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Museum Tavern

4.0 (95 reviews)
ModeratePubs
Open 11:00 am - 11:30 pm

Museum Tavern Photos

MUSEUM TAVERN ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Touristy
Moderate noise
Outdoor seating

Recommended Reviews - Museum Tavern

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Chicken Salad was great
Maggy Z.

We stopped here before going to the British museum and they were very nice to accommodate 8 people. They were busy and only two were serving but they worked fast and were very attentive. The food was great! The garlic bread was really good!

Big Fish & Chips w/ scampi, toast, and mushy peas! DELICIOUS!
Shayla B.

If you're hanging out near the British Museum and are looking for some delicious fish and chips, then look NO further! The Museum Tavern has GOT YOU mmkaaay? The fish and chips are BOMBSY!!! Better yet, the SCAMPI is friggin' delectable. And of course, the beer is delightful too. Only in London, babyyy! Came here for some fish and chips after visiting the British Museum last year, and I was blown away by how yummy everything was! The Museum Tavern is conveniently located right across the street from the British Museum (hence the name). It's a classic British Pub with some solid ass eats and HUMONGOOO portions! Ordered the big fish and chips w/ scampi and it did not disappoint. The plate comes with toast and mushy peas too. The fish was fried to perfection! It was nice and flakey on the inside and came perfectly coated and seasoned. The mushy peas were so good! I've never been a fan of peas, but after having them this way, I've been craving to get them mushy again. The chips were good too. But that scampi though! These were clearly the star of the show! I couldn't get enough of them! They were just so damn good. And that BEER! The Paulaner Weisbier is just exceptional! If you like Hefeweizen or German style light beers, than you'll simply LOVE this. It was delicious! But Geezus, the portions! I hate wasting food, but to-go boxes are basically non-existent here in London. I stretched my belly out as much as I could before I had to call it quits. This is a traditional pub setting, you order at the bar, take a number, and they'll deliver your food to your table (no table service). Although there wasn't any table service, the beertenders were really nice and gave great recommendations. Would highly, HIGHLY recommend the Museum Tavern for some amazing fish and chips!

Museum Tavern.
Andrew L.

We enjoyed dinner at the Museum Tavern, located right across the street from the British Museum. Tables can be booked in advance (by telephone or online), which we did. Our table was waiting, a good move as the pub was crowded. (There is outside seating, but the rain was not conducive to it this evening.) Despite it being in a heavily visited and touristed location, I would say that predominately locals were here after work. The wooden bar and fittings give it the perfect British pub atmosphere. Recommended to other visitors to London. I placed our food order at the bar and it was served at our table. I ordered the Ultimate Fish and Chips. A nice cod fillet was accompanied by mushy peas, pickled onions, curry sauce and tartar sauce. It was very good! The Museum Tavern is something of a museum itself. The pub dates to 1723 and has operated under its present name since 1755. The present building dates to 1855.

Chicken sandwich
Sarah P.

Wanted to come here for a quick bite to eat before we headed to the British Museum but this was a mistake. We waited almost 50 minutes for our food to finally come out which only left us with 1 hour for the museum. I'm gluten free and asked for my chicken burger to be on a salad but instead it just came out with no bun so I paid $20 for a small piece of chicken & fries. The food is good though so if you have time to wait then you might have a better experience.

Pints with Graham
Dan G.

Spending a few hours exploring the British Museum works up quite a thirst. Conveniently, there is a great pub right across the street. I find myself in this pub every time I'm in town and always have a blast. Bartenders are cool and help me out with the different beers to choose from, as they are all new to me. This time around I was drinking Doom Bar. What I love most is that I can pop in maybe once a year and still find pub regular Graham at the bar to catch up with over a few pints. Until next time, cheers!

Exterior view of Museum Tavern - complete with rubbish bags and road works...
David J.

This small pub opposite the British Museum has a delightful mid-Victorian interior, full of polished mahogany and etched mirrors and stained glass. Although there has been a pub on the site since the early 18th century: a tavern named the Dog and Duck was recorded here in 1723, although it may have sold liquor before that. The present name was adopted in 1862, after the Museum was built. The interior dates from a refit around 1855, by the architect William Finch Hill. Although refitted several times since, many of his elaborately carved woodwork fittings survive. The pub has a formidable choice of real ales which, on a recent visit, included Timothy Taylor, Fuller's London Pride, Theakston's Old Peculier, Sharp's Doom Bar, Golden Promise Organic, and Bombardier. Although I'd normally say this was a good thing, the quality of one or two of the ales wasn't tip-top a couple fewer with faster turnover might be better. They do a range of traditional pub food, with the sausage and mash being recommended (though it is a while since I have eaten here). It gets very busy (and touristy) during the day when the museum is open, but is generally much quieter after 8pm, when you stand a chance of finding a seat. Toilets are all down steep stairs and are not accessible for those with impaired mobility. (I suppose you could always have a pint and nip across to the Museum itself, though the access is via self-operated chair lifts). The only real downside was the service: very efficient, but definitely without a smile. I presume this is something to do with being in such a touristy location but a smile surely costs nothing? We weren't even wished good-night as we left

Crystal Grace G.

I am not hyping this when I say that this was LITERALLY the BEST fish and chips I've ever had. I've had my fair share of fish and chips from places all over California and in Ireland. This place is literally right across the British museum and after being so hungry I was so glad I found this place. The place was however, extremely busy and there was literally only one waitress taking care of over 50+ people and their orders. Which I didn't understand why there was only one person. But me and my friend patiently waited and was seated within 10 minutes or so. Before coming in we both saw the ultimate fish and chips plate and agreed that it was what we were ordering. It comes with a large fried fish, lots of chips, peas, bread and butter and curry and tartar sauce. First of all I was just impressed with how much was on the plate. And I've never had curry sauce with fish and chips and boy was it delicious! The fish was AMAZING. Fried to perfection to say the least. It wasn't soggy and the fish had the perfect seasoning too. The chips were crispy on the outside and well done on the instead. The peas were a good compliment with all the fried food being stuffed into my mouth. I couldn't have been more pleased. Come here. You won't regret the 15£.

Colie R.

We came here late one night to eat. It is a very small restaurant so I can't imagine if it was busy what it would be like. We seated ourselves and then I grew annoyed with a sign that said "order at the bar" because this was first described to me as a place you could sit down. However, a waitress did end up coming over to us and taking our food order, even giving us a specific time of when it would be ready. The inside of this place is extremely cute. It has a nice vibe and there were a lot of people standing around and drinking that seemed to be regulars that enjoyed this place. I ended up getting the Hunter's Chicken which was Grilled chicken breast topped with smoked streaky bacon, Cheddar cheese & BBQ sauce. Served with chips, onion rings, house coleslaw and a dressed salad garnish. This meal was done well. I enjoyed that it came with chips and onion rings and the prices were very reasonable. We also tried the Louisiana Burrito which was a tortilla wrap filled with grilled seasoned vegetables, mixed beans and chillies with coriander & parsley rice, infused with smoked paprika, garlic, oregano & lemon. Mixed with crisp lettuce, mature Cheddar cheese & sour cream. It also came with some very good crisps. I then wanted to get dessert to go, which seemed like a foreign concept for the waitress. She asked what I wanted and I told her Apple Crumble and she said that would be fine. Once we paid and I got the Apple Crumble we left. I did not look at the Apple Crumble until I got back and when I did it looked absolutely disgusting and like someone else had already eaten it. That got thrown away fairly quickly. Overall, a nice place for a pub. Very small cute decorations, average food.

Not tourists like.  Good stuff!
Chuck B.

Yes, fish and chips are great. Service was friendly and great. Local pub atmosphere. All good stuff!!! Enjoy... pulled pork nachos just as good ...

Aspall Cyder
Heidi W.

Very close to the British Museum. It was a lot smaller than I expected inside. It seemed to be filled with mainly tourists, but there were a couple locals at the bar. The signs say to grab a table anywhere. Our waitress was very kind. She explained the different ciders to me. The menu is pretty diverse from fish and chips to burritos. I had the lamb shank shepherds pie. It was hot and comforting on this particular cold day. The gravy on the side was rich and delicious. The peas and carrots on the side I could've done without. The prices are very fair. I was expecting them to be a little more with the proximity to the museum, but was pleasantly surprised.

(cod) fish n chips

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Museum Tavern Reviews in Other Languages

Review Highlights - Museum Tavern

! The Museum Tavern is conveniently located right across the street from the British Museum (hence the name)

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The Centre Page - Modest entrance area.

The Centre Page

3.6(25 reviews)
1.2 miBlackfriars
£

After visiting Shakespeare's Globe across the Thames River, I was rushing to the airport and…read morespotted this place near St. Paul's church after crossing Millennium Bridge. Given the location, I knew it was probably a tourist trap and I wish to avoid those usually but had no time so stopped in on a Monday afternoon for lunch. I'm so glad I did! I was in London only briefly and had yet to try proper fish and chips and I was definitely WOW'd. I've only had this in America, and this was definitely better than anything I've ever had. When it arrived on my table, I could feel the heat from the plate -- that's how scalding hot and fresh it was, and I loved that! The cod was absolutely massive, a thick portion of fish deep fried with the skin on within an incredibly crunchy beer batter. There were pieces of bone in it, but no bother, this only made it seem more fresh. The chips (thick cut fries) were perfectly crispy and both the fish and chips were insanely delicious with a bit of salt and malt vinegar (which I had to request by walking up to the bar). The dish came with a tartar sauce and ketchup, but tasted way better with the salt and vin. I absolutely love that the fish and chips also came with mushy peas, whereas most pubs only give you fish and chips alone. The dish was also very well priced at 9.95 GBP, and I was able to use my credit card, rounded up to 10 GBP because they have a 10 GBP minimum for using cards. I appreciate that this restaurant had free wi-fi, which I found out by asking my waiter, who quickly provided the secret code for me to use. In America you would never ask your server for this but I noticed that nearly every hotel and restaurant I visited during my 11-day tour of Europe offered wi-fi. Good on them, because how else would I check in to a restaurant on Yelp and shower them with praise and circulate promotional foodie photos on Instagram? During a weekday, many workers nearby flood this place to grab a pint during lunch....now, why don't I work in London? I would give this place five stars based on the food alone, but I am giving it four because I wished the service had been more attentive, as I had to go up to the bar to get malt vinegar and also to ask to pay my bill. I understand service in Europe is more laissez-faire than in America, but since this is a tourist spot I would have liked to be checked on by the staff at least once during my meal, and certainly to be presented with the bill. Note: They also serve Sunday roast dinner for 9.95 GBP on Sundays

Great location, great specials and great service. This is a solid pub that seems to attract a good…read morecrowd. Being from the states I am not as familiar with all the UK brands --- but they seem to offer a wide variety of beers (lots on tap) and cocktails. TIP: I recommend hitting this place before 5:30 on the weekdays as the happy hour crowd fills this join up.

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The Centre Page
The Centre Page - Downstairs dinning area

Downstairs dinning area

The Centre Page

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The Banker

The Banker

4.3(16 reviews)
1.6 miThe City
££

We had passed this pub several times, as it is located on a common route to the hotel we were…read morestaying in, and we wanted to have our first London pub experience, so try it, we did. We arrived just after the work day, and the crowd was buzzing just outside. We did the self-seating option indoors, and sat down to a great view of the Thames river, as we pondered our meal choices from the menu. The location is just great. For a leadoff drink, I had to go with the house cask ale, which was the Fuller's ESB, a drink I've been enjoying since the 1990's, and it delivered as expected. I went with an order of Sausages with mashed potatoes and peas...it doesn't get much more classic than that, and I was happy with it, especially with the quantity (3 sausages!). Wifey was on the hunt for a meat pie, and she went with the Steak, Ale & Mushroom Pie, which I can report was wholeheartedly approved. One of the better pies we've had on the overall trip, and the best we had at a pub location. The overall vibe of this pub is exactly as you might picture it, and we weren't disappointed with any aspect. Service, though not overly patient (hey - they were busy), was competent and pleasant. Cheers!

Great pub in the City of London. Found it while walking near the River front after crossing north…read moreover London Bridge. Casks, drafts, lots of seating - both indoor and outdoor. They had billiards and some other entertainment. Quick service.

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The Banker
The Banker
The Banker

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Museum Tavern - pubs - Updated May 2026

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