Waterloo · Lambeth
Anchor and Hope
The no-bookings pioneer of the modern London gastropub, on The Cut by the Old Vic
- AddressThe Cut, Waterloo, London, SE1 8LP
- Websiteanchorandhopepub.co.uk
- OwnershipIndependent pub
About Anchor and Hope
One of the founding pubs of London's modern gastropub movement, on The Cut near the Old Vic and Young Vic theatres, run on a deliberately no-bookings, queue-at-the-bar basis.
The Anchor and Hope helped define what a London gastropub could be: serious, ingredient-led British cooking served in an unreconstructed pub room, with a blackboard menu, communal tables and a famously strict no-reservations policy that still has diners queueing at the bar on a Tuesday night. It sits on The Cut, the theatre street that runs between Waterloo and Southwark stations, a short walk from both the Old Vic and the Young Vic, and draws much of its pre- and post-show trade from audiences at both. The kitchen changes its menu daily and doesn't chase trends, which is precisely why the pub has remained a benchmark for the gastropub scene it helped start since the 2000s.
On tap
A tight, well-chosen wine list and a handful of beers
Food
Daily-changing, ingredient-led British menu; no bookings taken
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