The Anchor and Hope

The Anchor and Hope sits on The Cut in Southwark, a short walk from the Old Vic and Southwark tube station, and has been one of London's most influential gastropubs since the mid-2000s, credited with helping define the modern British gastropub style built on daily-changing, produce-led menus rather than fixed pub-grub. The dining room keeps its pub bones — bare wooden tables, a working bar, and close, communal seating — with no reservations taken for dinner, so a queue at the bar with a pint or a glass of natural wine while waiting for a table is part of the ritual. The kitchen's cooking is robust and nose-to-tail British: dishes such as calf's liver with mashed potato and capers sit alongside the whole roast shoulder of lamb for two, a dish diners often plan a visit specifically around, finished with a trifle soaked in Sauternes custard for dessert. The wine list leans toward natural and low-intervention producers, chosen to match the pub's rustic, ingredient-forward food, and the beer selection on tap is unusually serious for a kitchen this focused on cooking. The room is loud and convivial rather than quiet — conversation carries across shared tables, and the atmosphere is unmistakably that of a proper pub rather than a restaurant dressed as one, even though the food regularly draws comparisons with much more expensive dining rooms nearby. Sunday lunch is the one service where bookings are accepted, and it is worth reserving specifically to guarantee a table for the roast, since walk-in waits on weekend evenings can run past an hour. Its location in Southwark places it within easy reach of Borough Market, the South Bank, and the Old Vic theatre, making it a natural pre- or post-theatre stop for visitors exploring that part of London.