Seven Stars

One of my favorites. Quiet, with a traditional pub atmosphere. Food is very good and wait staff is friendly. Good selection of ales, including a few real ales.

A truly terrific little boozer tucked quietly behind the impressive Royal Courts of Justice (so when it’s sunny expect to see numerous barrister-​types stood outside with a pint — or more likely a sizeable bottle of Champers).
Standing room in front of the bar is very limited as it’s only dinky inside. That said, they’ve given room behind the counter to a good number of real ales from both larger and smaller breweries. You can also get wine by the glass here.
A few tables covered with green and white checked cloths can be found in the room to the side; it makes that area resemble a bit of a greasy spoon ‘caff’ if I’m honest, but otherwise I loved the place immensely. Enjoyable spot for post-​work pintage.

Best pub in old London Town … FACT
Great building, great location, great ales. The food is tidy and the trip to the toilet a real adventure.

Not nice. Not sure why Unilocal says 10:30. Stopped in at at 945 and they were rude, said they’re not responsible for Unilocal (obviously). Not helpful not welcoming in the least.

This place is the very essence of what I think of as an English pub. It has the patina that only great age can provide. It’s funky and idiosyncratic and dusty in the corners and I wouldn’t have it any other way. And yes … the cat. He’s real. I’ve been here several times on trips to London over a span of 25 years, most recently this month. It hasn’t changed one iota and thank the gods for that. If you come on a weekday it will be packed with lawyers, on a weekend you will be one of only a few patrons… choose your experience. Sometimes the staff is brusque when the place is busy but they have always treated me well at off hours, and I’m an annoying American. The food is traditional and consistently good with a changing menu. Sometimes it rises to the level of truly exceptional if you order the right thing on the right day. If you want something modern and gleaming, go elsewhere … and don’t bother going to Europe at all, just stay in Indiana. I adore pubs, they are to my mind the best thing about the UK, and this is my all time favorite. The real &$%@# thing.

Who hasn’t heard of the famous sir Tom Paine the Cat. He is the proud mascot of the Seven Stars so be nice to him as he strolls around. Kudos to the staff for coming up with such a great idea — to let a cat freely into the pub and the lovable thing would melt your heart if it happens to come by your table. Apart from you host, sir Tom, the food offered are quite the traditional pub offerings, all of them being really delicious and nicely presented. There’s also a nice range of ales at the bar so you can drink up freely.

I love this little pub! It’s tucked back away from the craziness behind the Royal Courts of Justice. On a nice day, you can see people lining up across the street with wine, beer, etc. just enjoying the fresh air and conversation. Such a good scene.
But there’s more. You go inside, and there are tables. And there’s a cat. That wears a Jacobean ruff (as others have mentioned). It’s freaking incredible. The staff is really sweet, as they didn’t seem annoyed at all when we were the last ones to leave at closing time.
If you’re looking for lager, you’re not going to be spoiled for choice. But there are plenty of ales available if that’s your thing.
I haven’t tried the food and there were conflicting reports from our table. One person said their food is really good, while another said it was good but that he got sick after eating it. I’m going to go ahead and rule it safe since my husband eats there often with colleagues and he’s still alive.

I love the atmosphere/​quirky décor of this pub. As Alex has already described in his review, the decorations are truly unique! The bartenders are friendly and there’s good beer on tap. The reason I’m not giving it full marks is the food that my bf and I ordered was not that impressive. Good but not anything special, and I expected better since it’s a bit pricier than other pubs in this area. I’d come back for the booze but probably not for the food.

This place is fantastic, amazing food. the meatloaf was well seasoned with the right amount of potatoes. Fun staff and really quirky décor, plus a cat on the bar… Sunday was busy but it was perfect for a late lunch. Roxy was hilarious! recommended

Quick glance:
+ resident cat!
+ hearty pub grub
+ tasty food
Full review:
Okay, if you are allergic to cats, then you will probably hate this pub. It’s not a very big pub and the resident cat roams around freely, but if you love cats (or at least don’t mind them) then do go to Seven Stars for a meal, or at least a pint.
The cat may seem like a gimmick, but actually the venue is fantastic for lunch. It serves hearty pub grub — good value and big portion. Most importantly, the ingredients are tasty. At my last visit, I had the Italian sausage and mash with red cabbage. They are the most plump (plumpest!) and tastiest sausages I’ve had ever.
The pub isn’t fancy, it’s a bit cramped, but staff is friendly (especially if you are friendly with the cat) and it’s quiet — perfect place for a catch up.

So let’s let the cat out of the bag. This place is amazing.
First off, yes, this bar has a cat. And it wears a cat sized Jacobean ruff. And his name is Tom Paine (after the revolutionary I assume). And he wanders the bar and does whatever the hell he wants and does not mind if you take pictures of him, but really, he’s just going for his food and water, which is on the bar.
And he wears a tiny freakin Shakespearean Jacobean ruff! (I know I’ve said it already, but seriously!)
This is an old man’s pub with a lawyer theme, which makes it feel even older. Long bar with seats as you walk in and lots of rooms to sit in if the bar is taken up. There are props from lawyer films and courtrooms throughout the space, all which look they they were hung there centuries ago and never moved or dusted. But my god, the charm of this spot. It’s amazing.
Good ale selection, nothing fancy, just classic beers. Amazing food selection. This is not your typical pub fare, but classic pasta, meat and cheese dishes. I got the roast beef with horseradish sauce and potato salad, all three things I love. The meat was fine, basic well cooked meat, but the potato salad was one of the best I’ve ever had in my life. Made with homemade mayo and herbs, each bite blew my mind.
The staff were quick but cheeky, answering my questions with sly answers (I go how long does it take to make the food. She goes, «Hmmm, 45 minutes.» «Really?» I say. «No,» she says, «This is a pub.»)
Loved this pub, love everything about it. Would be happy to come here again and again.

This place gets 1 point for the cat in a white ruff, and 3 points for a damn good chicken and pheasant pie. As others have said, the pub is microscopic with a vertigo-​inducing crazy staircase to the upstairs bathroom; it gets crowded; but it has a lot of charm, and frankly, the food is better than it has any right to be.

I am SO glad I’m studying at LSE now, if only for the cat in the ruff! We were immediately greeted by him (by greeted I mean he was sitting there acting like he didn’t care one bit about us) when we walked in — I heard about the resident cat but wasn’t sure if he’d be out and about when there’s loads of people around, but crowds don’t seem to phase him much!
There’s a decent selection of drinks, along with a good number of real ales. Aspall was £4.10, which is about average for the area. We were served really quickly even when it got busier, which it only did for about a half hour, then emptied out quickly. For a Saturday afternoon, that made me pretty happy. There isn’t all that much seating though so you have to scoop up available seats quickly!
The food looked really good and after a couple friends’ plates arrived I wished I hadn’t eaten a snack before I came!
Although it’s more expensive than the LSE bars, because of the atmosphere and the lovely cat I’d have to say I really hope this becomes the local for my classmates and I.

Greeted by a friendly cat (but aloof, of course, it is a cat after all) in a ruff, I immediately fell in love with this quintessential British pub. The space is rather cozy, meaning small, so coming in a large group of 6 – 8 people meant standing around in typical British pub fashion for a great while before we could find tables to accommodate us. No upstairs. We went about 3PM on a Saturday and it stayed crowded until about 5, when it mysteriously emptied out for the next hour. Peak traffic and noise around 4PM.
Pint of Aspall cider for 4 pounds-​ish, if I remember correctly. Ended up ordering the paprika chicken dish for dinner and it was yummy (not spicy or even with «the heat of spice» per se as advertised to me) but flavorful and filling. Comes with a great bitter slaw and rice. Looked more diversified than my friend’s dish, the goose breast, which was a ton of meat in squares around a giant dollop of mashed potatoes with a hunk of purple cabbage, as well. Dishes seemed to range in price from 9.5 — 12.5 pounds. Looks like they had sausage/​mash, mutton or chicken stew, and a whole host of other classic pub dishes.
Since it’s right behind LSE (I always end up on Carey Street when trying to find Lincoln’s Inn Fields anyways; terrible sense of direction), I’ll definitely be coming back for me.

Nice pub with odd food and a cat.
Hidden away in the wilds around Grey’s Inn, Chancery Lane, and the LSE is this gem. This pub is what all the tatty twee pubs are like. Decent enough — and well-​kept ales — at reasonable prices for a pub to which I can stumble from work in minutes.
Bonuses: wigs and legal humour.
Knockbacks: Not sure how I feel about the bowl of cat food next to the peanuts. What if they mix them up?
Teeny tiny and feels full even when empty.

Very, very nice!
I had a superb Sausage Linguine and a pint of Adnams Southwold Bitter in the Seven Stars, near the Justice Courts. Small and oldy worldy. Friendly staff. Bit pricey at £14.50 but well worth it.
I’ll definitely come back.

This place had me at «resident cat». It might not be the best place for cat allergy sufferers to fraternize after a long day at the office, but if you like a friendly feline with your pint or glass of wine, then you should definitely head over to The Seven Stars. Hidden away behind fleet street, this old little haunt can be easy to miss, but if you do happen to be walking by, you’d certainly notice its quaint charm and wonky exterior (one of the oldest pubs in London i’m told). Roxy, the manager, is a little kooky — often sporting strange hair styles and colors — but she’s as friendly as they get and is always happy to serve ice cold beers to the throngs of thirsty patrons that visit (just don’t diss cats… that’ll get you kicked out!). What I love most about this place is the odd mix of clientele. everyone from upper-​crust bankers and barristers to toothless wanderers and smelly students can be found in here… it’s this eclectic crowd which gives it such a lovely vibe. And don’t forget to check out the resident cat during your visit. The friendly moggy can often be found passed out in an arm chair or flirting with patrons whilst wearing an Elizabethan-​style collar — no, i’m not kidding.
All in all, if you’re in central and fancy a fuss-​free (but not necessarily fur free drink), stop by The Seven Stars and relish in all its quirky splendor!

What a blinding place. Pretty tiny, very old, very quirky and just wonderful to be in. From the giant plates of home cooked food, to the two old boys describing someone as a bunch of bloody Guardian readers, to the collar wearing cat. Barking mad, friendly and definitely worth a visit.

They’ve got a real life cat! but I’ll get back to that in a sec.
I love this great little pub! It oozes character as soon as you walk in the door. It’s a tight squeeze, mind you. The place is the size of a thimble. But instead of feeling clausterphobic, it feels cozy and intimate. We were greeted heartily by the man and woman behind the bar, and felt like we were old friends instead of random passers-​by. The menu on the wall is short and sweet… and impressive. The options were definitely up a notch or two (or three!) from your normal pub fare. And the food ended up tasting as nice as it sounded on the board. The portions were HUGE. I couldn’t finish mine, no matter how hard I tried, and I’m no skinny minny. The staff were keen to know if we were happy with everything, and were very chit-​chatty which we liked. Great service.
After we ordered our food and went over to take our seat near a window, my friend said… Look! A Cat! For a moment, we weren’t sure if it was real or not, to be honest. It was sleeping on a window box and looked a bit like it was on display, in part because it was wearing a little ruff around its neck. After we sat down, we saw it’s tail flick and we realized it was the real deal. We immediately gave it a stroke, which it studiously ignored as a kitty that clearly gets a lot of excited people wanting to give it some loving. It was an incredibly well mannered feline… when our food came, it got up, stretched, and sat watching us eat, but never tried to beg for a bit, and eventually wandered off entirely. Yay for kitties! (Even if it did give me the sneezes… I’m allergic. If you are too, keep this in mind before visiting)
The ONLY reason why I took a star away from this sweet little pub was because of the stairs up to the toilet. My friend had warned me that it was a steep walk up and back, and I thought she was exaggerating… but she was certainly NOT. I thought they must be joking when they directed me up the stairs to go to the loo. I seriously feared for my life as someone with mobility issues, and dreaded the trip back down again the whole time. I managed it, but I did wonder how someone who’d had too much to drink would manage… and of course someone with more mobility issues than myself would never be able to stay here for long. It’s all part of the character, and I still adore this place, but for marathon drinking sessions, I can’t stay here because I’ll be too afraid to go up those stairs again. Even so, I WILL be back for dinner or a quick drink.

The Seven Stars is an amazing little pub tucked away behind the Royal Courts of Justice. It’s full of character and the owner and staff are so friendly. I went here on the 18^th December when it snowed quite heavily in London, and sat in a wonderfully old pub while it was snowing outside only a week before Christmas it felt so magical, almost Dickensian!
Unfortunately there was sign of the resident cat, Tom Paine, but I hope to meet him on my next visit.
Update: The last couple of times I’ve been here Mr Tom Paine has been in residence, parading up and down the bar and stopping occasionally to let you tickle his ears.

Auf einer Kneipentour bin ich hier gelandet, in einem Pub direkt hinter den Royal Courts of Justice. Obwohl sich im Umkreis viele, viele Pubs befinden, man denke nur an den Knights Templar oder die Old Bank of England, hat dieser eine besondere Atmosphäre.
In einem Schaufenster befindet sich die Büste eines Juristen, mit einer der für Common-​Law-​Staaten typischen Perücke. Die Wände sind mit alten Filmplakaten — oft zum Thema Recht und Justiz — gesäumt. Es gibt ein Haustier und hinter der Bar steht altgedientes Personal
Und es ist kuschelig eng und abends häufig sehr gut besucht. Ich habe aber leicht klaustrophobe Tendenzen und so bin ich, nachdem ich hier einen guten Drink hatte, zum Abendessen dann doch wieder im benachbarten Knights Templar gelandet.