Anchor Tavern, 34 Park Street, SE1

This historic riverside inn was built in 1775 on the site of a 15th century inn called the Castle and Hoop. Dr Johnson is supposed to have written his dictionary while renting rooms here. In 1996, Ethan (Tom Cruise) finally gets to chill out on the tavern’s terrace after the pyrotechnics of Brian De Palma’s Mission: Impossible. Best stick to the terrace, weather permitting, with its river views. The renovated interior is disappointingly bland. It's also handy for the nearby recreation of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.

Trivia: in 1666, an exhausted Samuel Pepys watched resignedly from the bar on this site as the Great Fire of London consumed the city across the river.

Mission: Impossible (1996, dir: Brian De Palma)