The best pubs in town

Every pub these days, it seems, has a false bookcase, imitation leather chairs and a too-clever-by-half name.

But the secret of a good pub - according to the real ale experts - lies in the quality of the beer and the warmth of the welcome.

Three old-style hostelries in central London have learned this lesson so successfully they have appeared in every edition of the beer lover's bible, the Camra guide, for 30 years.

The three are among the Magnificent 17 ever-presents that once again appear in the 2003 edition of the Camra good beer guide. They are:

The Britannia, Allen Street, off Kensington High Street ("Wood panelled, comfortable seating and a conservatory at the rear").

The Buckingham Arms, Petty France, Westminster ("Still a lovely pub, even though some of its custom, from the passport office that used to be down the road, has gone").

The Star Tavern, Belgrave Mews West, Belgravia ("Cracker of a public house, not easy to find").

Fred Hill, 49, manager of the Britannia, a Young's pub, said: "Good pubs are about good beer, good conversation and good food, and that's what we're about. The biggest draw for drinkers is real ale. Fancy beers are not part of the scene here. We get a cross-section of society who like traditional places to drink. Because many are local, people get to know each other quickly. This is effectively a country pub in the town."

Eugene McCaughey, landlord of The Buckingham Arms, a Grade 2-listed Young's pub near the Home Office, said: "It's just a question of serving good beer. My customers aren't very adventurous. They don't seem all that keen to try new ones. This is a no-nonsense pub."

The guide includes a passionate appeal by Prince Charles to save the country pub as a focus of village life. He says one way they can survive is by diversifying, like the Craven Heifer in Stainforth, North Yorkshire, which also has a post office and grocery store on its premises.

Big pub companies, meanwhile, come under attack from the guide's editor, Roger Protz, who says they are putting small, independent breweries out of business and restricting choice for drinkers. "The pub companies demand beer at low, wholesale prices and then sell those beers for high retail prices. In between lie obscene profits," he said. "For small brewers, the discounts demanded mean the game is not worth the candle."