Trinity Arms

The Trinity Arms sits on Trinity Gardens, a quiet square tucked a few minutes off the noise of Brixton Road. It is a Young's house, which sets the expectation before you walk in: well kept cask ale, a proper kitchen, and a room built for sitting rather than queuing. Time Out files it under the classic Brixton locals for exactly that reason.

The draw is the garden. Out back the pub keeps a paved courtyard with a fire pit and bookable corners, and CAMRA notes it as one of the better pub gardens in this corner of south London. The square out front does the rest, since the pub spills onto the benches the moment the sun is out. This is a neighborhood pub that rewards a long afternoon, not a quick stop.

Trinity Arms works best as a low key counterpoint to Brixton's busier rooms. For where it fits on a wider crawl, see our best bars in Brixton guide and the roundup of best garden bars in London.

The main bar is a single traditional room, dark wood and etched glass, with the Young's range on the pumps and bar stools that fill up first on a Friday. It reads as a corner local rather than a gastropub, and the regulars treat it that way.

Behind the building is the reason most people make the walk. The garden runs to a fire pit and a set of bookable areas, heated and covered enough to hold a table through a cool evening. Dogs are welcome throughout, and reviewers on Yelp single out the garden and the staff as the reasons they keep coming back.

• Time Out lists it among the dependable traditional pubs in Brixton, away from the main strip.
• CAMRA flags the well kept Young's cask ale and the garden as the standout features.
• Yelp reviewers repeatedly praise the fire pit garden and the friendly bar staff.
• Regulars treat it as a quiet local and a Sunday roast spot rather than a late night room.

• A quiet pint and a proper cask ale a short walk from Brixton tube.
• A long afternoon by the fire pit with a dog under the table.
• Avoid if you came to Brixton for late night music and a packed dance floor.