YE OLDE CHESHIRE CHEESE • AT A GLANCE
Location: 📍145 Fleet Street, London EC4A 2BP — tucked into Wine Office Court just off Fleet Street
Nearest Tube: Chancery Lane (Central line)
Best For: Independent wanderers, historic-pub enthusiasts, literary London fans and curious photographers
Pub Owner: Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery
Drink Pick: Old Brewery Bitter
Why Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese Is Worth Seeking Out
⭐ Traveler’s Pick: Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese—known affectionately as “The Cheese”—is one of London’s great historic pub experiences, with a maze of timber-lined rooms, fireplaces, sawdust-covered floors, literary curiosities, and atmospheric vaulted cellars hidden just off Fleet Street.
Find Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese
First, Find Wine Office Court
Walking along Fleet Street, look for the small rectangular Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese sign hanging beside the entrance to Wine Office Court. The passage is easy to walk straight past, so the sign is your best clue. Turn into the narrow passage and follow it away from Fleet Street.
Then Look for the Pub’s Round Sign
As you reach the pub, look for the much more recognizable round black Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese — Rebuilt 1667 sign hanging outside the entrance. This is the famous sign you’ll see in photographs—but you won’t see it from Fleet Street.
What to Look For
Take a Quick Look Around
The Cheese is a maze of small, low-ceilinged rooms filled with dark timber panelling, old fireplaces, high-backed wooden seating and sawdust-covered floors. Narrow staircases twist down into a series of vaulted drinking rooms beneath the pub.
A Literary Landmark on Fleet Street
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.
Charles Dickens seems to turn up in the history of half the old pubs in London—clearly a man who got around. He was a frequent visitor to The Cheese, and the pub has long claimed another tantalizing Dickens 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. Dickens never actually names the pub. And to answer some frequently asked questions: No, Dickens didn’t write A Tale of Two Cities here. And no, his ghost hasn’t been spotted wandering around the pub.
Where Is Charles Dickens’ Favorite Seat?
Head into the ground-floor Chop Room to the left of the entrance and look for the old marble fireplace. Dickens’ traditional spot is at the table just to the right, beneath a small plaque that reads: “This was the seat most frequently occupied by Charles Dickens.”
If getting a photo—or the inevitable Dickens-seat selfie—is high on your checklist, try visiting during a quieter time of day when the Chop Room is less crowded. Remember, this is still a working pub rather than a museum exhibit, so if someone is already sitting there, admire the spot from a respectful distance rather than interrupting their pint.
The “Gentlemen Only” Bar
Just inside the entrance, turn into the tiny Front Bar on your right. You’ll know you’ve found the right room when you spot the historic “Gentlemen only served in this bar” sign above the entrance. Because nothing says “historic charm” quite like a leftover relic from the days when the mere presence of a woman might apparently sour the beer.
Find Polly the Foul-Mouthed Parrot
In the same room, step up to the bar and look above the bottles for one of The Cheese’s strangest former regulars: Polly, the pub’s famously foul-mouthed African grey parrot.
Polly spent around 40 years entertaining customers with her impressive vocabulary, including a talent for swearing and mimicking the pop of Champagne corks. When she died in 1926, she was such a Fleet Street celebrity that the BBC broadcast the news and obituary notices 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.
Go Down Into the Vaulted Cellars
Follow the narrow stairs beneath the pub and the experience changes completely. The small timber-lined rooms give way to low, vaulted drinking chambers tucked beneath Wine Office Court. The surviving vaulted cellar dates to the late 17th century—making it one of the oldest parts of the pub you can still explore today.
How to Order a Drink at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese
Where to Order: Order directly at the bar.
What to Order: Try Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery Bitter, a traditional English bitter with a malty, slightly fruity character and a dry, gently bitter finish. It’s a classic cask ale rather than a cold, fizzy lager.
How to Order: Once you know what you want, ask for a pint or half-pint and pay at the bar. The bartender will hand you your drink at the counter and you take it with you.
Tipping: Do I Need to Tip When I Order a Drink at the Bar?
No. Tipping is not customary when ordering drinks at the bar in a London pub. You do not need to add a percentage, leave money on the bar or leave cash on your table when you go. If the card machine prompts you for a tip, you can skip it.
Also Looking to Order Food?
For something casual, the Cellar Bar menu offers traditional pub fare; order directly at the bar. For a proper sit-down meal, the Chop House serves a larger menu, including the pub’s signature Steak & Kidney Suet Pudding.
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese reservations are available, but if you’re hoping to eat specifically in the historic Chop Room, the pub warns that it cannot guarantee a table there even with a booking.
Things to Know Before You Go
Strict House Rules:
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese is a Samuel Smith’s pub, with a few unusually strict rules. Mobile phones, tablets, and laptops aren’t allowed, and neither is swearing. The idea is to keep the pub focused on conversation rather than screens.
Check the Hours Before You Go:
Check the pub’s official website for current opening hours before making a special trip.
Walk-Ins Welcome:
You can stop in for a look or a drink without booking a table, but the pub can get very busy around lunchtime, after work, and on weekends. If exploring the rooms, photographing the interior, or finding Dickens’ traditional spot matters to you, an earlier visit may give you more room to look around.
Are the Cellars Easy to Access?
The historic cellar rooms are reached by narrow, steep stairs and have low ceilings and uneven surfaces. If stairs or tight spaces are difficult for you, exploring the lower levels may not be practical.
Keep Exploring London’s Historic Pubs
The Old Bell Tavern:
Stay on Fleet Street for another historic pub with a post-Great-Fire story, traditionally connected to the masons rebuilding St Bride’s Church.
Head behind the Royal Courts of Justice to find a wonderfully small historic pub on Carey Street, with possible 17th-century origins and a very different old-London atmosphere.