The Punch Tavern

London, United Kingdom

3.8

Closed now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards
Free Wi-Fi

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+44 20 7353 6658
Website:
www.punchtavern.com
Address:
99 Fleet Street, London, United Kingdom, EC4Y 1DE
Blackfriars, Holborn
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
240 ftLudgate Circus
250 ftCity Thameslink Station / Ludgate Circus
360 ftFleet Street / City Thameslink
Categories:
QR code
Download QR Image Download vCard

Map

Streetview

Activate map

Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
Yes
Delivery
Yes
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Good For
Lunch
Parking
Street
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
No
Good for Groups
Yes
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Casual
Noise Level
Average
Alcohol
Full Bar
Outdoor Seating
No
Wi-Fi
Free
Has TV
No
Dogs Allowed
Yes
Waiter Service
Yes
Caters
Yes

Today

Today 11:00 am – 11:00 pm
Closed now
Local time (London) 23:45 Sunday, 22 June 2025

Business hours

Monday 8:00 am – 11:00 pm
Tuesday 8:00 am – 11:00 pm
Wednesday 8:00 am – 11:00 pm
Thursday 8:00 am – 12:00 am
Friday 8:00 am – 12:00 am
Saturday 11:00 am – 11:00 pm
Sunday 11:00 am – 11:00 pm

Description

Specialties

Private Dining Room in Central London (The City)

Punch Tavern is a Gastropub with a private dining venue AND PIE ROOM available for private room hire based in The City of London which can also be used as a function and meeting room.

Award winning British Gastropub food venue and home made pies based in central London.

Private dining room in the venue can be hired for private birthday party; team events and corporate events.

Two private dining room for hire which can be used as function rooms.

Available for group bookings from 20 – 110 people.

The function room is affordable & suitable to any occasion, if it’s a 30th birthday or a 40th birthday party, and 50th birthday party, engagement, wedding, civil unions, meeting rooms, corporate events or a family event.

Private dining menu which can be tailored to your requirements.

Fun Dining experience in Central London.

Beautiful grade II listed Victorian Pub in the City of London.

No hire fee.

Situated in

History

Established in 1700.

The first recorded appearance of Mr Punch in England was in 16 May 1662. The core dramatic personae of any given Punch and Judy show remained unchanged since their debut with additional characters coming in and out of fashion to suit contemporary satire and political climates over the years. Punch, the satirical magazine, was founded in 1841 at the Edinburgh Castle Tavern on the Strand. However as the entire magazine’s staff began to meet at this pub, the proprietor changed its name from the Crown and Sugar Loaf to the Punch Tavern. Although there has been a pub on this site since the 17th century it was re-​fitted by the famously big spending Baker Brothers (They also owned the Tottenham on Oxford St which was done at the same time) in 1893 – 97. It was finished at the time of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, when she drove past on her way to St Paul’s. All of these original features remain today.

Related places

You might also consider:
500
ft
Camino
33 Blackfriars Lane (Blackfriars)
530
ft
The Restaurant at St Paul’s
St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Churchyard (Blackfriars)
530
ft
Cote
2l6 Ludgate Hill (Blackfriars)
550
ft
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese
145 Fleet Street (Blackfriars, Holborn)
570
ft
Hack & Hop
35 Whitefriars Street (Blackfriars, Holborn)
720
ft
Gerry’s Cafe
39 Ludgate Hill (Blackfriars)

Nearby

Browse nearby places:
20
ft
Ludgate Clinic
101 fleet street
30
ft
Timpson
100 Fleet Street
30
ft
Fleet Street Pantry
97 Fleet Street
40
ft
Lewis Nedas
Suite 318 107-111 Fleet Street
40
ft
Spoce Training Venue
Mwb Fleet Street 107-111 Fleet Street
40
ft
Pod
101 Fleet Street

20 reviews of The Punch Tavern

No registration required
Place rating: 5
Phoenix, AZ
After a morning visit to Tate Modern, we stumbled across this establishment — a gin bar! (The English are wonderful.) They have the largest selection of gin I’ve ever seen and once our server realized we were gin connoisseurs, he brought over all kinds of bottles to show us. We tried amazing gins and the food was fantastic to boot. My goat cheese and leek tart was fantastic as was the banofee pie.
During our visit, there was a parade outside for the Queen’s birthday. Our server said «Tourists! There’s a parade outside for the Queen’s birthday! Don’t you want to take pictures?» We replied «No, we have gin.»
Sadly, we were only in London for two days and didn’t have time for a return visit. On our next passage through, we will be sure and make a stop here (maybe plan an entire day). And then hit up an AA meeting.
Place rating: 4
London, United Kingdom
Amazing service, great cheap cocktails, good London craft and mind-​blowing brownies and puddings in this historical pub. Go for their Christmas menu: they have plenty of choice and amazing options.
Place rating: 5
Clovis, CA
This was a great spot! Skip the beer and drink the Gin! Order an English Rose or a premium Gin and tonic. The first night we had a pie. It was great! Very non traditional for an American, but the food and Gin brought us in for another meal. Tried a mushroom tart. Yummy! This would be on a list of places I would come back to if I return to London.
Place rating: 4
Meridian, ID
Super friendly and attentive servers. Try one of their delicious gin cocktails. Beers are also good.
Food was delicious and very fairly priced. If I lived in the area, this would be a place I’d frequent.
Place rating: 4
Los Angeles, CA
Damn good fish and chips here. Sizable portions but didn’t leave me feeling like I had a bowling ball in my stomach (a common aftereffect of eating British F&C, I’ve found). They include some peas and pickle slices so you can at least pretend it’s healthy. And best of all, the F&C is on lunch special a few times a week so it runs only GBP 6.50.
The innards of this old place, which used to be the favored haunt of the editors and writers of the old British satire mag Punch, has a great olde Victorian vibe and is festooned with classic cartoons from the magazine’s heyday (though not, blessedly, any of the racist ones comparing Irish people to monkeys).
Is it touristy? I don’t know what this means. It’s in the City of London so you’re going to get some tourist traffic inevitably, but I saw mostly office worker types on their lunch break. It definitely doesn’t have the hokey generic vibe of the places with huge «AUTHENTIC BRITISH PUB» signs right outside their doors. So yeah, I dig it.
Place rating: 4
London, United Kingdom
I really like the Punch Tavern! My first visit was for the Unilocal pub quiz, and I’ve returned a few times since. It’s now my go-​to for meetings over drinks or post-​dinner G&Ts.
Pros: Gin palace! They have an enormous list of gins and frequently have special gins that aren’t on the menu. The list is broken down by notes, and really helps newbies work out what sorts of gins they’re into. The pies are also very tasty — they do a range of pub classics and they do them well.
Cons: None yet.
Vibe: Cosy. Lots of dark wood panelling with fairy lights all around. I’ve never seen it too busy to sit down, and there’s a huge seating area around the back that helps matters. On the Friday night I went by, they had board games out for people to play, too. The bar staff is quite friendly and while some are less skilled than others (they’ve got some new hires in), they do have some very knowledgable people there.
Pricing — you can get a G&T for anywhere from £6−10 depending on which gin you choose. The £6 gins are still very good, so you’re not going to be disappointed if you’re working to a tighter budget.
This is great for a post-​work drink or a quiet night with friends.
Place rating: 3
London, United Kingdom
Nice little boozer, the bar staff were all welcoming and were quick to take our orders as we wanted food.
The atmosphere was pretty good for a Sunday afternoon, especially for a city pub. Don’t expect a cheap pint but it’s certainly no more than any of the other pubs in the area.
We all had pies as they seemed to be the speciality. I went for a shepherds pie, but I was left a little disappointed. The portion was decent but it was mostly mash with a slither of mince in the bottom… It also looked like it had spent a bit longer under a heat lamp than required. Everyone else seemed to enjoy their options though.
Place rating: 3
London, United Kingdom
Fun pub quiz night, but not sure if it would be destination in the future. It’s a nice enough pub, friendly bar staff and good priced food menu, with daily offers. I had a quite disappointing dish of ‘Sweet Potato wedges’ with basil and parmesan, which was essentially a sweet potato cut into large quarters, with a small drizzle of pesto and a tiny sprinkling of parmesan.
We did have a selection of small food snacks as part of the quiz, which included a mini burger and fish and chips, which was better.
Nothing much to lure me back, but if I fancied going to pub in that location, I would probably pop in for a drink.
Place rating: 5
London, United Kingdom
Came along to a Trivia Night here and had a great time. While it was a bit crowded, the Doom Bar went down very well and the Fish there was fantastic! I could easily sit around a few hours socialising in the corner over some Pints and the Bar Manager and Staff were very friendly.
Place rating: 3
Wembley, United Kingdom
The Punch Tavern is a good venue and tried a few starters — all of which were lovely (from the limited few dishes I did try). Would come back if I was in the area.
Place rating: 4
London, United Kingdom
A classic old school London pub. You like that? You’re going to be quite happy here. You want somewhere a little hipper or chicer, it’s a good area for it, so I’d keep looking.
But I mean it when I say that if you want a classic pint in a comfortable setting, it’s a good spot. It’s right in the middle of three major tube stations, so it can be a little touristy heavy, but not so bad that it takes away. And if you’re near one of those stations and want a place to drink, well there you go. The setting is very old world — candles, giant mirrors, dark wooden tables, the likes.
I’ve been here once for pints with friends and it was just what I wanted. The service is good, the queues move quick, I got my drinks. I was also just here for the bar’s birthday party, so tried a little of the nibbles. Got an excellent bowl of fries, hot, not too small or too thick, a little mayo and ketchup and they were damn near perfect. Also tried a punch cocktail they made called The Punch on the Beach. A little too sweet, even for punch, but damn did it knock me cold.
But I wouldn’t come here for the cocktails. Not really. I’d come here for a beer, some nibbles and good times with friends. Do that and you’re night will be grand.
Place rating: 4
Grand Prairie, TX
Mrs. B and I are very glad that we selected the Punch Tavern for our lunch in Blackfriars. I had a nice, cool glass of cider and she had a very tasty ale. The bangers and mash were very nicely seasoned, and the shepherd’s pie is creamy and delicious. The waitresses were also very patient with us as we made our way through the menu, since we Americans don’t always know exactly what we’re asking for! We thought the Punch Tavern was what we sought in a London pub.
Place rating: 1
Austin, TX
Avoid. Tourist trap, mediocre food.
Place rating: 5
New York, NY
What a great place. Outstanding food, drink & dessert, plus they even have a ping pong table (i.e. table tennis) in the back!
I’ll be back.
Place rating: 4
Tualatin, OR
Was here in August. Friendly staff — great lunch after St Pauls. Great food — way better than Cheshire Cheese Pub.
Place rating: 4
Los Gatos, CA
Nice interior, cold Stella on tap, and the meal had a nice local flavor without feeling touristy… we’d come back…
The discount for checking in on Unilocal was nice as well (25% off)
Also — London is expensive — and the tavern’s in a nice part of town, adjust your pricing expectations accordingly.
Place rating: 4
Philadelphia, PA
Met a some old GS colleagues here after they left work.
Even while not having a previous reservation, the wait staff was very helpful in securing me a table for me and my friends. While waiting, I decided to try the £5 meal of the day which happened to be the fish and chips! Service was quick and the meal was delicious. Fish was a generous portion of cod and salty enough to the point that all it needed was a little ketchup and vinegar. The tartar sauce they provided was also pretty darn good. In addition the chips were hot, cripsy and delicious. The drinks were also pretty reasonable at £3−4 for a wide selection of beers. My friends arrived and were promptly served with beers of their own and a mixed platter of various bar food that they seemed to have enjoyed. Also ordered the £2 dessert that came with the special (it was an apple crumb that came out hot, gooey and yummy). They charged me full price for it instead of £2 (my fault, should have had them change it).
Verdict: Good décor, great food, and good for groups (we had a group of 5 people in the end who were easily accommodated on a busy Friday afternoon/​evening). All in all a very solid experience and I would come eat/​drink here again alone or with a group of friends.
Place rating: 4
London, United Kingdom
I went here for a function, so we were in the back room. But when we did get out to buy our drinks, I felt like this was a really decent pub. Not too crowded or noisy, friendly servers, not stinky, and in general just a good vibe kind of place. I would highly suggest it if you need a room for a small happy hour. The couple of nibbles I munched on where nothing to write home about, so just enjoy the drinks and some crisps to play it safe.
Place rating: 3
Llanelli, United Kingdom
Nice authentic pub without too many alterations. Food was good and the real ale well kept.
Not impressed by the manager oredering the staff about LOUDLY when we were trying to enjoy our lunch.
Place rating: 3
London, United Kingdom
Gorgeous listed building with a nice interior, strangely (we’ll come to that in a minute) set up as though it’s a restaurant rather than a pub.
Which it clearly is. Victorian. Pub. Not filled with tat. only 2 ales, but Tribute and Hobgoblin (someone went to Cornwall?)
Then they’ve got food. There’s some sort of special which is a fiver each night from 5 – 10 or so. Last night? Fish & chips, Which looked at least decent. I’d go back for that.
My mate got the «British Empire list-​of-​adjectives Platter». Which may or may not come with two glasses of wine. Ours didn’t, but there was some confusion about that. Everything on the platter (£9???) came from a frozen bag o’ things. Samosas. Spring rolls. Chicken tikka. Mini sausages. It was like a bad joke someone came up with while stoned. It was actually pretty terrible. But, as my friend said, «at least it’s fried».
Then, there were the tables. They weren’t proper pubby tables at all– more resto tables.
But we were clearly in a pub. Or at least a tavern.
Not to pricey. Clean bathrooms. Just don’t get the food. Or don’t expect much from it. Or maybe get the fish and chips (if it’s on offer). It looked good.