Sahara Mara / 30 March 2025 / Categories: Food & Drink, Pubs

The Coach and Horses My Family Old Pub in Mayfair

Londons oldest surviving pub cannot close

I was compelled to write this snoop. I fear one day I am going to stroll down Hill St in Mayfair and The Coach and Horses will be gone.

There are three pubs in Mayfair we, my family, absolutely LOVE. The Punchbowl, The Footman and The Coach and Horses. All these spots have history not just for London but for me and my brother too. When I worked in London these three watering holes but especially the Coach and Horses were the spots we'd all spill out into the street of an evening as the nights got longer and the UK weather better. I remember loads of banter, a great place to meet and always a great time. It was a regular thing. It was our social media, people getting together, talking, hooking up, having fun. We spent our money, we didn't care, we loved having a place to go, even alone, even a girl could walk in and be guaranteed you'd bump into someone you knew, a true local.

We returned a couple of weeks back. I had a meeting nearby and called an old friend who works in the neighbourhood and suggested we meet for a drink and a sandwich.

It was a Wednesday. I have to say I was really shocked how dead it was. It wasn't raining although aside from the two of us there was only one other person sitting alone at a table with a laptop.

Not sure what has happened to this gorgeous old pub with no customers. What was once a lively hostelry full of energetic locals and busy no nonsense staff to keep everyone in line it's turned into a tourist destination with no tourists boasting history but no atmosphere.

We ate two marguerita pizzas perfectly adequately prepared had a couple of drinks each and left without the Coach and Horses uplift we remembered from a time pre covid when london life was happening.

I will return to The Coach and Horses after work 5.00pm, 5.30pm as the nights get longer to see if the old magic comes back when the loyal locals return once more.

The coach and Horses is part of a pub chain now, Shepherd Neame, which does a test to being Britains oldest brewer. Like many independents swallowed up by bigger businesses to ensure survival a little je ne sais quoix has been lost for me and that usually comes with an incredible host and landlord, may be the only thing missing to bring this gem of a place loved by so many back to life.