Moorgate · the City of London
Old Doctor Butler's Head
Named after a royal physician's medicinal ale
- Address2 Masons Avenue, Moorgate, EC2V 5BT
- Phone020 7606 3504
- Websiteolddoctorbutlershead.co.uk
- OwnershipPart of Shepherd Neame
About Old Doctor Butler's Head
The last survivor of a chain of taverns once licensed to sell Dr Butler's eccentric medicinal ale, reached down a narrow City alley.
Down an atmospheric alley off Coleman Street, the Old Doctor Butler's Head takes its name from Dr William Butler, physician to King James I, who sold a proprietary medicinal ale exclusively through taverns bearing his sign. Butler was notorious for stranger remedies — startling epileptic patients with pistol shots among them — but this is the one house of his that survived. The current building dates from soon after the Great Fire of 1666.
On tap
Shepherd Neame cask ales in a traditional, low-ceilinged bar.
Food
Pub lunches and snacks for the Moorgate office crowd.
More pubs in Moorgate
- The Jugged HareA former brewery site with taxidermy on the walls
- The GlobeA rococo corner pub on the old city wall's line
See all the City of London pubs and the map · All 12 boroughs