Punch & Judy, Covent Garden  

We've known the Punch and Judy for a long, long time and for most of that time we've considered it a pretty dire place, best avoided. But it seems things have moved on and it's not as quite as awful as it once was. It's not as aggressive on Friday and Saturday nights as it used to be - the bouncers have put paid to that, but it still gets crowded and it still offers expensive, (but not particularly high quality) food and drink - the place often smells of vinegar from the abundance of chips consumed here. However, there's still a dreary, depressing air to the place. Here we are smack bang in the centre of one of the biggest tourist attractions in the capital and, rather than provide something befitting this unique and handsome location, we have a pastiche of a not very good provincial pub. Maybe it's revenge for the Venetians charging tourists £5 for an espresso when they visit the Piazza San Marco, we don't know, but we do wish someone would turn this pub into something we could recommend.