The Harp, WC2

Situated on a side street between Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden and Charing Cross station, this lovely real ale pub is easily incorporated into any London sightseeing day out. A small single room offers limited seating, mostly in the form of stools along drinking shelves, although there are a few tables towards the rear. There are eight hand pumps and my recent visit saw two Dark Star beers, two Sambrooks, Ascot Alligator, Harvey’s Best and H&H Olde Trip on offer - the last of which ran out whilst I was there, the clip being turned immediately. One fridge was full of various ciders and I noticed a certificate on the wall naming this the Greater London Cider Pub of the Year for 2008. Staff are very nice and helpful and were enjoying a good laugh with the punters stood at the bar. It can get a bit busy in here at times and the cramped layout can make it hard to move around, but it's a small gripe against what is otherwise an excellent little pub.

Official site of the Harp - harpcoventgarden.com

Official site of the Harp - harpcoventgarden.com

Full of character and welcoming. Regulars are Black Sheep, Taylors Landlord and Harveys Sussex. Good enough without the guests, on this occasion, Harviestown Bitter and Twisted, Adnams Explorer and Batemans Valiant. The top of the bar is full of clips and mats from previous guest ales. Spotted the intimate upstairs parlour style room I've never noticed before. The main area opposite the bar is very narrow so seating here is limited to stools along a shelf. Only one minor gripe, the front windows fold back to allow in air and light, and also smoke. It seems de riguer for smokers to stand outside chatting through the opening to friends inside so a lot of smoke blows back in.

On Friday night I was served a nice pint of unknown ale by a very friendly barmaid. I smoked a cigarette in the alley out back and then climbed the treacherous stairs to the tiny bog. I had great fun; I just wish that I could remember some more of the night! One thing that I will say is that even though it looked heaving there was room at the back and although I couldn't get to the bar I was informed of the ale selection by the barmaid and then served instantly. Well worth going out of your way for!

Very busy, narrow single-bar pub. Excellent range of ales - 8 in total from breweries like Sambrooks, Dark Star, Timothy Taylor. You'll probably have to stand for a while till a seat becomes available (if it does - folk seem to settle in for a long session here). The pub website listed below (harpbarcoventgarden.com) is currently invalid.