Sunday lunch with the dog in Westminster: seven pubs for a slow afternoon

A proper Sunday lunch is slow. You want a table you can settle into, something hearty in front of you, and a dog asleep across your feet while the afternoon goes by. Westminster has more of that on offer than its office-and-landmarks reputation suggests. We've started with the pubs that say plainly that dogs are welcome, then added a few classic roast pubs that are worth a phone call first.

Pubs that clearly welcome dogs

Horse & Guardsman

This is the easiest choice. The Horse & Guardsman at 16-18 Whitehall is listed as fully dog friendly indoors, and it serves food, so your dog stays with you at the table. McMullen's has run it since 2021, in a smart, wood-panelled building that was once the premises of the bankers Messrs Cocks Biddulph & co. The high ceilings and arched windows over the bar and ground-floor dining areas give a dog room to stretch out. On the menu you'll find Old English sausage and mash, fish in herb batter with fries, and a Mushroom & Cranberry Wellington for anyone skipping meat.

The Stablehand

Over in Tyburnia, close to Hyde Park, The Stablehand at 4 Bathurst Street serves a roast dinner every Sunday. The pub was built in 1839 on an old archery range, and its website says locals from Winston Churchill to Tony Blair have drunk here. The kitchen aims to be London's only gastro pub that sources all of its ingredients from the British Isles, with a few exceptions such as lemons from Gibraltar. Sticky toffee pudding is on the menu, and the wine list leans on English and Welsh vineyards. Dogs are welcome on a lead, and there's outdoor seating. Hyde Park is close by for a walk after lunch.

The Victoria Taps

The Victoria Taps at 27 Gillingham Street in Pimlico says on its own website that it's dog-friendly. Go here for a casual Sunday. The kitchen does burgers, loaded nachos, stone-baked and Detroit-style pizzas and pub classics, and the pub says it is famous for its smash burgers and big breakfasts. We have no mention of a roast here. It also shows live sport on big screens, so it suits a dog that doesn't mind some noise. Victoria Station and Buckingham Palace are both a short walk away.

Listed as dog-friendly by us

We checked these two ourselves and list them as dog-friendly. The pubs haven't confirmed it with us directly.

Buckingham Arms

The Buckingham Arms at 62 Petty France is about two minutes' walk from both Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey. It's a small, traditional pub with cosy corners. It says it's famed for home-made pies, classic fish and chips and a traditional Sunday roast. It's also one of only five pubs to have been in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide every year since the guide began in 1974, so the beer is worth staying for. Because the pub is small, a Sunday lunchtime can get snug, so ask for a corner table for you and the dog.

The Harp, Covent Garden

The Harp is a Fuller's pub at 47 Chandos Place, a short walk from Trafalgar Square and the National Portrait Gallery. Its own website calls it a blissfully traditional place with great beer and good old conversation. It's known for traditional ciders and perries from around the country, plus cask classics and modern craft beers. We don't have details of a Sunday menu, so treat it as a place for a long pint before or after lunch rather than the lunch itself.

Classic roasts on Whitehall: ask first

These two serve some of the best-sounding roasts in the area, but we don't have a dog policy for either. Ring before you go and ask about a table for you and your dog. That goes for anywhere in this guide on a busy Sunday.

The Clarence

The Clarence stands at 53 Whitehall, on the corner of Great Scotland Yard, looking over Horse Guards. Its Sunday roasts include a West Country rump of beef, a slow-cooked Dingley Dell pork belly and a vegan roast, all with bottomless Yorkshire puddings and gravy. The kitchen says its ingredients come from producers across the British Isles, and the bar pours real ales.

Old Shades

Further along at 37 Whitehall, Old Shades is a Grade II listed pub, built in 1898, just off Trafalgar Square. It serves Sunday roasts alongside beer-battered fish and chips, homemade pies and a seasonal specials menu. The pub encourages booking ahead, and you order and pay at the table through the Young's On Tap app. That's handy when you'd rather not leave the dog to queue at the bar.

Making the day work

Book for Sunday, especially if you want a roast, and mention the dog when you do. A table against a wall is better than one beside a busy walkway. Bring a water bowl and something to chew so your dog stays settled while you finish pudding. Then build in a walk: Hyde Park after The Stablehand, or a lap of Trafalgar Square after the Whitehall pubs.

If you'd like more options, see every dog-friendly pub in Westminster or browse the area's dog-friendly restaurants.