The Queen's Head (Limehouse): Darts in Limehouse

If you want a darts night that still feels like a proper East End boozer, the Queen's Head on Flamborough Street is the one. It is a Grade II listed pub from 1827, tucked just off the main roads in Limehouse, and since a group of locals took it over and reopened it in December 2023 it has run as a free house. The layout is the old-school split you rarely see now: a public bar on one side and a separate saloon bar on the other.

The darts live in that saloon bar, where there are two boards. The pub fields a darts team, so league nights bring in regulars who actually know what they are doing, and you can just turn up and throw the rest of the time. It is one of the few places that keeps the traditional East End Fives board alive, the older numbering with the tiny doubles, which is worth a look even if you only play the standard board. Playing is free, the way a pub board should be.

It is a three-minute walk from Limehouse station, so it is easy to reach from the City or Canary Wharf. Thursday is quiz night and gets busy, weekends fill out the saloon, and there is a beer garden if you want air between legs. No booking, just walk in.