Last Updated : Friday 7th October 2022
Best Bars in London
As a bartender I can definitely say I love my drinks. So believe me when I say these are the best bars. Some for the atmosphere and vibes, some for the drinks, some for the bartenders, some because of the aesthetic. Its hard for people to be perfect and it's hard for venues too. I love each place for a different reason may it be because i have worked there before, drunk there before, walked past it, the looks, everything has an impact.
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keep in mind this is all based of my personal preference and opinion but i like a wide variety of things so I've tried to stay true to myself but also include something for everyone.
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We all know a drink can be a little expensive here . It's not like when in Thailand getting a whole bucket for a fiver, you just about get a pint for that here... if you're lucky. This can be one thing that can chew your money away, especially if you wanna go to the super cute and trendy places. KNOW YOUR BUDGET and you will be fine. However, we all know how easy it is to say one more when we are already a little tipsy!
Lyaness is a bar located in central. To be considered one of the best bars in the world. the way the bar functions and the roles each person has there is interesting to see. With it being placed right next to the Thames means you get a view of the river, whilst you sit there sipping your cocktail on a late evening under the dim lights of the bar. I get some serious first date vibes here, you get some very romantic feels.
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Tonight
Josephine
Opening Times :
Monday : 5pm - 12am
Tuesday : 5pm - 12am
Wednesday : 5pm - 12am
Thursday : 5pm - 12am
Friday : 3pm - 2am
Saturday : 6pm - 2am
Sunday : 4pm - 12am
Average spend per drink :
£7 -£15
OPENING TIMES FOR DIFFERENT. VENUES CAN BE DIFFERENT SO PLEASE DOUBLE CHECK!
Tonight Josephine is part of the adventure bar company. Super Pink, Super Girly, Super Trendy.
They have a few throughout London located in Waterloo, Shoreditch, and Clapham. Very Instagram-able and vibey. I recommend going here if you love that. Definitely the basic bitch crowd but you can be the one to stand out. They have loads of events here, from bottomless brunch to west end sing alongs so check them out if thats what you're into as you tend to get drunk for a lot cheaper when you go to those. Just don't get so drunk that you become that person who cant walk at 1pm throwing up down some bookey alleyway or if in plain sight in central London down waterloo road.
Queen of Hoxton is a rooftop, ground floor bar and basement club (open on weekends only). The rooftop does close early around 10pm if they still have the same licensing as when i worked there, so just keep that in mind if you are going for the roof top. The rooftop is usually themed and they try to change it every 6 months so do look up what vibe it is the time you are visiting.
Another place that does drag bingo brunches and they are good fun. When i was working there the food for that was waffles both sweet and savoury and let me tell you they were to die for!!! The only thing that motivated me to wake up at 8am on the weekends when my body-clock was the opposite of that due to the usual late hours I was working... Was knowing I would be given limitless waffles by our amazing chefs who loved me of course.
This place is theatrical cocktails at their finest. This unique bar boasts absolutely insane cocktails served in the most crazy ways, from miniature baths with rubber ducks floating on top, to mini fairy garden terrariums, to old skool scuba helmets, to hot air balloons and so many more. Definitely one of the craziest bars in London and one of the most aesthetically pleasing. The craziness starts straight away with the jungle theme as soon you get to the entrance and carries on throughout your entire time there even to the toilets where you'll hear David Attenborough over the speakers . If you wanna be wowed don't miss this one out!
New secret bar in waterloo station located in the brew dog bar. Walk through to the back of the restaurant and find a service section with an old skool telephone, ring that and someone will come to the door and let you in to the secret lost property bar. It's a speakeasy style bar very dim lighted and chill vibe. cocktails are beautiful and taste amazing defo recommend for the experience.
Obviously located in brixton this is a little square of shipping containers each a different little business selling food or drinks. They have a wide range of events that happen here some you have to pay some are free. A few years ago i went to a house and dnb event there was pretty good until I got kicked out because I didn't have my ID because i was underage lol!
The interior looks like a 50's / 60's style house and
I AM SOO LIVING FOR IT!!!
Honestly I am very mixed on this style it is a lot to take in. I think its super quirky and cool but also can be wayyy to much for the naked eye, kinda like in a way its so ugly that its cute... if that makes sense?
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Definitely a good one to go to for some cool photo opportunities!
A secret speakeasy, located in the basement, where there was once a famous boxing gym, hence the name jack Solomon. Chill low light vibes nice for a cute date night or a lil catch up. Can be a little expensive but drinks are strong and all shots are doubles!! so watch that they get you fucked quick time!
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The vibes are immaculate, with it located just below Sophie's Steakhouse you can grab a bite to eat there and head on down to get drunk after.
Near and far is a tropical Bali vibe cocktail bar. They do sell food and it is pretty good although they are more focused cocktails. So, if you are only in London for a short amount of time I would grab food somewhere else.
As its located in Camden theres loads of places and things to do around the area you can make a whole day of plans around here.
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Flight club is a darts bar with different virtual games you can select when playing. With four venues in London and more in Birmingham, Leeds, Bristol, Manchester, Cheltenham and a new venue opening in Cardiff (apparently the new up and coming with all the restaurants and bars opening new chains there), you can tell how popular it is!
This place is chill but fun I defo recommend good for friends or a date it defo brings out your competitive side. Interactive bars are never boring always adds a little spice to your night out.
Hijingo is a multi-sensory bingo bar that kinda gives me squid game vibes. Its futuristic, fun and unique I've never really seen a bar like this it'll make you feel like your in Tokyo as soon as you walk through the doors.
They do an amazing brunch with the best food and have about 6 rounds of interactive bingo, with the chance to win things like umbrellas to a European holiday!!!
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If you don't want a brunch you can pop in for a drink at the lucky cat bar. Open for walk-ins so no reason to book in advance.
Neverland also known as Fulham beach club in summer or winterland in winter is a London beach club by the Thames. So This is one that makes you feel like you're on a 5* tropical holiday with the clear blue ocean right on your doorstep. Okay maybe not... but the vibes are immaculate. In winter they do the opposite and make you feel like you are in the mountains skiing and stopped for a cosy Christmas themed coffee lol
Wether its the actual sand and cute white beach huts with pastel features or the golden lit Christmas trees and the adorable fairy domes, this place is a instagram hot hub. you know how people love to fake their lives well you can fake being in Ibiza at that 5* hotel or fake going on that winter holiday lol good luck baby.​
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PS. i do not condone faking your life on social media, get a life and share that if you really want the world to know, just like me :)
Roof east is a rooftop located in Stratford. Its kind of like a gaming bar lots of different things to do for example, mini golf, arrows, sluggers, karaoke, cinema ( I think these can change so check for what entertainment they have at the time). They have bars for drinks and places for food like burgers, pizzas, Indian and Turkish street-food and sweet things like donuts! They also hold some comedy events if that wasn't enough entertainment for one place.
10/10 recommend great for a date night as you have plenty to do in one place so it would be difficult to get boring and get those awkward first date vibes.
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It is recommended to book the games ahead as you don't know how busy it will be. Also a little disclaimer you do unfortunately have to pay separately for the games and prices do vary. The only free ones you get are : Jumbo Jenga, Ping Pong, Cornhole and beat the bar.
Little Nans is a quirky little bar located in Deptford. Created by the grandson Tristan in honour of his Little nan Jojo. Her eccentric style influenced her grandchildren opening the bar just like their little nans place. Every colour under the rainbow, all animal prints you can think of and all the unnecessary unique decor under the sun.
Throw minimalist out the window maximist is here bigger and better!
Of course it's another gaming bar these are the most fun and amusing as I said earlier it brings out your competitive side and never lets it get boring. This one always makes me think of the Simpsons episode where they are in the shuffle competition. I know what a loser, right? But if I'm totally honest this is what drew me to this bar in the first place because I'd never heard of shuffles before, seriously if you didn't grow up watching the Simpsons who even are you?
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Again it is recommended to book if you want to use one of the lanes especially if you don't want to wait. They have indoor and outdoor lanes and you can chose which one you would like however the indoor one is slightly more expensive and they both have peak and off peak hours. If you go in the peak hours it will cost £20 more than usual so double check those times if you wanna save some money!
One of the oldest pubs in London dating back to the 1500's. A traditional London pub style but it has lots of features to show you that its been there for a very long time. Weird things like finger bones in jars and a nuse hanging outside. It is located right on the thames and you can go onto the bank and chill down there.
I remember going here at a younger age stopping here as we was travelling through London and many years later i was seeing it all over TikTok for keeping its history.
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Bounce is the home of drinks and pingpong. Basically a bar filled with pingpong tables for you use at your disposal for £5 - £6 per person.
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If you cant tell already I love my gaming bars just adds a little spice to the normal night out with some mates.
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Just like roof east they have a couple different games to play. Lets be real it wouldn't be a proper pingpong bar if they didn't let you play beer pong! They also have a high tech pingpong table to you can play this other game called wonderball.
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Another chain of bars so they do have a few different locations which are, Old Street, Farringdon and a new location opening in Battersea.
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The Brig is Known as the smallest bar in London. It can fit 2-4 people in it, Max 5. So because of this you do hire out the whole thing for yourself when you go, with cool benefits obviously.
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For just £65 per person, per hour you hire out this tiny venue to yourself for an amazing personal experience, you have your own bar and your own personal bartender to make the drinks for you with whatever spirits you fancy. Chose to play your own music and you can even make your own cocktails if you really wanted to All with all this included in the price payed, which i think is a bargin!
I think this is an amazing date idea, makes it that little more personal when its just you and that special person the place seems like it holds some kind of history as well which is always interesting especially in London.
Ohhhhhh Blame gloria it will always have such a big place in my heart. This is the place that I learnt all my advanced bartending skills.
Being able to free pour makes it faster and more efficient serving people so you get better more entertaining service from people. This is one of those crazy bars where they bang the stations with the muddlers and throw crushed ice at each other it keeps the energy up and makes those 12hour shifts a little bit easier. Used to be open a lot later so I guess its easier now anyways.
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This is part of the adventure bar group so they have the same menu as Tonight Josephine, Bar Elba, and Luna springs in Birmingham, although Im sure Luna has a reduced menu. They have started expanding more over the UK. There is now Blame Glorias in Covent Garden the OG bar, the one and only and the best team ever in 2021 (lol minus one bitch that basically got me fired, I wish her the worst in life... sorry I mean the best), Clapham, and Bristol.
A beautiful cocktail bar with climbing plants all over the place. I would say this one is a little more posh and romantic, or just for a chill lil catch up with a longtime friend vibe.
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They do little nibbles as well so if you get a little peckish or a little too tipsy you can try some of those out, to fill that hole or sober you up.
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Their cocktails are inspired by a special deck of tarot cards that were designed in 1910. The 14 cocktails are based off the 14 states of mind or being. If you love you some tarot.
Franks cafe is a rooftop on a multi-storey carpark. It is located in Peckham where you can find banging booze, stunning views, and an amazing all pink staircase before you even get to that. Its also part of the bold tendencies gallery, so you get some cool abstract art whilst you're there.
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Now tell me, is there any reason not to go?
No, the fact it is in Peckham is not a reason.
OKAYOKAYOKAYYYY! Who doesn't wanna be a kid again, even if it is only for a few hours. Go back to the times of no worries but this time add alcohol into the equation and you have the best combination there could be. you'll be getting flashbacks to your 5 year old self running around your local jungle mania soft play.
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Not only this but the cocktails are pretty amazing taste and looks wise, and yeah don't worry the balls aren't everywhere so you will be able walk and not fall when you want to. Just for reference it has 2 giant ball pits in the venue. You don't have to prebook unless going to a brunch or wanting a VIP table.
Cahoots is a bar based in the 1940's around the time of the blitz. To take you back to those times they have a ticket hall, signal station (same venue), and an underground (just down the road).
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They do an escape room style puzzle on the weekends which is kind of like their style brunch. I love escape rooms I'm kinda sad I've never tried this one before!
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I love places that try to keep the history, I love modern style so much but i think its so important to treasure our history and the different stages things have been through, people have been through to get us all where we are today. I have always wanted to know what it would be like to step back in time and i guess now I know.
Alcotraz
Opening Times :
Monday : Closed
Tuesday : 5pm - 1am
Wednesday : 5pm - 1am
Thursday : 5pm - 1am
Friday : 5pm - 1am
Saturday : 5pm - 1am
Sunday : Closed
Average spend per drink :
£8 - £11
A bar behind bars, if you cant tell this is a prison themed bar where you smuggle your own alcohol of your choice. Its a Theatre like bar so luxury is a last as you are in prison after all.
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Get caught by the warden smuggling or drinking and you'll be in deep shit, get a life sentence then escape from Alcotraz.
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Any spirit you smuggle in will be made into a cocktail by your prison bartender there is no set menu as you are in prison so you get no choice.
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This a jungle themed roof terrace and I AM LIVING FOR IT!
To be honest all tropical, Bali themed places or things i am obsessed with as I love green and tropical places where it doesn't drop below 25degrees. If only the rooftop had that effect. Anyways anything to make you feel like your on holiday when you actually aren't.
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It's in the heart of Brixton so easy to get to and around a lot of other things.
This is an arcade pub bar. It has racing tracks, virtual reality, ice hockey (childhood flashback), dance revolution (flashback x2), and os much more.
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Located close to Clapham Junction its also close to a lot of other places but I cant imagine you'll be going anywhere else this night. This place has so much to do and lets be real we can all play arcade games for hours, we are all big kids at heart and always will be.
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F
abric
Opening Times :
Monday : 11pm - 6am
Tuesday : 10pm - 5am
Wednesday : 10pm - 5am
Thursday : 10pm - 5am
Friday : 10pm - 5am
Saturday : 10pm - 5am
Sunday : 10pm - 5am
A beFabric is an iconic nightclub in London back in the day this is where all the craziness was happening. They have always focused on the drum&bass, dubstep, house, techno side of music you don't really get anything else played there.
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This was the hot hub for all those old skool ravers back in the 90's when there was proper drugs and real music. Fabric came around in the heart of the time when this music was being created and evolving into so much more. They have 3 pretty big rooms with divergent people playing so you'll most likely be able to escape from a set that you don't like to one that you do.
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I was born and raised on DnB so if anyones asking me to go clubbing in London its defo here. Also i think you do have to book, different nights its different DJ's and music being played so I would always check that and book in advance. Theres is tickets for different times of entry, student tickets and they have different tiers so the earlier you book the cheaper it will be.
This is another secret speakeasy located beneath the Breakfast Club. To reach the bar you need to say a secret password (this is so popular now they don't really ask you and i cant remember what it is) and then they take you to the entrance. This is the best bit... THROUGH A SMEG FRIDGE!!!
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Now these secret speakeasy bars are getting a lot more popular now and I'm not complaining I love them as its like exploring another world. But this one has the top the list literally just because of the entrance but its closely followed by the lost property office.
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If you don't know of this one already you really are late to the show, but it has to be put on the list because it is good and I'm on a trend with these gaming bars, to be honest.
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For me mini golf just reminds me of going on holiday especially when playing it drunk. It's always a vibe, but I do find the more drunk you are the harder it is to care that you just payed to play and you just cheat so you can move on... maybe its just me?
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Theres a few different courses to chose from and they do change I'm unsure how often but you can look them up in advance or you can leave it for a surprise when you get there.
I went in covid times so things were a bit different but if i can recommend anything its get the cocktail with vimto in it, if they still have it. its literally one of my favourite squash and never have i ever seen it in a cocktail until then.
A little cocktail bar with some cool history. This place is called nowhere special but the history in the walls would prove that statement wrong. This used to be an old jail and you can really feel the vibe here. you can literally imagine the cells and the people who was in them.
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This place gives me a pub vibe but actually their cocktails are pretty amazing. They change the menu every 2-3 weeks to keep things new and different. All the cocktails get served with a garnish on a side plate and all uniquely made for that specific cocktail.
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Located in Kentish Town it is close to Camden Market and Primrose Hill so you can pop in here for a pint or 2 on your day out in Northwest.
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Viktor Wynd
Opening Times :
Monday : Closed
Tuesday : Closed
Wednesday : 3pm - 11pm
Thursday : 3pm - 11pm
Friday : 3pm - 11pm
Saturday : 12pm - 11pm
Sunday : 12pm - 10pm
Museum of
Curiosities
Okay so this one is a really weird one if you can't tell by the photos already. One of the weird and wonderful things of London is that you get so much diversity here. So many different people with different interests gives places the ability to have their individuality and peculiarity and make enough money to stay open.
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Some people find this freaky but this is like an all year round halloween store/museum, and halloween is my favourite holiday. It's fascinating the weird creatures people create in their minds and make them come to life. Its like when you read a book before you watch the film and your mind creates everything from memories and your imagination.
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