Gunmakers

Gunmakers is a proper London pub in the middle of Marylebone, and above it, up several flights of stairs, are six rooms that are considerably better than the building’s modest exterior suggests. 

The pub occupies Aybrook Street, a quiet Georgian square near the Marylebone Farmers Market and has become a genuine local favourite for its well-kept draught beers, simple pub food and warm atmosphere. 

For anyone happy to trade hotel amenities for real neighbourhood character at a fraction of the usual Marylebone price, it makes an unusually persuasive case.

The experience

Gunmakers rewards guests who approach it on its own terms. There is no lobby, no concierge and no room service, and that is not an oversight: this is a pub with rooms, and the experience is shaped accordingly. 

What it delivers is a warm, well-run pub at the bottom of the building, rooms that are described in reviews as spacious by central London standards, staff who are consistently praised for friendliness, and a location that makes most of Marylebone’s sights and restaurants genuinely walkable. 

Guests have their own entrance separate from the pub so there is no noise carried from below. The Marylebone Farmers Market sets up directly outside every Sunday.

The rooms

Six rooms, some of which are bigger than many peoples’ first flat in London. Expect modern finishes, comfortable beds with quality linen, good showers, air conditioning and coffee-making facilities. 

There is a separate entrance for hotel guests, so while rooms are above the pub they are independent of it – and there’s no noise carried from below. 

There is no lift, so the upper rooms involve a meaningful climb. The penthouse room is the standout of the six, with more space and better light.

Food and drink

The pub serves traditional British food: think fish and chips, beef burgers, bangers and mash but with vegan and vegetarian options and is open Wednesday through Sunday. Note that food is not available on Mondays or Tuesdays. 

The Thursday burger deal at £12 has become a local draw. Draught selection is well kept and the cocktail menu is a step above the typical pub offering. The kitchen uses HG Walter butcher beef- an indicator that they take things rather seriously quality-wise.

The neighbourhood

Aybrook Street is a quiet residential square in the middle of Marylebone, ten minutes on foot from Baker Street Underground and around fifteen from Bond Street. Madame Tussauds is five minutes away. 

Marylebone High Street is ten minutes north and the Wallace Collection is close by in the other direction. Regent’s Park is a short walk north. The Marylebone Farmers Market, one of London’s best, occupies the square every Sunday morning.