Cittie of Yorke, WC1

Definitely worth a visit for the spectacular interior if not for the Sam Smiths OBB, although at least you get the handpulled version in here. The stone flagged corridor entrance has a decorative ceiling featuring the white rose of Yorkshire, the side door leading into a carpeted wood panelled front room with a few Chesterfield type sofas, feels a bit like a drawing room really. On the walls are a series of portraits of eminent erstwhile Holborn residents such as Sir Thomas More, Francis Bacon, Charles Dickens et al. The pub's main room though is to the rear, a long bar runs along the side wall opposite which are a series of small booths seating fours. More booths run along the opposite wall once the bar stops, the last one housing a dartboard. If you look up you see a huge open beamed vaulted roof, some stained glass and the series of huge vats and casks above the bar top. The floor is boarded, décor includes several legal related cartoons and caricatures. One unusual feature is the triangular flat topped fireplace/heater which stands on the pub floor, how this operates I'm not sure as there is no flue. The carved bar back centrepiece features a clock and has several pewter tankards hanging on hooks. Huge globe lights gently illuminate the space and provide some atmosphere. As said, not one to aim for to sample the ales but a must visit to see the fine interior.

Lovely historic pub in the middle of Holborn,good food and beer.

The exterior of this pub belies the splendour of one of the capital's finest pub interiors. In fact, were you to pop in for a quick drink in the modest front bar, you may well miss out on the impressive drinking hall at the rear, with its high, vaulted ceiling and numerous intimate booths. This part of the pub is well described below, with highlights including the enormous wine vats perched high behind the very long bar counter, the odd, triangular heater/stove (which served well as a drinking ledge on my recent visit) and what appeared to be a high viewing gallery at the very back of the room. This is a Sam Smith's pub, so drink choices are no surprise although the OBB was on handpull for a change. There is quite a bit of Sam Smith's branding dotted around, but I thought it was quite tasteful and fitted in well. The long bar counter means that staff sometimes lose track of who's next, but even on a busy Friday night, I didn't have too many problems getting served quickly. I'd certainly recommend this pub as being well worthy of investigation and if you were looking to do a crawl of some of the city's finest heritage pubs, this would be as good a starting point as any.