52 of the best · London, United Kingdom
Hotel cocktail bars, historic pubs and late-night jazz.
Our 52 favourites, listed A–Z · Updated October 2026
Browse by type
Three of our favourites from this list, vetted by people who know and love London.
The Martini trolley
An elegant Art Deco-inspired bar in The Connaught, famous for the Martini mixed at your table from a trolley.
The Connaught, Carlos Place, W1K 2ALExplore View on map
Soho’s French pub
A small, much-loved pub on Dean Street, with French wine, beer served by the half-pint and no music, television or phones.
49 Dean Street, W1D 5BGExplore View on map
Jazz since 1959
London’s most famous jazz club, on Frith Street, with nightly shows and dinner served at tables by the stage.
47 Frith Street, W1D 4HTExplore View on map
In-depth stories behind the list.
The back story
From the gentlemen’s clubs of Pall Mall to the creative clubs of Soho: what London’s members’ clubs are, and how visitors can glimpse them.
The back story
Galleried coaching inns, Victorian gin palaces and riverside taverns: the story of the London pub and how to enjoy one.
From Martini trolleys to themed bars.
A celebrated cocktail bar
The cocktail bar of The Langham hotel, opposite the BBC, with an opulent room and changing, creative menus.
1C Portland Place, W1B 1JAExplore View on map
Two bars on Old Compton Street
A cocktail bar on Old Compton Street with a bright upstairs room for aperitifs and a dark basement bar with a whisky list.
12 Old Compton Street, W1D 4TQExplore View on map
Espresso by day, Negronis by night
A tiny Italian bar on Old Compton Street, serving coffee by day and Negronis by night.
7 Old Compton Street, W1D 5JEExplore View on map
Floors 37–39 over the Docklands
A bar and restaurant on floors 37 to 39 of a tower on Marsh Wall, with views over Canary Wharf and the Thames.
40 Marsh Wall, E14 9TPExplore View on map
1940s underground
A cocktail bar in Kingly Court styled as a 1940s Underground station, with vintage décor and live music.
13 Kingly Court, W1B 5PWExplore View on map
Martinis, Fleming-style
A small, discreet bar in Dukes London, famous for its strong Martinis mixed from a trolley, and linked to Ian Fleming.
35 St James’s Place, SW1A 1NYExplore View on map
Cocktails on Level 52
The cocktail bar on Level 52 of The Shard, which the hotel describes as London’s highest hotel bar.
Level 52, The Shard, 31 St Thomas Street, SE1 9QUExplore View on map
Erik Lorincz’s bar
The cocktail bar of renowned bartender Erik Lorincz, near Green Park, with a bright, glass-fronted room and imaginative drinks.
52 Stratton StreetExplore View on map
A 1920s American bar
The Art Deco bar of The Beaumont hotel, inspired by the American bars of the 1920s and 1930s.
The Beaumont, Brown Hart Gardens, W1K 6TFExplore View on map
Classic cocktails in Bethnal Green
A small, much-admired cocktail bar on Cambridge Heath Road in Bethnal Green, with a daily-changing menu of classic-style drinks.
343 Cambridge Heath Road, E2 9RAExplore View on map
Bangkok Chinatown style
A loud, colourful Thai bar and kitchen on Rupert Street, inspired by the bars of Bangkok’s Chinatown, with a pool table upstairs.
30 Rupert Street, W1D 6DLExplore View on map
Cocktail history
The Savoy’s celebrated Art Deco cocktail bar, where cocktails have been mixed since the 1890s, with a pianist in the evenings.
The Savoy, Strand, WC2R 0EZExplore View on map
A famous blue room
The Berkeley’s cocktail bar, designed by David Collins and painted a distinctive shade of blue.
The Berkeley, Wilton Place, SW1X 7RLExplore View on map
The Martini trolley
An elegant Art Deco-inspired bar in The Connaught, famous for the Martini mixed at your table from a trolley.
The Connaught, Carlos Place, W1K 2ALExplore View on map
Art Deco at the Ritz
The Ritz’s small, jewel-box Art Deco bar, inspired by the Orient Express.
150 Piccadilly, W1J 9BRExplore View on map
A Portobello Road tiki bar
A rum lounge and tiki-style cocktail bar on Portobello Road.
177 Portobello Road, W11 2DYExplore View on map
Historic and atmospheric.
Est. 1890
A candlelit wine bar in vaulted cellars by Embankment station, established in 1890, with a large terrace.
47 Villiers Street, WC2N 6NEExplore View on map
A Covent Garden pub off Rose Street
A historic Covent Garden pub at the end of narrow Rose Street, with low beams and a busy courtyard outside.
33 Rose Street, WC2E 9EBExplore View on map
A Spitalfields pub opposite the market
A Victorian pub on Commercial Street opposite Spitalfields Market, with tiled walls and an upstairs dining room.
84 Commercial Street, E1 6LYExplore View on map
A riverside pub on Bankside
A historic pub on the river at Bankside, between Southwark Bridge and Borough Market, with a terrace facing the City.
34 Park Street, SE1 9EFExplore View on map
By Putney Bridge
A modern pub on Putney Wharf beside Putney Bridge, with views of the Thames.
32 Brewhouse Lane, SW15 2JXExplore View on map
A Chelsea public house
A much-loved pub on the King’s Road, with pub classics and a Sunday roast.
298 King’s Road, SW3 5UGExplore View on map
Covered in flowers
A Fuller’s pub on Kensington Church Street famous for its spectacular flower-covered façade and its Thai kitchen.
119 Kensington Church Street, W8 7LNExplore View on map
A riverside garden in Fulham
A landmark pub with a large riverside garden on the Thames between Hammersmith and Putney.
Rainville Road, W6 9HAExplore View on map
A Chelsea pub off Cheyne Walk
A historic pub on Lawrence Street, a few steps from Cheyne Walk and the river in Chelsea.
1 Lawrence Street, SW3 5NBExplore View on map
Victorian pub on the river
A grand Victorian pub in a Grade II listed building on the Putney riverside, overlooking the start of the Boat Race.
8 Lower Richmond Road, SW15 1JNExplore View on map
A Highgate village pub
An old pub in Highgate village, with low rooms, a large front courtyard and a restaurant.
77 Highgate West Hill, N6 6BUExplore View on map
Soho’s French pub
A small, much-loved pub on Dean Street, with French wine, beer served by the half-pint and no music, television or phones.
49 Dean Street, W1D 5BGExplore View on map
London’s last galleried coaching inn
The last galleried coaching inn in London, owned by the National Trust, off Borough High Street.
75-77 Borough High Street, SE1 1NHExplore View on map
A Thames pub in Limehouse
A narrow old riverside pub on Narrow Street in Limehouse, known to Charles Dickens and co-owned by the actor Sir Ian McKellen.
76 Narrow Street, E14 8BPExplore View on map
A Hampstead hilltop pub
A cosy old pub on a steep lane in Hampstead village, with snug panelled rooms and open fires.
22 Holly Mount, NW3 6SGExplore View on map
Snob screens on Lamb’s Conduit Street
A Victorian pub on Lamb’s Conduit Street in Bloomsbury, with a horseshoe bar and rare surviving etched-glass snob screens.
94 Lamb’s Conduit Street, WC1N 3LZExplore View on map
The Pilgrim Fathers’ pub
A historic pub on the river at Rotherhithe, near the spot where the Mayflower sailed for America in 1620.
117 Rotherhithe Street, SE16 4NFExplore View on map
A tiny Belgravia pub
A small, eccentric independent pub in a Belgravia mews, full of curios.
53 Kinnerton Street, SW1X 8EDExplore View on map
Snob screens and etched glass
A Grade II* listed pub on Formosa Street in Maida Vale, built in 1856 and still divided by its original snob screens.
5A Formosa Street, W9 1EEExplore View on map
A Thames pub in Wapping
An old riverside pub on Wapping Wall, with a pewter-topped bar, flagstone floors and a terrace over the Thames.
57 Wapping Wall, E1W 3SHExplore View on map
An old inn on the edge of the Heath
A historic coaching inn on Spaniards Road at the edge of Hampstead Heath, near Kenwood, with a large garden.
Spaniards Road, NW3 7JJExplore View on map
A Belgravia pub with a dining room
A Georgian pub on Elizabeth Street in Belgravia, named after the builder of much of the neighbourhood, with a dining room upstairs.
44 Elizabeth Street, SW1W 9PAExplore View on map
A grand Victorian pub
A Grade II listed Victorian pub on Warrington Crescent in Maida Vale, on CAMRA’s National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors.
93 Warrington Crescent, W9 1EHExplore View on map
A hidden pub off Hatton Garden
A tiny historic pub hidden down an alley off Ely Place near Hatton Garden, famous for being hard to find.
1 Ely Court, Ely Place, EC1N 6SJExplore View on map
Soho nights.
Jazz since 1959
London’s most famous jazz club, on Frith Street, with nightly shows and dinner served at tables by the stage.
47 Frith Street, W1D 4HTExplore View on map
Pubs on the Thames.
A riverside pub since 1722
A riverside pub on Lower Mall by Hammersmith Bridge, first licensed in 1722.
13 Lower Mall, W6 9DJExplore View on map
A pub on the towpath at Chiswick
A historic riverside pub at Strand-on-the-Green in Chiswick, with seating beside the Thames and a garden.
27 Strand-on-the-Green, W4 3PHExplore View on map
A riverside pub on Upper Mall
A Grade II listed Fuller’s pub on Upper Mall in Hammersmith, with a small terrace above the Thames.
19 Upper Mall, W6 9TAExplore View on map
Terrace and balcony on the Thames
A riverside pub on Upper Mall in Hammersmith, with a terrace and upstairs balcony facing the river.
25 Upper Mall, W6 9TDExplore View on map
An 1837 tavern beside the Royal Naval College
A Grade II listed tavern of 1837 on the Thames at Greenwich, beside the Old Royal Naval College.
Park Row, SE10 9NWExplore View on map
The pub that floods
A Grade II listed Young’s pub on the riverside at Richmond, known for the high tides that flood its front.
Riverside, Water Lane, TW9 1THExplore View on map
Gig venues and clubs.
Camden’s ballroom since 1938
A 1,500-capacity music venue on Camden High Street, a dance hall since 1938, with gigs, club nights and weekend markets.
184 Camden High Street, NW1 8QPExplore View on map
A Victorian theatre turned gig venue
A concert venue and club in Camden in a theatre that opened in 1900, later the Camden Palace, reopened as KOKO in 2022.
1A Camden High Street, NW1 7JEExplore View on map
Soul, jazz and funk in Camden
A music venue on Parkway in Camden, opened in 1990 in a former bank, with gigs, a mezzanine restaurant and club nights.
5 Parkway, NW1 7PGExplore View on map
Price guide per person for a meal without drinks: £ under £25, ££ £25–50, £££ £50–100, ££££ over £100. Many restaurants add a discretionary service charge of 12.5%.
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