Heated beer gardens in London: Map plotting the best pubs for al fresco drinking goes viral

A map plotting hundreds of heated pub gardens across London, as well as a handful in Birmingham, has gone viral after being shared widely on Whatsapp.

Revealed by the i’s Josh Barrie to be the work of epidemiologist Oli Stevens, the map has been viewed more than 44,000 times in just three days. 

The list of beer gardens began as a Google Doc, which can be viewed in full here. Divided by location – central, north, east, south and west – the guide includes a number of bars and a handful of restaurants. Familiar favourites on the list including the Crown & Shuttle in Shoreditch, the Ladywell Tavern in Lewisham and the Hero of Maida, found in Little Venice.  

The map can be seen below, and Stevens is asking that those who find it useful to donate to the charity Insulate, which provides London’s homeless with sleeping bags and other essentials. Donations can be made here.

The Standard’s own recommendations include The Alwyne Castle in Highbury (N1, thealwynecastleislington.co.uk), Earlsfield’s Leather Bottle (SW17, leatherbottlepub.co.uk), Acton’s Aeronaut (W3, aeronaut.pub) and the Leyton Star (E15, leytonstar.co.uk), all of which have put in wooden pergolas to keep the rain and wind off; inside are cosy heaters. This idea taken to its eccentric extreme can be found at the always packed Hope and Anchor in Brixton (SW2, hopeandanchorbrixton.co.uk), while the Castle in Tooting (SW17, castletooting.com) does it more quietly, even if the coveted “castles” are in short supply.  

If you’re not wedded to the pub, rooftop spots Pergola on the Roof (W12, pergolapaddington.com) and Boundary Rooftop (E2, boundary.london) are heated and offer food alongside all the drink, or there’s Vinegar Yard (SE1, vinegaryard.london) with its rows of benches undercover, and lots of space for groups of six. For a quieter time curled up with a decent cocktail, sit among the fairy-lights at the warming terrace at the beautiful Double Standard (WC1H, standardhotels.com).