The Rake

The Rake sits at 14 Winchester Walk on the edge of Borough Market, run by Richard Dinwoodie and Mike Hill, the founders of the Utobeer stall. Borough Market's own trader listing calls it London's original beer bar. The selection is deliberately broad, with a lean toward American craft alongside a rotating cast of draughts and a fridge packed with bottles.

The catch, and the charm, is the size. The indoor bar is famously tiny, which makes the covered terrace the real estate everyone wants. If you need a table and a quiet pint this is a tough room. If you want to work through beers you cannot find easily elsewhere, it is one of the city's most respected beer addresses.

The indoor bar holds only a handful of people, so most drinkers spill onto the heated terrace that fronts the market. Beer Guide London notes the contrast between the huge range and the small footprint, which is exactly what gives the place its standing room energy on a Friday.

There are always several draught lines, a few real ales and a fridge full of bottles, with the range turning over constantly. Pints start around six pounds. The staff know the list cold, so name a style, a strength or a country and they will point you to something current.

Saturday opens early at 10am to catch the market crowd, which makes a late morning bottle a quiet way to use the room before it fills. Utobeer's own shop nearby means the buying is sharp and the rarities are real rather than marketing.

A market crowd by day and an after work beer crowd by evening, busiest on Friday and Saturday when the terrace overflows. Drinkers here come for the list, so the talk skews toward what is pouring.

Drinking your way round Borough? Read our best craft beer bars in London guide and our wider best bars in London list. Searching nearby? Start at the craft beer near me hub or the London craft beer page.