I’ve visited hundreds of pubs in the UK: If you visit only one boozer in the whole of the capital, make it this one

LONDON circuit guide, John Warland, who has visited hundreds of boozers successful the English superior has named Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese arsenic the city's must-visit pub.

John is the founder of Liquid History Tours where punters are taken to immoderate of the capital's lesser-visited drinking holes.

He has besides written 2 books connected the subject, Liquid History and Local Legends Hidden Pubs of London, making him a due pub expert.

Speaking exclusively to Sun Travel, John said: "If you were to sojourn 1 pub, marque it Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese connected Fleet Street".

"It was primitively built successful the 16th century, past it burnt down successful 1666 and got rebuilt successful 1667 - and that's what you participate to this day.

"It's benignant of acheronian and gloomy connected the outside, with a small snickety entranceway conscionable disconnected Fleet Street that has a beauteous presumption of St Paul's Cathedral.

"It was mentioned successful Dickens' Tale of Two Cities - erstwhile Charles Darnay retreats determination for a elemental supper and a fewer good wines.

"It's a spot that was frequented by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sir Taka Ray and Theodore Roosevelt, and it was the existent societal web until the 1980s erstwhile Fleet Street benignant of comes to an extremity successful presumption of journalism.

"The pub itself has six oregon 7 storeys successful total, and you tin descend to the bowels of the basement - there's nary music, there's nary jukeboxes and there's nary televisions.

"The pub is tally by Samuel Smith breweries, truthful the drinks offering is accepted - it's rather constricted successful its ain respect, arsenic there's nary Guinness, there's nary Smirnoff, but it's a spot to retreat from the modern world.

"Get a elemental drink, beryllium by the occurrence - beryllium wherever Dickens sat, spot wherever Dr Johnson perchance wrote immoderate of his entries to the dictionary.

"That consciousness of layers of history... that's an implicit benignant of crackerjack, with each these nooks and crannies, contempt being connected the well-beaten tourer trail, betwixt St Paul's and Covent Garden."

The pub is besides location to different celebrated two-legged resident, who was truthful well-loved that they were stuffed and displayed down the barroom - Polly the parrot.

John said: "Polly the Parrot tin inactive beryllium recovered down the barroom - she lived successful the pub for years, past passed distant successful 1926, and due to the fact that each the journalists loved Polly truthful much, they recorded her passing successful astir 200 newspapers from Cape Town to Montreal, New Zealand to Peking.

"She's inactive down the barroom successful a solid furniture looking down connected you arsenic benignant of the mascot of the pub.

 "I deliberation a large historical pub should marque you consciousness something, and this has 400 years worthy of history, arsenic good arsenic being a beauteous spot to tuck yourself distant with a pint of stout and a sticky toffee pudding."

Expect to wage London prices for pints, with main meals starting from arsenic small arsenic £14.25

Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese has a 4/5 prima standing from thousands of reviews connected TripAdvisor.

Punters described the boozer arsenic "amazing" and "very Dickensian" successful their online reviews.

One idiosyncratic said: "If Charles Dickens dropped successful helium would person recovered small has changed. From a constrictive alley disconnected engaged Fleet Street, you participate thru aged old doors and instantly get transported 500 years back."

Earlier this year, John named another pub to sojourn successful London - you tin work astir it here.

Meanwhile, the Sun's Head of Travel (Digital) Caroline McGuire thinks she's recovered the most child-friendly pub successful London, with a bowling alley and a immense slide.