The Porterhouse

The Porterhouse is a large Irish-owned bar on Maiden Lane, opened in 2000 as the London outpost of the Porterhouse founded in Dublin's Temple Bar in 1996. It remains family owned, family run and independent, spread across three main floors with mezzanine levels between them and one of central London's largest beer gardens.

Beer is the reason it exists. More than 30 taps pour a wide selection of craft beer, including the house Plain Porter, with many more options in bottle and can, alongside a large gin list, a cocktail menu and a collection of Irish whiskey. Regular tap takeovers and several beer festivals run through the year, and the German Beer Festival each October is the fixture regulars plan around.

A craft beer pub in Covent Garden with live music and rugby

The kitchen serves pub staples such as fish and chips, burgers and pizzas, with plenty of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options, and Sunday is given over to homemade roasts. Live bands play the Basement Bar every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, mostly rock and pop covers from the 1960s to today. The bar calls itself a rugby pub, with 18 screens covering the Six Nations and the major tournaments, and as an Irish house it also shows the GAA.

What to expect on a visit

The venue is over-21s only after 4pm on weekdays and all day at the weekend. Bookings are taken on weekdays for groups of ten to a hundred, but Saturday and Sunday are walk-in only. Doors open at noon every day and close at midnight Monday to Saturday and 10pm on Sunday. Maiden Lane runs parallel to the Strand, a few minutes from Charing Cross and the piazza, so it works before or after a show. See more Covent Garden pubs, or for a quieter real ale session head to The Harp on Chandos Place.