BV London Pub of the Year 2025-26 - part one

Better late than never?Some might argue it's actually better not to bother but, hey, I've been doing a London Pub of the Year for 14 years now, and for ten of those years I haven't even been living in London. It'll take a lot to stop me, even though I admit my research is nowhere near as comprehensive as it was when I was younger and more London. (Ooh, look at me using a Proper Noun as an adjective!)Let's crack on then. Last year's top five will get their annual reassessment today, and in a few days time we'll have five new contenders, then, eventually, some sort of result.See here for competition rules, past winners and general explanatory gubbins...Right... Last year's Winner: Hope, CarshaltonThe Hope stands alone as a four-time winner of this competition. It's a South London institution, and by far the best pub in the area, even though there is an argument that this might not necessarily be a universal good. It simply gets everything right. Beer. Food. Activities and events.…