If you wander out of your office/flat/bedsit, odds are that you'll stumble upon (and over) one of London's scores of gastropubs. The competition for customers is clearly an active one as GPs litter the streets. We reckon, pretty soon they'll outnumber pubs serving just booze.

Given the levels of competition, the Anchor and Hope has to try extra hard to maintain its status as one of the best. Actually, we don't think they actually try that hard. Since its inception, the Anchor has been churning out a simple formula of service that has won many admirers and has an army of regulars (or should that be navy of followers given the nautical theme?)



"A-gah-gah-gah-gah - I'll have the spinach and the onglet please..."

It's simple really - great produce chosen every day and cooked in straight-forward and tasty dishes (normally in healthy portions to keep you feeling guilty about your lack of a gym regime).

We wish we could go into it more, but seriously - there's not a lot else to say. The food is seriously good - enough for you to have pleasant thoughts about it when you're idly on a train or lounging in bed. It keeps people coming back even though there's a no-booking policy (which often results in queues) and a sharing table policy (seriously don't let these put you off).

We know the Eagle is the oldest gastropub and old Gordy Ramsey is opening some of the most expensive gastropubs, but the best? We reckon the Anchor and Hope is definitely one of the contenders.