The Pig and Butcher

The Pig and Butcher sits at 80 Liverpool Road in Islington, a handsome pub built in the mid 1800s when this was farmland on the road to Smithfield Market. It opened in 2012 and has become a fixture for drinkers and diners alike.

The hook is the in house butchery. The team breaks down whole animals in a butchers room downstairs and runs a daily changing British menu upstairs. The Michelin Guide and the Top 50 Gastropubs list both recognise it. It anchors our London craft beer and ale guide and the wider best bars in London roundup.

It still reads as a proper boozer, with a bar you can drink at without booking a table. The London Economic described a room filled with both diners and drinkers, all feeding a lively front of house.

Produce arrives each morning from New Spitalfields Market, with meat collected locally from Smithfield. For more pubs pouring good ale, see the London craft beer guide and our gastropubs near me hub.

The crowd is a mix of Islington locals drinking at the bar and bookings filling the dining tables, especially around the Sunday roast. The London Economic described diners and drinkers sharing one lively room.

Sundays run busiest, when the roast pulls a steady stream from the surrounding streets off Liverpool Road. Midweek evenings are calmer and easier for a walk in pint without a table reservation.

• The Michelin Guide lists the Pig and Butcher among its recommended London pubs.
• Top 50 Gastropubs has recognised it on the national gastropub list.
• The pub butchers all of its meat on site daily in a dedicated downstairs room.
• The London Economic praised the room for keeping the feel of a proper boozer alongside the kitchen.

• A long Sunday lunch built on meat butchered in house.
• A drinker who wants real cask ale without a tasting menu attached.
• Avoid if you want a late night cocktail den; this is a kitchen led pub.

• Find it at 80 Liverpool Road, Islington, London N1 0QD.
• Closest transit: Angel and Highbury & Islington stations, both a short walk away.
• Open daily; expect $$$ pricing across British food, cask ale and wine.
• Best for the Sunday roast, cask ale and a long lunch.
• Book ahead for the dining room, especially on Sundays, or walk in to drink at the bar.