Toucan in City of London, Westminster

EDIT: (responding to reply) I was indoors, and tried to order downstairs - there was nobody there! I went upstairs and asked for a proper glass and was told "We aren't serving in them today" -- everyone downstairs was drinking from plastics. Nothing to do with law, just 3 bar staff upstairs, nobody bothering to serve those downstairs! (normally) a great pint of Guinness but the bar staff tell me the it's plastics only ! huge disappointment.. there was a time before dishwashers I'm sure they could have washed one on a relatively quiet Tuesday evening, I'd have done it myself 😜

Great Guiness, but not the best in London.

Great pub. Amazing Guiness. Brilliant atmosphere. Come here.

Visited here on Saturday 30th November. The Guinness is amazing here but what really made our visit was the 2 security guys that were so friendly and welcoming. They arranged a seat (along with an amazing couple that moved for us) for my 80 year old Irish dad who came to sample the Guinness. These guys were amazing and an absolute asset to your bar!!

Been here twice..downstairs bar no staff serving so had to pop upstairs to grab a drink. Staff are lovely. Will be back

We were checking out film locations for "Last night in Soho" and The Toucan features heavily in the movie so we popped in for a drink. It offers some strange opening times & we found ourselves waiting outside with 6 other people for the 4pm opening The pub is small & cramped with a second bar downstairs & specializes in Guinness. If 20 people turned up the whole pub would be packed. It is small but iconic and I am so glad we went.

In London on a solo trip and this place came highly recommended. It lived up to expectation, great pint and fantastic bar staff

Cool place, doesn't look too much from outside but fills up, creates a cool atmosphere, fun downstairs area and the Guinness is wild!

Great Guinness in the middle of Soho. Friendly staff and lovely atmosphere!❤️

Fun place to visit with great stories going back to the 1960s. Good Guinness and pleasant chats with staff and visitors.

Stopped here for a beer on a Saturday lunch time. It didn't open until 1pm which was a surprise and one to note. Had a Guinness as it's my preferred drink and was meant to brilliant here, but it wasn't anything extraordinary - just a normal nice pint. Is only a small space and there appeared to be a downstairs area but that looked to be closed. Staff were pretty miserable and so stood outside, plus there was more space. Not a bad pub for a quick pint, but nothing amazing.

One of the best Guinness I've had, hands down. If the bar upstairs is too busy, go downstairs 😋. You're welcome!

The best Guinness with incredible service !! Kai was serving us downstairs and was the politest bar man I have ever encountered in London!!! So attentive and assisted by Merlin they are an asset to this bar . Customer service is lost too much in this day and age and to have young people appreciate the value of customer service is an asset to any company. Never been to this bar , never met them before , rarely do reviews but we were so impressed with felt we had to

Best place in London for Guinness

Only issue was Guinness in a plastic cup. Otherwise, it tasted great

One of the best Guinness in London. Even from a plastic cup outside, it beat most other pints around.

Very cool place. Nice staff too.

Great Guinness pub full of character, small venue so standing outside on the street has a good vibe

Best Guinness in London apparently, it's definitely the best I've tasted in the UK

Exceptional Guiness. Great service friendly bartenders and security.

Tiny pub in Soho with the best Guinness in the area. Been here, looking the same, for the last 30 years as long as I have been coming to London this bar has been refreshing its customers. If it goes one of the last vestiges of the old soho of the days of film companies and hookers will have disappeared. A real piece of history.

Upstairs was soulless, selling pints in plastic ups and most punters then standing outside. Downstairs bar much better atmosphere but very small. Lots of cool Guinness memorabilia.

I think it's the best ale house in London. You can tell by the crowd every time I go there.

Nice friendly pub, but be aware that it is a victim of its own success and usually quite busy

The best pint of Guinness in London!

Excellent little Irish Pub near Soho ☘️. Quaint layout with nice seating downstairs. Nice atmosphere and friendly customers. Staff are super friendly and prices are pretty good for that part of London 👍 Well worth a visit 🙂

Fantastic pub. Good vibes innit. Would recommend

Can't go wrong with a Guinness from the Toucan...

Best Guinness I've had outside of Ireland. Very small so likely you'll be out on the street with a plastic cup. Especially during busy periods such as weekends.

Fantastic London boozer with quality Guinness drinks a plenty! Another round, another round, another round, another round...

Just a pub that serves great Guinness. Nothing more nothing less.

The best place in London to enjoy a proper pint of Guinness. A street Guinness at The Toucan was high on the priority list.

Good Guinness. Drink it outside, what more could you want?

Nice cosy pub, best pint of Guinness about, small with a small area but there is a separate bar downstairs. Also serve Tatos crisps 👍

What a pub!!!! One of my favourite Guinness's here, didn't really have food but when an Irish bar sells tayto crisps you know it's a classy joint. Served by 2 Irish girls who were happy talkative and helpful. Brilliant little bar a must visit if you're looking for an amazing pint of Guinness.

GUINNESS. What a fantastic pint of Guinness. One of the best in London in my view. A must try for fans of the black stuff if you're around Soho

A very old pub at Tottenham court which is famous coz was Jimmy Hendrix pub and would recommend the Guinness here . Can get a bit tough standing on the road then the crowd gets bigger but had a lot of nostalgia .

Best Guinness I’ve had. Proper.

The best bar in London. August 2024 still the best bar in London

It looks exactly same as I remember it from 30 years ago, which was pretty cool

Go for the Guinness, hang out in the lively area outside.

Best beer I've ever drank. Drank it to enjoy it rather than to get drunk, but the drunk part is also very effective. Their pints are magic!!!!!!!

Tiny little pub with great Guinness! One of the locations for the film ‘Last Night in Soho’ and meant to have good Guinness so my friends and I gave it a try. It’s very very small but totally lived up to the name and the decor is brilliant.

Best Guinness in London and a great vibe too.

Great atmosphere and one of the best Guinness in town! Love it!

Gorgeous pub in a great part of town, and a very nice pint of Guinness

Storied pub and you’re there for the Guinness. Get a spot outside if you can. Very touristy. Be ready for plastic cups depending on the day.

Cute little pub, awful pint of Guinness. One of the worst I’ve every had. I’ve no idea what all the fuss is about, the English are deluded. 3/10

Best Irish pub in London especially when the sun is shining

Great Guinness and friendly, helpful staff

Saw the blonde barman yesterday pouring Guinness zeros into pint glasses before topping it off with the Guinness tap before serving it to make it faster. I asked him if that was what he had just done, which he denied. I gave him the benefit of the doubt as the glass was out of eyeshot when he put it on the tray before he topped it off (and therefore could have been another pint). Upon drinking outside (very busy due to Pride), it definitely was what he had done. Shambolic - it doesn't matter if it's busy, serve people what they have ordered

Great place for Guinness. Great summer vibes with bustling crowd along the street

Super popular pub for a quick after work drink. It's tiny, so you will probably stand on the street. Excellent atmosphere.

A fantastic spot for tourists to mingle with the locals. Just off Oxford street and with a great afternoon vibe especially in the summer with an outdoor drinking space. Loved it.

Great Guinness, very strong contender for best in London!

Great pub great collection of Guinness antiques in the pub also and a great drink choice GUINNESS . Josh behind the bar is sound.. great atmosphere here most visit

The best thing about the bar is the customers, some waiters are a little unfriendly. The bar is nice and the beer is good. The security guy was very nice and polite.

I forgot to add a review when I visited last summer. Racist guy wouldn’t let me (mixed raced) and my friend (black girl) inside. He told us “he knows what we get up to” or something along those lines. We had never visited this establishment before. This incident was also not related to not having ID, and it wasn’t particularly busy. It was around 9pm on a Thursday in June, and we had gone to the launch of a new store in the area, and wanted to get a drink. We were refused as soon as we approached the door, and didn’t make it past the threshold. Kind of disgusted that other patrons sitting down outside were unphased by his racism. It was an older white man, who was quite skinny, and balding in the middle of his head.

Great vibe, vibrant atmosphere and a wicked pint of Guinness!!

Nice pint! But definitely overrated. It’s quite small and incredibly busy most of the time. Nothing against that but if you’re looking to sit down for a chat maybe not the place for you

If you are looking for an Irish Whisky experience, head to the downstairs bar where you will find well over 50 Irish Whiskies! They pour a fine pint o' Guinness as well.

OH MAN! This place is the pub from that ghost movie!! It’s real!

Great place to stop for a drink whilst walking through Soho.

Great Guinness and somehow still quick to get a pint even though it’s become insanely popular of late

Visiting London and was a lovey day where people were enjoying a cold ones after work. Friendly and great atmosphere.

Always a lovely atmosphere at The Toucan, staff are great as in the drinks.

I've just had (most of, didn't finish it) the worst pint of Guinness I've ever had. Truly awful. The bar person poured two sitting flat to just over halfway. I asked specifically if they could pour me one properly please, they said sure and then continued to pour to the top and handed to me. Pathetic. It is really busy, loads of people outside but relatively quiet at the bar. This place is taking advantage. In response to the reply: 1. I was not given a fresh pint at all so either you have been given wrong information or you are creating something to paint a picture but I would be shocked if there wasn't more than one dissatisfied customer, so maybe just confusingme with someone else. 2. Part pour is fine, but that doesn't mean set the pints on the drip tray, turn on the tap walk away for thirty seconds and fill to the top - which is what the server did. 3. What is pathetic is the servers reaction, they didn't care what they were serving, I specifically asked to have one poured properly please, they had no idea what the problem was - so your servers either don't know or don't care. Either train your staff, and maybe take a look in the mirror, or close. 4. You have nothing to be proud of, and the arrogance to say that says alot, I left an unhappy and never returning customer - the Toucan obviously has very low standards. 5. You are taking advantage of an unsuspecting public - Guinness can travel find to London, but show it and your customers some respect, but given your response I hold no hope.

Good Guinness. All you probably want to know

Great atmosphere stood outside with a Guinness after work.

Here you drink London's best Guinness, without a doubt. All Guinness lovers, this is a MUST. 🍻 Head here. You won't regret it. 💞

Quality pint of Guinness as you'd expect

Really tasty Guinness. Maybe the best in London! Super fresh, creamy and flavourful! Go downstairs to get it out of glass

Great place for after office. Of course, it is a small place and it fills up with people. You may have to buy your beer at the bar and drink it on the sidewalk, but it's part of the folklore of the place. The best Guiness I tried in London

Used to be a good little pub but now it’s full of people who think drinking Guinness is a personality. It was never that good but was just there. But now it’s been taken over by the tiktokers

My favourite place in London for a pint of Guinness.

This place lives up to the reputation of having a good pint of Guinness. Absolutely love a couple of pints here, wish I could visit more often.

Best pint of the dark stuff this side of Ireland! Sláinte!

As a Guinness fan this is a must visit place. It's usually full of people and nice vibes. If you have the chance to sit downstairs you'll have fun, cool music and ambience.

I find it very hit and miss nowadays. Great pub when its on target.

Good meeting place in Central London, sadly the Guinness was very warm. Need to turn on the chiller. Otherwise excellent.

This is the great London central boozer. Renowned for doing Guiness, and typical London pricing. Great atmosphere, and plenty of street standing for a great post-work break.

Gorgeous spot inside with really friendly staff, the little bar downstairs is great for a quiet pint if you can get a seat, and standing out front when it’s nice out is a lovely buzz as well

A local told me this was the best pint of Guinness in London. It exceeded expectations. Friendly staff, quick service, and every pint of Guinness was perfectly poured. Reminded me of Palace Bar in Dublin !

4/5 based solely on the quality of the Guinness. The black stuff is good here. Staff miserable as sin, ok it was a Monday evening but still. Wee downstairs bar (not open) is kinda quirky and would be brilliant if they'd put on the heating a little.

I’m really sad to write this review because I have been here like 5-6 times but this evening in particular the person serving us (the old bald guy) was very grumpy and rude shouting us out loud and everyone near us. This kinda people should be allowed to work in hospitality m. The rest of the crew were nice made my evening bearable.

Best place to get a Guinness in London, without a doubt. Been to lots of other places and it never tastes as good as it does here. Service is friendly and super fast. The downstairs bar is small and usually crowded, cosy and intimate, the upstairs bar & street outside is full of life & there is a great atmosphere throughout. Colin & Carol have outdone themselves here for over 30 years. If you are ever in the area, put this place on your to do this!

Thanks to Chris who helped me when I was having an anxiety attack. Beautiful pub with lots of Gunniess antiques on the wall. Lovely Toucans painted on the walls. ☘️😁

Always rammed yet somehow never a wait at the bar!

Best pint of Guinness in London

Small but lovely pub with great Guinness.

Hunted it down as remembered it was good for a pint of Guinness. It was a good pint but it was freezing in the downstairs bar! Summer haunt in the future me thinks.

Excellent Guinness, wonderful whiskeys

Always stop by here whenever I can for a lovely Guinness. Been a favourite spot since I was young. Glad I've started coming back.

Quality small bar ,would highly recommend just like pubs use to be!!! Best pint of Guinness in London,no frills bar with a friendly atmosphere

Was down from Liverpool on Saturday 10th of February and visited the Toucan at around 9pm. Really great atmosphere inside and out, doorman was superb and great fun, actually looked like the ex-footballer Ian Wright and was definitely as funny, staff were excellent and friendly and the Guinness was beautiful, definitely worth a visit if your around Soho!

The best pint of Guinness in London, and a huge turnover, judging by the number of full kegs they have stored in the small ground floor bar. Located in the heart of Soho, this very traditional pub also has another bar downstairs (although not open at the time of my visit on a weekday lunchtime). Ideal for fair weather drinking as lots of people spill out onto the street. Friendly staff and reasonable prices for the area. Most definitely worth visiting.

Great atmosphere and great Gunness!

Good Guinness, though not best by any means.

Best place to get a pint of Guinness outside of Ireland. Period.

Great pub with great Guinness - absolutely rammed on Saturday but served quickly and drank outside. If you're on a Guinness tour a definite stop another West End pub in my top 5