The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 3 plus 5 letter word THE USUAL
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
T
H
E
U
S
U
A
L
More clues leading to the result THE USUAL
Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "You can’t order it in a strange pub" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case you can’t order it in a strange pub = the usual.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.