The Lyceum Tavern is one of the handful of Hennekey’s pubs that Sam Smiths acquired in 1980 in their first foray into London, since when the Tadcaster brewers have improved or restored them to their former glory. As usual, the main theme is old wood panelling, and they have done their usual superlative job. There’s an upstairs bar overlooking the Strand, an excellent vantage point for watching such grand occasions as Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s wedding procession in 1981. The pub’s name is due to it backing onto the Lyceum Theatre, and it’s claimed that Bram Stoker wrote some of his novel Dracula in the Lyceum Tavern while was the theatre manager from 1879 to 1898.