It woud be easy to pass by the Hope & Anchor and dismiss it, due to its unassuming facade, as just another pub in an area saturated with boozers conceived in an office in a tower block somewhere. However, walk through the doors and you feel yourself wandering down the pantheon of musical history. Previous acts to perform there reads like a who’s who of cult legends, as it became a leading establishment in the onslaught of the punk movement. Recently reformed The Stranglers even recorded a live album there such was their affection for the shabby chic of the atmospherically claustrophobic live venue in the basement. Nowadays, the Hope and Anchor status may have slipped a little, but it remains one of the best venues in London to see unsigned bands set out on their journey to stardom.

A fantastically grungy hidden gem on Upper St, with old-school gritty floors and the smell of 20-year-old beer lingering from wild nights past. If you like your pubs old-school and you're longing to tap into London's punk past, you'll enjoy yourself here.