In 1888 Young's brewery took over the lease of the Guinea and we remain a Young’s pub to this day. Throughout our history, the Guinea remained a simple Inn providing ale to the working people of Mayfair. Until that is, 1952. In 1952, a tenant by the name of Alistair leased the Guinea from Young's and transformed the business with a very simple idea. He realized that following the end of the Second World War, Americans were beginning to holiday in Europe in big numbers. Tourists would often, travel through France and Italy before arriving on British soil by which time they were ‘gagging’ for a decent steak. A decent steak was exactly what Alistair provided. Prime Scotch beef from Aberdeenshire. Basically, there was no menu and no price list. You were simply given a knife and asked to place a mark on the steak to indicate what size you wanted. Suddenly the Guinea Grill was a hot ticket, film stars, politicians, world leaders and the wealthy flocked to the back room of our tiny pub. We're founder members of the Scotch beef club and we’ve been serving the very best steaks for 60 years. We’ve trialled beef from other parts of the globe such as the US and Argentina. They all have their merits but for depth of flavour none of them compare to prime Scotch and the finest of English beef. This is the basis of our continued popularity together with the fact that our restaurant is within a unique London pub. Many of our staff have been with us for years, and we place a high value on customer recognition and warm hospitality.
