The Volunteer

Named after the Royal Marylebone Volunteers formed during the Napoleonic Wars, The Volunteer sits a few doors from 221B Baker Street — or where it would be if it existed. The building dates to around 1815 and is Grade II listed. Underneath it are the original cellars from the Neville family mansion that burned down in 1654, which may explain why staff report a ghost in breeches and a surcoat. The wood-panelled interior mixes period features with enough modernity to keep it from feeling like a museum. A proper settling-in pub for the early phase of the crawl.