The Flask Tavern

Stooping ceilings, creaking floors, solid wooden panelling, beams and small interconnecting rooms combine to make The Flask Tavern, a traditional 18th century English pub, among the most attractive London has to offer. One of the villages lost to London's urban sprawl, Highgate has still managed to retain a modicum of rustic charm, community atmosphere and this fine local hostelry -  one of the village's original buildings and a treasure trove of history. The name, for instance, comes from the time when the local Hampstead springs would draw visitors to the pub where the foul tasting waters were sold by the flask. Social commentator, painter and satirist, William Hogarth was often found to be drinking in the pubs charms. And legend has it that Highwayman Dick Turpin avoided capture by secreting himself away in the pubs cellars. It might not be as wholly olde worlde as it once was - sturdy wooden tables and chairs have given way to low tables and leather sofas - but it still has a powerful traditional air about it. When the sun shines, the heated beer garden is illuminated with strings of fairy lights and filled up with the smell of a resident barbeque. Perched next to the local church and what remains of a village green, it's easy to forget you're only a few miles from central London. The food is OK - the menu has a tasty gastro stab at all the time-honoured classics - and service can be a bit slow due to the pub's increasing popularity, but the venue and atmosphere more than make up for this. Besides, slow, steady service is more in keeping with the pub's traditional, rustic approach to life. It's a bit of a walk from Highgate Tube but the views over London from this hilltop enclave are spectacular.

Best for:
Wood panelling and beams, fairylights and village green, Hogarth and Turpin.