This gastropub boasts a cross-cultural menu and a relaxed, casual atmosphere, perfect for young creative corporate types who want an alternative to fine dining.

Restaurateur Sunnil Panjabi has provided a varied menu of light dishes from croissants at breakfast to casseroles at lunchtime, while bar snacks and sharing platters in the evening provide the perfect accompaniment to a sensibly priced international wine list.

Move over Mr Chow! The Punch Tavern puts a modern twist on the buffet concept, resulting in a quick, fun lunch option that’s also great value for money.

£5.95 will get you a great lunchtime buffet at this Fleet Street pub. The Victorian interior with mirrored walls is made all the more cosy by the presence of cushioned benches and helpful staff.

The spinach dahl is outstanding.

A charming old boozer that is becoming a 21st century gastropub

Customers extol the genuinely happy atmosphere that greets you in this cheery drinking hole. The new décor means that the inside is now a lot brighter, and air conditioning has been installed. The arched roof-lights have been cleaned and repainted, revealing some beautiful etched glass and fine plaster detail, with more ‘Punch’ portraits.

Once you could expect a welcome and something good to eat and drink in scores of inns and taverns throughout the land – sadly that is no longer the case, which makes the Punch Tavern something of a welcome exception to the rule.

This pub has been turned into a unique place that takes some describing. The Punch operates like a cross between an Irish village pub and an enthusiastically run provincial tea shop. Its single aim seems to be, whatever you want, we got it!

The historic Punch tavern – birthplace of the satirical magazine Punch – has recovered from the great newspaper evacuation of Fleet Street in the Nineties, smartened itself up and is packing in a new generation of appreciative punters.