-figure cost. The pub reopened then as the third in the GK ‘Premium Heritage’ collection "making it perfect for customers looking for a classic pub experience, but where they can feel steeped in local history and enjoy refined hospitality over a special meal or after-work drinks with friends.”.