Nothing beats a sunny day trip to a beer garden to soak up some rays (and some drinks), right? But many’s the time, unfortunately, that I’ve turned up to find a packed beer garden with nary a square centimetre of sunlit seating or standing space left. And short of getting to the pub at 10:30 in the morning, what’s a thirsty sun-seeker to do? Well, if you want to maximise your chance of a sunny session of pints, your best bet is to head to The North Star. The traditional pub dates back to the 1860s and was recently revealed to have London’s sunniest beer garden.
That’s all well and good, you may say, but how do we know it’s the sunniest beer garden in London? Well, the folks at Barratt Homes have only gone and done the research for us. They recently announced which pub in London was home to the very best beer garden in the city. That honour went to the Duke of Edinburgh over in Brixton. Barratt Homes awarded the top spot to the pub based on a number of factors, such as sun coverage and ‘price satisfaction’.
At the same time, they also released a list of pubs in London ranked purely on average daily sun coverage. The North Star came out on top with an average daily sun coverage of 79.6%. This was just ahead of the second-placed pub, Hackney’s The Axe, with 78.4%. Rounding out the top 3 was Islington’s The Albion, with a daily sun coverage of 77.2%.
The North Star
The North Star is a classic neighbourhood pub that would be a go-to boozer even if it weren’t in possession of London’s sunniest beer garden. In fact, CAMRA recently described the community boozer as “everything a local pub should be”. Pretty high praise indeed!
The pub was originally established all the way back in the 1860s and features pavement tables out front as well as an impressive backyard. The outdoor area out back is handily located and laid out to “(maximise) sun exposure throughout the entire day”.
And it’s not just a delightful place for a pint in the sun. The pub also serves up an impressive selection of Thai food and sourdough pizzas. That’s right – why choose when you could have both? It’s the perfect spot to take a big group – because there’ll surely be something for everyone! (Even Craig, who can never find what they want…)
The list of sun-trap beer gardens to head to on the next sunny day in London ranges across East, North, and South London. There is definitely a noticeable cluster, however, around the Hackney and Islington area. The top 10 list features:
- The North Star – Waltham Forest (average daily sun coverage: 79.55%)
- The Axe – Hackney (average daily sun coverage: 78.41%)
- The Albion – Islington (average daily sun coverage: 77.27%)
- The Talbot – Lewisham (average daily sun coverage: 77.27%)
- Hope & Anchor – Lambeth (average daily sun coverage: 76.14%)
- Pub on the Park – Hackney (average daily sun coverage: 75%)
- The Duke of Edinburgh – Lambeth (average daily sun coverage: 73.87%)
- The Arnos Arms – Enfield (average daily sun coverage: 73.87%)
- The Crooked Billet – Hackney (average daily sun coverage: 72.73%)
- The Castle – Wandsworth (average daily sun coverage: 72.73%)
📍 You’ll find The North Star at 24 Browning Road, Bushwood, E11 3AR. The nearest station is Leytonstone.
The above information comes from a recent study by Barratt Homes.
