London pubs in film: from Snatch to the Long Good Friday

Iconic landmarks like King’s Cross and Westminster Bridge have featured in countless films down the years and Londoners are well-accustomed to seeing the city on the big screen.

Still, we're much more interested in seeing landmarks of a different kind captured on film — London's best boozers.

Pubs have played significant roles in some huge Hollywood moments down the years. Thankfully, though some are long gone – the old Duke Of Albany pub in New Cross which doubled as the Winchester in Shaun of the Dead was sadly turned into flats in 2008 – fans can still enjoy a drink in many of them today.

From East End ale houses to riverside favourites, these are the best pubs featured in Hollywood movies.

The Anchor Bankside

Tom Cruise can be seen relaxing with a pint right at the end of the first Mission Impossible movie outside the Anchor Bankside. It's one of the busiest riverside pubs in the area and of all the stunts he pulls off in the film, getting a seat outside this popular Greene King pub is one of the most impressive. If you're looking for a bustling after-work spot though, take a leaf out of Tom's book and give this place a try.

34 Park St, SE1 9EF, greeneking-pubs.co.uk

The Jolly Gardeners

Vinnie Jones swapped the football pitch for the big screen back in 2000, turning up in Guy Ritchie’s Snatch as ultra-geezer 'Bullet Tooth' Tony. The scene which sees him help up at gunpoint was filmed inside the ‘Drowning Trout’ pub was actually filmed inside the Jolly Gardeners, a lovely old Victorian gastropub on Black Prince Road in Lambeth.

49-51 Black Prince Rd, SE11 6AB, zeitgeist-london.com

The Salisbury Hotel

Harringay Green Lanes pub the Salisbury was used to great effect in Bob Hoskins' crime epic The Long Good Friday back in 1980. While the majority of the film takes place in London, the huge Grade II-listed ale house was used to film scenes set in Northern Ireland. The north London pub transformed for the film into the Belfast pub Fagan’s, where the mob’s brutal war with the IRA comes to a head. The interior of the pub was also featured in Robert Downey Jr's Chaplin for a scene set in a Covent Garden ale house.

1, Grand Parade, N4 1JX, facebook.com/The-Salisbury

The Black Prince

The dodgy Black Prince pub where protagonist Eggsy hangs out in 2014 spy flick Kingsman is actually a real London boozer, found on Black Prince Road in Kennington. The pub plays host to some of the most memorable sequences in the film including the moment Colin Firth takes down a gang using nothing but a customised umbrella. Despite featuring it heavily the film actually did the pub a major disservice — it's nowhere near as rough in real life.

6 Black Prince Rd, SE11 6HS, theblackprincepub.co.uk

Ye Olde Mitre

One of London’s most historic pubs got the Hollywood treatment when Ye Olde Mitre featured in Tom Hiddleston’s 2011 film The Deep Blue Sea (not to be confused with the shark movie with the same name from 1999, of course). Tom and on-screen partner Rachel Weisz hang out here in the drama and the pub’s signature stained glass windows can be made out pretty clearly. Despite its sporadic opening hours the 17th century pub is a real treat and a must-visit for history-loving pub fans in the capital.

1 Ely Pl, EC1N 6SJ, yeoldemitreholborn.co.uk

The Royal Oak

Does it even count as a Guy Ritchie film if it’s not set in a London boozer? A lot of the action in 1998’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels takes places in Samoan Jack’s, shot at The Royal Oak on Columbia Road. While it’s a hangout for London’s criminals in the movie, in reality it’s a comfortable, spacious East End gastropub. In fact, you’re far more likely to find mild-mannered punters enjoying charred fennel and asparagus salads here than gangsters handling antique shotguns.

73 Columbia Rd, E2 7RG, royaloaklondon.com

Infernos

It might not be a pub but we couldn’t resist adding Clapham’s infamous nightclub Infernos onto the list. Remember the hilarious dancing scene from the Inbetweeners Movie? Yep, all filmed at Infernos. The main room of the London club was transformed into the awful Malia bar where Will, Simon, Neil and Jay spend the majority of their time in the film. The venue is much livelier in real life of course and fans will also be pleased to know that Neil’s older lover Kitty doesn’t hang out there in real life.

146 Clapham High St, SW4 7UH, infernos.co.uk