Mohamed Hade, 32, of Ranelagh Road, Willesden was sentenced to three months imprisonment after pleading guilty to one count of theft.
At approximately 8.30pm on Thursday, March 19 Hade entered the public house in Farringdon Street and sat next to a group of drinkers.
He switched bags under the table and plain-clothed officers outside saw Hade leaving with a different bag to the one he entered with.
He headed towards New Bridge Street in the direction of another venue and officers jumped in and arrested him for theft.
CCTV footage captured the moment Hade switched bags while he was seated at the table next to the victim's group.
The stolen bag found on Hade contained a laptop with a value of £1,700.
The victim was about to report the theft to the police when officers turned up with his belongings at the pub and they were returned to him.
Sergeant James Wood, of the Proactive Acquisitive Crime Team at the City of London Police, said: “Opportunistic crimes such as bag and phone thefts can severely impact victims.
“The Proactive Acquisitive Crime Team’s expertise in spotting criminals preying on people out in the City have resulted in a number of arrests and prosecutions.
“We will continue to disrupt and target these criminals with our plain-clothed operations, intelligence work and the use of our extensive CCTV network across the City, which also assists us in identifying offenders.”
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