‘Keep an eye out for an eerie figure dressed in a surcoat, breeches and lavish stockings’ is the cautionary warning for visitors to The Volunteer – but does that refer to the pub’s ghost, or a busker dressed up as its former next-door neighbour, Sherlock Holmes? Whatever the case may be, there’s nothing mysterious about the allure of this Regent’s Park tavern: a big selection of draught ales, regularly changing casks and a range of good wines, various bloody Mary mixes and premium spirits see to that. The pub-grub offer includes beef, pancetta and Porter ale pie, flat iron steak with mash, burgers (get a burger and a drink for £10 on Mondays), pan-fried sea bass, cider-battered hake, southern-fried chicken, Sunday roasts and belly-busting puds – all served in cheerful nu-Victorian surroundings.