The George Inn at 77 Borough High Street is London's last surviving galleried coaching inn and one of the most historically significant pubs in England. Grade I listed, National Trust-owned since 1937, and operated by Greene King, it serves traditional British pub food -- steak and ale pie, fish and chips, Sunday roast -- and real cask ales in a 17th-century cobbled courtyard. Below: the food and drinks menu, visitor essentials, history, and frequently asked questions.
Signature items
The four things most visitors want to know about The George before arriving.
Award-winning shortcrust pie with Hispi cabbage and Merlot dripping gravy. The single most praised dish across visitor reviews.
Grade I listed, National Trust-owned since 1937. The only surviving example of a galleried coaching inn in London.
Cask ales from approx. GBP 5.50; lager/draught from approx. GBP 6.00-7.30. Central SE1 tourist-area pricing.
Exit London Bridge station, walk south on Borough High Street. Look for the coaching inn archway on the east side.
Ranked by frequency of mention in verified visitor reviews. The steak and ale pie is by a wide margin the most praised single dish.
The George carries Greene King's own cask ales alongside mainstream draught lager. Pint prices below are approximate, drawn from public pint-price listings and visitor reviews. Expect central SE1 pricing.
| Drink | Type | Approx. Pint Price |
|---|---|---|
| Greene King IPA | Cask real ale | approx. GBP 5.50 |
| Abbot Ale | Cask real ale | approx. GBP 5.50 |
| Guest Cask Ale | Rotating cask | Price varies |
| Guinness | Draught stout | approx. GBP 6.00-6.50 |
| Peroni | Draught / bottled | approx. GBP 6.50 |
| Estrella Damm | Draught lager | approx. GBP 6.00-7.30 |
Prices from pint-prices.com listings and visitor review accounts. Draught selection and guest ales rotate. The George also stocks wine, spirits, gin, prosecco and soft drinks.
The George serves a traditional British Sunday roast on Sundays. Options typically include roast beef, roast pork and a vegetarian alternative. Each comes with roast potatoes, a Yorkshire pudding, seasonal vegetables and a jug of gravy.
Multiple visitor reviews rate the Sunday roast here as one of the better pub roasts in the Borough/Southwark area, citing generous portions and the atmospheric surroundings. The combination of a proper British roast and a pint of cask ale in a 17th-century coaching inn is not easily replicated.
Booking recommended. Contact: 020 7407 2056.
The George hosts group bookings, Christmas lunches and special events in its historic rooms. Prices below are confirmed from visitor accounts.
Festive Christmas lunch in the historic rooms. Book many weeks ahead -- sittings fill fast. Price confirmed at GBP 69 per person from visitor accounts.
GBP 69 / personPre-arranged set menu for group bookings. Contact the pub to discuss menu composition and availability.
GBP 35 / personTraditional British Sunday roast with beef, pork or vegetarian option. Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, seasonal veg and gravy. Booking recommended.
Price variesThe cobbled coaching yard opens for outdoor drinking and dining in summer. One of London's most atmospheric beer gardens, with the historic galleried inn rising on three sides.
No extra chargeExit London Bridge station (Jubilee/Northern line and National Rail). Walk south on Borough High Street. The George Inn Yard entrance is a narrow coaching archway on the east (left) side -- look for the National Trust signage. About 2-3 minutes on foot. Also 2 minutes from Borough Market.
Walk-ins are welcome for drinks. If you want to eat, booking ahead is strongly recommended -- particularly for weekday lunch, Sunday roast, and any evening. The historic interior rooms are small. Book via Greene King's website or call 020 7407 2056.
The George follows typical London pub hours. Check the Greene King website or call ahead for current opening times, as holiday hours and private events may affect availability. Generally open daily for lunch and dinner service.
The cobbled coaching yard is one of The George's greatest assets -- surrounded on three sides by the original 17th-century galleried inn facade. Outdoor seating is available in the yard in warmer months and is one of London's most atmospheric places to enjoy a pint.
The menu includes vegetarian options (Sunday roast vegetarian, desserts). Gluten-free cider is available. The kitchen can accommodate allergen requests -- contact the pub in advance if you have specific dietary requirements. The full allergen menu is available on request.
The George Inn is a National Trust property -- but it operates as a commercial pub run by Greene King, not a staffed Trust visitor attraction. National Trust membership does not cover food or drink. The courtyard and exterior are accessible to all; the pub is open to paying customers.
Borough High Street was the main road south out of medieval London -- the final stretch before Southwark and London Bridge. Coaching inns lined the street to service travellers: horses changed here, goods were warehoused, and passengers overnighted before the long journey to Kent, Sussex and beyond.
An inn on this site is recorded from at least the 16th century. The current building dates to 1676, rebuilt in timber after fire swept through Southwark following the Great Fire of London the decade before. The galleried design -- external wooden balconies running around the inn yard on multiple levels -- was the standard coaching-inn layout of the era. Almost all such structures in London were lost to Victorian railway development, later fires or wartime bombing. The George is the sole survivor.
Charles Dickens visited when The George operated as a coffee house in the early 19th century and referenced it in Little Dorrit (1857). The railway age reduced its coaching role; by the 1930s it had fallen into decline. The National Trust accepted the gift of the property in 1937 and has held it since, leasing it to operators to run as a working pub. Greene King is the current tenant.
If you are visiting the Borough / London Bridge area, these restaurants nearby are documented on Menupedia.
Answers to the questions visitors most commonly ask about The George Inn, its history, food, drinks and how to visit.
The George Inn at 77 Borough High Street, Southwark, SE1 1NH, is London's last surviving galleried coaching inn. It is a Grade I listed building owned by the National Trust since 1937 and operated by Greene King. The current structure dates to a 1676 rebuild after the Great Fire of Southwark destroyed the earlier inn. Charles Dickens mentions it in Little Dorrit and is said to have visited when it functioned as a coffee house.
The George serves traditional British pub food. Confirmed dishes from customer accounts include steak and ale pie (the most-praised dish), hand-battered fish and chips, the Vintage Cheddar and Bacon Burger, a 28-day-aged sirloin steak and a Sunday roast served on Sundays. Desserts include sticky toffee pudding, apple crumble and chocolate brownie. Greene King does not publish a complete priced menu online; visit in person or contact the pub for current pricing.
Greene King does not publish an up-to-date price list for The George online. Based on visitor reviews, the sirloin steak is approximately GBP 24, and a three-course set menu for group bookings is GBP 35 per person. The overall spend for a meal with drinks is typically cited as GBP 20-30 per person. Prices at a National Trust tourist landmark in SE1 tend to run slightly higher than a typical London Greene King pub. Confirm current pricing with the pub directly on 020 7407 2056.
Pint prices at The George run approximately GBP 5.50 for cask ale (Greene King IPA, Abbot Ale) and GBP 6.00-7.30 for draught lager (Guinness, Peroni, Estrella). Prices are in line with central London SE1 tourist-area pubs -- expect to pay more than suburban London but less than City bars. Prices change without notice; the figures here are drawn from publicly available pint-price listings and customer review accounts.
Yes. The National Trust has owned The George Inn since 1937, when it was gifted to the Trust to preserve it for the nation. The Trust continues to hold the freehold while leasing the pub to Greene King to operate on a day-to-day basis. The historic galleried exterior, yard and fabric of the building are maintained under the National Trust's conservation programme.
An inn on this site on Borough High Street is recorded as far back as the medieval period -- the street was the main road south out of London and coaching inns lined it to serve travellers. The current structure dates to 1676, rebuilt after fire destroyed much of Southwark. In the 18th and 19th centuries it was a major coaching terminus for routes to Kent and Sussex. Charles Dickens knew the inn and referenced it in Little Dorrit. It is the only galleried inn remaining in London -- most others were demolished or burned. The National Trust acquired it in 1937.
Yes. The George serves a traditional British Sunday roast on Sundays, typically including roast beef, roast pork and a vegetarian option. The roast comes with roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, seasonal vegetables and gravy. Multiple visitor reviews rate it as one of the better pub Sunday roasts in the Borough area. Booking ahead is recommended, especially on Sunday afternoons. Current price -- contact the pub: 020 7407 2056 or via the Greene King booking page.
Walk-ins are accepted and the bar is always open to passing trade. However, booking is strongly recommended if you plan to eat -- particularly at lunch on weekdays (the pub attracts office workers from the surrounding Southwark business district) and at Sunday lunch. The historic interior rooms are small and fill quickly. The outdoor courtyard provides significant additional seating in warmer months. Book via Greene King's website or call 020 7407 2056.
The George Inn is at 77 Borough High Street, Southwark, London SE1 1NH. The easiest approach: exit London Bridge station (tube: Jubilee and Northern lines; National Rail: multiple services) and walk south along Borough High Street for approximately two to three minutes. The entrance to George Inn Yard is a narrow archway on the left (east) side of the street. The pub is also a two-minute walk from Borough Market. The courtyard entrance can be easy to miss -- look for the National Trust signage and the historic coaching inn archway.
Full menus, prices, history and visitor guides for restaurants and pubs across London and the UK -- from historic coaching inns to modern dining rooms. New pages added on a rolling basis.
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