19 August 2026

Beer and Sandwiches: At the Coach & Horses in London

This column is our weekly pub review, written by pintsmen, women and children across the nation. Suggestions to letters@newstatesman.co.uk

By New Statesman

Illustration by Marta Signori

This item, as you know, is written by a different anonymous contributor each week. This keeps things objective, with an air of studied detachment, all in the service of providing you with honest and non-partisan journalism.

It would therefore not be in the spirit of things to gesture even limply at the identity of this week’s correspondent.

La belle vie

Anyway, where was I? Ah, yes – Soho. Once you have finished your half-pint at the French House, head around the corner to the Coach & Horses on Greek Street. (Note: there are two other pubs of the same name located within a couple of hundred metres of this one; it is important that both are given a wide berth).

Here you will find an old-fashioned, unstylish bar with old-fashioned, unstylish drinks. Do not drink the wine – Le Beaujolais is but a three-minute walk away for anyone after Château Thivin.

With beer we stand

No, most people are here for the Guinness. I think on a recent visit I drank a Peroni – could have been a Corona. When it comes to generic, watery lager, the exact specification is academic.

And as for the sandwiches? I hope you like Mini Cheddars! Really, the purpose of this recommendation is so that you can assert your right to stand on the pavement and drink your beer in a manner that is obstructive to traffic, other pedestrians, and especially Soho residents.

Nothing says “yeehaw, it’s Friday” like thwarting the puritan will of local government.