London
We’ve compiled the best of the best in London - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
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102 Recommendations
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1. American Bar
St. James'sFestooned with a chin-dropping array of old club ties, vintage celebrity-signed photographs, sporting mementos, model airplanes, and baseball caps, this sensational hotel cocktail bar has...
Festooned with a chin-dropping array of old club ties, vintage celebrity-signed photographs, sporting mementos, model airplanes, and baseball caps, this sensational hotel cocktail bar has superb martinis and Manhattans. The name dates from the 1930s, when hotel bars in London started to cater to growing numbers of Americans crossing the Atlantic in ocean liners. The collection of paraphernalia was started in the 1970s when a customer left a small carved wooden eagle.
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2. Amused Moose Comedy
SohoThis roving West End comedy-night group is often considered the best way to see new talent as well as established household names doing "secret" shows....
This roving West End comedy-night group is often considered the best way to see new talent as well as established household names doing "secret" shows. Famous British comedians like Ricky Gervais, Eddie Izzard, and Russell Brand are among those who have graced an Amused Moose stage, and every summer a handful of the Edinburgh Fringe comedians preview with them. They keep the bar open late (and serve food), and there's a DJ and dancing after the show. Tickets are often discounted with a printout from their website, and shows are mainly on Monday, Wednesday, and weekends.
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3. Artesian
FitzroviaThey don't take reservations at this jewel box of a cocktail bar at The Langham hotel, but you can order a drink while you wait...
They don't take reservations at this jewel box of a cocktail bar at The Langham hotel, but you can order a drink while you wait for a chic mirror-top table surrounded by some of London's most beautiful people. The innovative, creative cocktails involve exotic ingredients, like aromatic bitters all the way from Marrakesh, and are simply unforgettable, if pricey. Service is also top-notch, making this a nightlife treat.
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4. Bar Américain
SohoThe beaux-arts interior of this popular subterranean bar just north of Piccadilly Circus is so opulent that you'd be forgiven for thinking it had been...
The beaux-arts interior of this popular subterranean bar just north of Piccadilly Circus is so opulent that you'd be forgiven for thinking it had been here since the 1890s. In fact it's a relatively new revival and has been a hit since it was reconverted in 2012, along with the cavernous Parisian-inspired Brasserie Zédel and racy Crazy Coqs cabaret, which share the premises. The nifty cocktails cover Pre-Prohibition, Prohibition, and Post-Prohibition standards, with additional special menus on occasion.
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5. Beach Blanket Babylon
Notting HillIn a Victorian mansion house close to Portobello Market, this always-packed bar is distinguishable by its eclectic indoor-outdoor spaces with Gaudí-esque curves and snug corners—like...
In a Victorian mansion house close to Portobello Market, this always-packed bar is distinguishable by its eclectic indoor-outdoor spaces with Gaudí-esque curves and snug corners—like a candlelit fairy-tale grotto, folly, or medieval crypt. Also perfect for an alfresco lunch or intimate dinner, the cocktails here are the star of the show.
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6. Beaufort Bar
Covent GardenThings could hardly get more glamorous than at the Savoy's lesser-known Beaufort Bar—a black-and-gold art deco master class with dramatic low lighting that has vintage...
Things could hardly get more glamorous than at the Savoy's lesser-known Beaufort Bar—a black-and-gold art deco master class with dramatic low lighting that has vintage champagne and a spread of heritage cocktails. Dark and sultry and with a rising cabaret stage once graced by Gershwin and Josephine Baker, this venue has nightly live jazz piano music beginning at 7 pm.
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7. Cafe OTO
DalstonA relaxed café by day, and London's leading venue for experimental music by night, Cafe OTO is a Dalston institution. Its programming of free jazz,...
A relaxed café by day, and London's leading venue for experimental music by night, Cafe OTO is a Dalston institution. Its programming of free jazz, avant-garde electronica, and much more is enough of a draw that it regularly sells out, with music fans steaming up the windows and spilling out onto the pavement and road outside to smoke during breaks. Café customers are kicked out at 5 pm to make way for sound checks. It's open as a bar (no cover) on nights when no concerts are taking place.
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8. EartH (Evolutionary Arts Hackney)
DalstonEast London’s coolest performing arts venue occupies two huge spaces (one standing, one with unallocated bench seating) in an old art deco movie theater. Original...
East London’s coolest performing arts venue occupies two huge spaces (one standing, one with unallocated bench seating) in an old art deco movie theater. Original architectural details add to the shabby-hip feel of the place, while in EartH Kitchen, the bar and restaurant on the venue’s second floor, you’ll find Scandi-modern styling (along with delicious cocktails and reasonably priced dishes from a changing roster of pop-up chefs). The wide-ranging and very much on-trend program runs from world music and hip-hop to country, folk, and dance, with stand-up comedy and free sets by leading DJs in the bar.
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9. Experimental Cocktail Club
ChinatownIt's easy to miss the unmarked shabby-chic black door with a scuffed wash of red paint on Chinatown's hectic Gerrard Street, but once you find...
It's easy to miss the unmarked shabby-chic black door with a scuffed wash of red paint on Chinatown's hectic Gerrard Street, but once you find it and make your way past the sometimes hard-to-please doorman, you'll be in a secret three-floor speakeasy that is also one of London's coolest cocktail joints. With a lively crowd, heavenly cocktails, moody lighting, and a DJ spinning smooth jazz sounds, the vibe is laid-back, sexy, Parisian cool.
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10. Gordon's Wine Bar
WestminsterNab a rickety candlelit table in the atmospheric, 1890s, low-slung, brick-vaulted cellar interior of what claims to be the oldest wine bar in London, or...
Nab a rickety candlelit table in the atmospheric, 1890s, low-slung, brick-vaulted cellar interior of what claims to be the oldest wine bar in London, or sit outdoors in the long pedestrian-only alley garden that runs alongside it. There are no reservations, so be prepared to line up outside during busy periods, like after work and on sunny afternoons. Either way, the mood is always cheery as a diverse crowd sips on more than 70 different wines, ports, and sherries. Tempting cheese and meat plates are great for sharing.
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11. Jazz Café
Camden TownA long-standing hotbed of cool in Camden, the Jazz Café hosts top acts in mainstream jazz as well as hip-hop, funk, world music, soul, and...
A long-standing hotbed of cool in Camden, the Jazz Café hosts top acts in mainstream jazz as well as hip-hop, funk, world music, soul, and Latin fusion. On Saturday night, a DJ plays disco, house, and soul. Book ahead if you want a table in the balcony restaurant overlooking the stage; otherwise you'll be standing (and probably dancing).
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12. Le Bar at Louie
Covent GardenOn any given night, ace jazz player Trombone Shorty might work his way through this beyond cool New Orleans voodoo cocktail lounge on the second...
On any given night, ace jazz player Trombone Shorty might work his way through this beyond cool New Orleans voodoo cocktail lounge on the second floor of Louie restaurant off Cambridge Circus. Even if he's not there playing tunes, the staff dish out deviled eggs, truffle pizzas, and theme cocktails in a rising fever dream delirium until 2 am five nights a week.
13–15 West St.- 020 - 8057--6500Nightlife Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun.–Mon. -
13. Mr Fogg's Residence
MayfairExplorers of all stripes will be captivated by this Jules Verne--inspired cocktail parlor, which is chock-full of the weathered maps, hunting trophies, taxidermy, suspended penny-farthings,...
Explorers of all stripes will be captivated by this Jules Verne--inspired cocktail parlor, which is chock-full of the weathered maps, hunting trophies, taxidermy, suspended penny-farthings, and Around the World in 80 Days globe-trotting items of eccentric fictional Victorian British adventurer, Phileas J. Fogg. Expect Victorian tipples and gin-based afternoon "Tipsy Teas" from staff in bow ties and other old-fashioned getups.
- 020 - 7036–0608 -
14. Pizza Express Jazz Club
SohoOne of the United Kingdom's most ubiquitous pizza chains also runs a leading jazz venue in Soho. Established in 1976, the dimly lit basement restaurant...
One of the United Kingdom's most ubiquitous pizza chains also runs a leading jazz venue in Soho. Established in 1976, the dimly lit basement restaurant hosts both established and emerging local and international jazz acts every night, with food available about 90 minutes before stage time. The thin-crust pizzas are always popular, but it's the exceptional live sets that draw in London's hip jazz lovers.
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15. Prospect of Whitby
East EndNamed after a collier ship, this is one of London's oldest riverside pubs, dating to around 1520. Although a regular for Dickens, Pepys, Samuel Johnson,...
Named after a collier ship, this is one of London's oldest riverside pubs, dating to around 1520. Although a regular for Dickens, Pepys, Samuel Johnson, and the American artist James Whistler, once upon a time it was called The Devil's Tavern because of the lowlifes—sailors, smugglers, footpads, and cutthroats—who congregated here. With a 400-year-old flagstone floor and ornamented with pewter ware and nautical objects, this much-loved boozer has a terrace with views of the Thames, from where boat trips often point it out.
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16. Ronnie Scott's
SohoBritain's most famous jazz club has attracted the biggest names—from Stan Getz to Ella Fitzgerald and Jimi Hendrix—since opening nearby on Gerrard Street in 1959...
Britain's most famous jazz club has attracted the biggest names—from Stan Getz to Ella Fitzgerald and Jimi Hendrix—since opening nearby on Gerrard Street in 1959 (moving to its current location in 1965). It's usually dark, hot, and crowded, and thankfully the food and table service are now up to par. The ultracool James Bond mood can't be beat, despite the sad departure of the eponymous founder and saxophonist, Ronnie Scott, who died in 1996. A full program of free-form jazz sets and shows take place every night, with additional late gigs on Friday and Saturday. Reservations are recommended.
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17. Scarfes Bar
HolbornNamed after renowned London-born artist and caricaturist Gerald Scarfe (whose work adorns the walls), the Rosewood’s seductively glamorous bar is one part Edwardian gentleman's club...
Named after renowned London-born artist and caricaturist Gerald Scarfe (whose work adorns the walls), the Rosewood’s seductively glamorous bar is one part Edwardian gentleman's club to two parts Downton Abbey drawing room. Recline on sofas by a roaring log fire or sink into velvet armchairs and explore the bar's impressive collection of fine wines, cocktails, and spirits (there are more than 180 single malt whiskies alone to choose from). Bar snacks are restaurant-standard dishes, and there's complimentary jazz most nights.
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18. sketch
MayfairOne seat never looks like the next at this downright extraordinary collection of esoteric living-room bars off Savile Row. The exclusive Parlour, a patisserie during...
One seat never looks like the next at this downright extraordinary collection of esoteric living-room bars off Savile Row. The exclusive Parlour, a patisserie during the day, exudes plenty of rarefied charm; the intimate East Bar at the back is reminiscent of a sci-fi film set; the Gallery is a shocking-pink wonderland; and in the Glade it's permanently sunset in an enchanted forest. The space-age dinosaur egg–pod-shape restrooms are definitely London's quirkiest.
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19. The 100 Club
SohoSince this legendary live music venue opened on Oxford Street in 1942, many of the greats have played here, from swing and jazz stars Glenn...
Since this legendary live music venue opened on Oxford Street in 1942, many of the greats have played here, from swing and jazz stars Glenn Miller and Louis Armstrong to punk bands the Sex Pistols and The Clash. Host to the first-ever punk festival in 1976, The 100 Club was saved from closure in 2010 by Paul McCartney, and the fabled basement venue still rocks and reverberates today to all shades of jazz, blues, funk, ska, and soul.
100 Oxford St. -
20. The Blackfriar
City of LondonA step from Blackfriars Tube station, this spectacular pub has an Arts and Crafts interior that is entertainingly, satirically ecclesiastical, with inlaid mother-of-pearl, wood carvings,...
A step from Blackfriars Tube station, this spectacular pub has an Arts and Crafts interior that is entertainingly, satirically ecclesiastical, with inlaid mother-of-pearl, wood carvings, stained glass, and marble pillars all over the place. Under finely lettered temperance tracts on view just below the reliefs of monks, fairies, and friars, there is a nice group of ales on tap from independent brewers. The 20th-century poet Sir John Betjeman once led a successful campaign to save the pub from demolition.
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