Why Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Is Worth Seeking Out
You may have come looking for Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese because it appears on nearly every list of London’s great historic pubs, or because you’ve heard about its connections to Charles Dickens and generations of Fleet Street writers and journalists. Or perhaps you’re sightseeing near St. Paul’s Cathedral and wondering whether it’s worth the short detour.
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese is well worth seeking out, especially if you enjoy historic buildings and literary London. Behind the entrance on Wine Office Court is a maze of dark timber rooms, low ceilings, old fireplaces and narrow staircases leading down to vaulted cellars. Part of the fun is wandering through the rooms to discover the unusual characters and little pieces of history tucked away inside.
Know Before You Go
Crowd Expectations — Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese is a popular stop for sightseers and after-work regulars, so the small rooms can get packed during early evenings and on Saturdays, making it difficult to find a seat. Mid-afternoon on weekdays is generally a quieter time to visit.
Food & Dining — Expect traditional British pub classics, including Sunday roasts. Booking ahead is recommended if you’re planning Sunday lunch.
Visiting with Children — Families planning a meal can visit Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, but note that the pub’s historic layout makes it difficult to navigate with a stroller. A quieter lunchtime visit may be more comfortable for families with young children. Check with the pub directly about any age restrictions during evening hours.
House Rules — Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese is a Samuel Smith’s pub with some unusual rules: no mobile phone use (including photography), no background music, and no swearing.
Accessibility — The historic building has steep staircases and uneven floors, which can make exploring difficult for visitors with limited mobility.
How Do You Find Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese on Wine Office Court?
Walking along Fleet Street, look up for the small rectangular Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese sign hanging beside the entrance to Wine Office Court. The little gap in the storefronts is incredibly easy to walk straight past, making that overhead sign your best clue.
Turn into the narrow passage and leave the modern street behind. At the other end, you’ll spot the iconic round black Rebuilt 1667 sign hanging outside the pub.
The Front Bar, the Cellars, or the Chop Room?
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese has several rooms to explore, from intimate historic bars to vaulted cellars and traditional dining rooms. The Front Bar and Cellar Bar welcome walk-ins for drinks and casual pub food, while the dining rooms offer sit-down meals with full table service.
The Front Bar — Just inside the entrance on your right, this small, wood-paneled room is a lovely place to settle in for a pint beside the old fireplace. Seating is limited, but it’s one of the most atmospheric corners of the pub. Expect simple bar snacks rather than the full dining-room menu.
The Cellar Bar — Head downstairs to find the vaulted cellars, another walk-in option for drinks and a more substantial casual menu featuring sharing platters, traditional bar snacks and heartier pub fare.
The Chop Room and Dining Rooms — The pub’s restaurant dining rooms include the historic Chop Room on your left. Expect traditional British dishes, including steaks, chops and steak and kidney suet pudding. Reservations are available for dining, although seating in a particular area, such as the historic Chop Room, isn’t guaranteed.
What’s the Pint Pick?
Order a pint of Old Brewery Bitter. Samuel Smith’s classic cask bitter is served directly from oak casks kept in the cellar, so your pint really does come “from the wood.” Note that the pub only serves Samuel Smith’s own beers rather than familiar mass-market brands.
Order your pint or half-pint at the bar and pay when you order. If the card machine prompts you for a tip, you can press skip. Digital prompts are increasingly common these days, but tipping is still not customary when buying drinks at a London pub bar counter.
The Literary Figures of Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese
Fleet Street was once the heart of Britain’s newspaper and publishing industry, so it’s hardly surprising that The Cheese became associated with generations of writers and journalists.
Over the years, the pub has been linked to an impressive roll call of literary figures, including Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, and P. G. Wodehouse. Another famous name is Dr. Samuel Johnson, the 18th-century writer best known for his groundbreaking English dictionary. Johnson lived just around the corner, although there’s no documented evidence that he actually drank at The Cheese. Some of these literary connections are better established than others, but they’ve all become part of the pub’s storytelling tradition.
How to View the Dickens Seat in the Historic Chop Room
You’ll want to head toward the historic Chop Room to find the Dickens seat. Just be aware that it’s a working dining room, so it may be busy with guests enjoying their meals. If you’re not staying for a meal, ask the staff whether you can take a quick look. A quieter weekday afternoon may be your best opportunity.
Once inside, look beside the old marble fireplace for a small plaque marking the seat traditionally associated with Charles Dickens.
Charles Dickens seems to turn up in the history of half the old pubs in London — clearly a man who got around. Dickens was associated with The Cheese and mentioned it in his writing, and the pub has long claimed another tantalizing connection: in A Tale of Two Cities, his characters head down Fleet Street and through a “covered way” into a tavern — a description remarkably similar to the passageway you just walked through.
Meet Polly the Parrot in the Front Bar
Step into the tiny Front Bar to your right and look above the bottles for one of The Cheese’s strangest former regulars: Polly, an African grey parrot who spent around 40 years entertaining the drinking crowd with a legendary talent for swearing and mimicking the pop of Champagne corks.
When she died in 1926, Polly was such a Fleet Street celebrity that news of her death appeared in more than 200 newspapers around the world.
Rather than let a good pub celebrity disappear, The Cheese had her preserved — and she still keeps watch over the Front Bar today.
The Gentlemen Only Sign — Before leaving, look above the doorway for a rather blunt piece of the pub’s social history. An old sign still announces: “Gentlemen only served in this bar.”
Because nothing says “historic charm” quite like a leftover relic from the days when a woman’s presence might apparently sour the beer.
Address: 145 Fleet Street, London EC4A 2BP
Nearest Tube: Blackfriars or Temple
Website: Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese
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