The Barley Mow

The Barley Mow has been pouring pints since 1793, making it one of the oldest surviving pubs in Marylebone. It's Grade II listed, with snug compartments and a heritage interior that the chain pubs around it can't touch. The Beatles connection here is proximity rather than proof — EMI's headquarters at Manchester Square, where Angus McBean shot the Please Please Me staircase photograph, was a short walk away. More interesting: Charles Babbage, the father of computing, lived and worked next door at 1 Dorset Street from 1829 until his death in 1871. One of central London's last remaining free houses, which means the beer list answers to nobody.