The Nag'sHead, Belgravia

The Nag's Head sits on Kinnerton Street, a cobbled mews just south of Knightsbridge, in an early nineteenth-century building that has served as a pub since Belgravia's grand squares were first built. Kevin Moran has held the licence since 1982 and runs it as a free house, choosing his own beers rather than tying to one brewery. The narrow two-level bar is arranged around what regulars call the lowest pub counter in London, fitted with a pewter beer engine and pink ceramic handpulls for Adnams cask ales. Walls are covered in vintage prints, penny-arcade machines and theatrical memorabilia gathered over four decades. Mobile phones are asked to stay away, and there is no music or television, so conversation carries. The pub draws local residents, embassy staff and visitors, and remains one of the few unbranded free houses left in London.