One of London’s original gastropubs is still among its most popular, with a lovely location on a quiet Primrose Hill corner. You’ll find a skinny-jeaned band of drinkers propping up the bar, sipping pints of Sharp’s Doom Bar or Woodforde’s Norfolk Hawker while wallowing in The Engineer’s renowned chilled-out charms. The menu now mixes pub stalwarts such as Welsh rarebit, cod and chips or sausage and mash with more innovative, fanciful ideas along the lines of seared scallops with salsify, pumpkin purée and crispy Black Combe bacon or roast pork belly stuffed with black pudding, while desserts could feature a ‘mess’ of pink rhubarb, clotted cream and custard. Come Sunday, we recommend the 21-day aged sirloin of beef with a tumbler of spicy Bloody Mary. The garden is a lovely bucolic spot, with lots of tables for alfresco dining – “get there early on a summer’s day”, advise one fan.