The Newman Arms

Opening hours:

Tue - Thur: 12pm - 11pm
Fri - Sat: 12pm - 11:30pm

Address: 23 Rathbone St, London W1T 1NG

Your granddad’s house, but cooler.

The Newman Arms is one of the few independent pubs left in the beating heart of Fitzrovia. Popular with office workers, locals, and literary tours, this cosy pub is beloved by all. With its plush leather couches, vintage prints, and an overall atmosphere of a vintage sitting room, you’ll feel like a pub has suddenly popped up in the middle of your granddad’s house.

This Fitzrovia pub has seen (and been a part of) multiple historical events. With its origins starting in 1730, the Newman Arms has been a candle making shop, a brothel, and finally a pub. If you have a keen eye, you could even see a painting of a Victorian prostitute in the top corner of the building! Enjoy some of Big Penny’s own beer, or a variety of draft beers while curled up in one of the many nooks the Newman Arms has to offer.

Bar at the Newman Arms, independent Fitzrovia pub in London.

Tables and stools with windows at the Newman Arms, independent Fitzrovia pub in London.

An inspiration for George Orwell

This pub has also seen many famous patrons come and go, including Dylan Thomas and George Orwell. The pub “Proles” in George Orwell’s novel 1984 and Keep the Aspidistra Flying was even based on the Newman Arms. Film fanatics might recognise the pub from its use in the film Peeping Tom by Michael Powell.