The Queens Larder — Restaurant in London

The building may date to around 1710, around the time Queen Square (named after Queen Anne) was built. At that time - and indeed for much of the 18th Century - this was the northern edge of the city of London, with open fields between here and Hampstead.

The area has had a long association with healthcare and hospitals - in 1741 the Foundling Hospital was established nearby (although "hospital" at that time had a broader use - and this was an orphanage), as well as a smallpox hospital. A number of doctors had their residences in Queen Square during this period - it was effectively the Harley Street of its day. Today that legacy is continued in Great Ormond Street Hospital.

It is this medical connection which lends this pub its curious name. King George III was treated from 1788 onwards for mental illness by Dr. Francis Willis, who lived in Queen Square. King George stayed at Dr. Willis' house for a time, and the king's wife, Queen Charlotte, was determined to contribute to his care by supervising his diet. To that end she rented the cellar of this pub to store food for him. Later in George's reign the pub adopted this name in memory...

Didn't eat so can't comment on food, although the menu had great options.

My Fiancé and have lived in London for 20 years, and it was a real pleasure to stumble upon a traditional, warm and welcoming pub such as this on a cold Sunday afternoon!

We popped in to warm up, and ended up losing 3 hours because:

the decor is really in keeping with an old English traditional pub, yet a bit theatre land too (posters, props) which is REALLY hard to find these days!

you still have the small tables and stools which I love

The lady who looked after us and our drinks (South African I believe? Sorry should have got your name!!) was SUPER friendly and made us feel most welcome

the poems in the loo's were a nice touch

it's in a really great, accessible area of London with the tube, parks and historical sites, all within 5 min walking distance

the seating indoors and outdoors as well as toilets were 100% covid ready and safe!!!

All in all, a great experience....

Think twice before entering this pub: the service is slow and the prices indicated on the wall near the bar and on the stand outside do not correspond the final price given by the staff. When I kindly indicated the error I received a dry response that the price shown is not correct without any excuse or explication given. The manager did contact a certain lady (the owner possibly)and they,casting nervous glances at me, hastily removed the stand with the wrong price from the street but not from the bar. I don't really care if the price is 5-10 pence higher than indicated, I just cherish the principle of mutual respect and honesty between a customer...