Five minutes from Barbican and Farringdon tube stations, The Fox & Anchor is a great and less obvious choice for accommodation in central London. Although in the heart of the city, it’s tucked down a side street and attractively away from the hustle and bustle. 

The bar areas are something out of a Dickens novel, with low beams, leather-clad benches, wooden paneling, antique furniture, romantic little alcoves and candlelight. Conversely, the six very comfortable boutique bedrooms above the pub are very much on trend, with bright and colourful furnishings, and funky touches like claw-footed freestanding copper roll-top baths, antique telephones, lovely wallpapers, contemporary artworks, and luxuriously thick velvet curtains. The suite has a little private terrace and all rooms have amenities like flat screen TVs and Nespresso coffee machines.

This Victorian building retains lots of characterful detailing, such as Art Nouveau tiling on the facade. Room rates do not include breakfast, however there are several cafés and restaurants nearby. However, the breakfasts here are hearty and very good. There are healthy options, and the brave can go for the Fox’s City Breakfast, a huge and tasty spread that includes eggs, bacon, sausages, liver and kidney, tomatoes, mushroom, beans, fried bread, black and white puddings, steak and a pint of Guinness…

The Fox and Anchor is on the Stay in a Pub website (stayinapub.co.uk), which has more than 50 pubs with character in London at all price levels, as well as many others throughout the UK.

115 Charterhouse Street, Barbican, London EC1M 6AA; 020 7250 1300; foxandanchor.com