87 Best Bars in London, England

The beauty of this sublime old chapel and its impressive multicultural not-for-profit programming make this spot one of London's best musical venues, especially for acoustic shows. A variety of star names have played here in recent years (including Elton John, Björk, and Coldplay's Chris Martin) along with alternative country, world music, and jazz performers. There are also poetry and literary events, film screenings, and stand-up comedy gigs. Tickets are only available online.

Discretion is the word at this under-the-radar cocktail lounge on the first floor above Rules, London's oldest restaurant (established in 1798). In rooms where King Edward VII used to clandestinely dine with his socialite mistress Lillie Langtry, old-school bartenders serve traditional classic cocktails, from Manhattans and Hemingways to sidecars and martinis (which are stirred, never shaken). The decor reflects a bygone era, with impressive royal portraits, mounted antlers, patterned carpets, and copious Edwardian hunting scenes.

Established in 1976, this Chelsea jazz club embraced speakeasy style long before it became a nightlife trend. Buzz the door near the far end of King's Road and you'll find a basement venue showcasing mainstream and contemporary jazz by well-known U.K.-based musicians. Alcohol can only be served if you order a "substantial meal" as well, so allow for an extra £30 for gastropub staples. Reservations are advisable. Lunchtime jazz takes place on select Sundays; call ahead.

This long-established live music venue off Carnaby Street hosts largely local blues musicians and bands as well as some notable international names, that squeeze onto the tiny stage. It's generally hot and sticky, and there's decent bar food of the chili-and-gumbo variety. On most weekday nights, there's no cover charge.

The front patio and wood-paneled bar of this traditional pub next door to Charles Dickens's former residence is invariably crowded, especially after work, but the restaurant to the rear is comfortable and more peaceful. Dishes range from elevated pub classics like cider-battered fish-and-chips to more sophisticated offerings like roast partridge with pommes Anna or beef Wellington with celeriac puree. Standards, of both the cooking and the selection of beer and wines, are high. Service is friendly, if occasionally erratic.

This sophisticated bar on Level 31 of The Shard is worth a visit for the phenomenal views alone. The cocktail list is pretty special, too—big on fruit purees and unusual bitters. Window tables are bookable with special "Starry Night" packages (£65).

This elegant faux-speakeasy might be London's tiniest cocktail lounge. Book one of the handful of tables or perch at the cozy bar and get ready to discover the delights of a cocktail menu that is part classic cocktails, part inventive twists on the classics. Service is friendly and diligent, but never overbearing.

Located on the much quieter upper concourse of St. Pancras International's splendidly renovated Victorian station, this pub provides a haven from the hustle and bustle below. Inside, there’s a cozy warren of rooms or you can grab a seat on the concourse terrace and watch Eurostar trains come and go. A fine selection of ales, as well as some superior pub fare, is on offer.

Located between the British Museum and the West End, this pretty Victorian-era pub with its stained-glass windows and varnished wooden floors and paneling is the perfect place for a pit stop. Legend says it was the final watering hole for condemned criminals en route to Tyburn gallows at Marble Arch. A good selection of pub fare is served all day.

Perfect for a midafternoon pick-me-up or late-night drinks, this quirky, friendly bar has a continental feel and a sporty vibe. Soccer memorabilia and bank notes from across the globe line the walls while formica furniture and not one, but two foosball tables fill out the space. World beers and cocktails are the drinks of choice (the caipirinhas are legendary), and simple but tasty pub fare is served all day.

Drawn by its reputation for featuring indie stars of tomorrow (think the likes of Jessie J, Laura Marling, The Killers, and Foals), nonmainstream crowds flock to this venue, one of the finest small clubs in London. Weekend pop-punk and hip-hop club nights upstairs host live bands, as well as DJs rocking the decks.

On the ground floor of what was once the Reading Room of the Old Westminster Library, the book-lined Library Bar of this contemporary Indian restaurant (the curries are superb) has Indian-theme cocktails (mango mojitos, "Delhi mules"), delicious bar snacks, and a clientele that includes young politicos. The bar is sometimes used for private events, so it can be a good idea to call before you visit.

This elegant Mayfair meeting place remains unpretentious even when it brims with beautiful people. The bar has an Art Deco heritage made hip by the sophisticated touch of designer David Collins. A library of rare Champagnes and brandies as well as a delicious choice of traditional and exotic cocktails—try the Flapper or the Royal Stag—will occupy your taste buds. Request a glass of vintage Cristal in the darkly moody, leather-walled, 36-seat Fumoir.

This boho-chic Irish pub is all about the Guinness and the superb, if pricey, seafood. Whether you're in the unpretentious downstairs saloon bar or the more formal dining rooms upstairs, the atmosphere is always warm, welcoming, and buzzing. It's long been a favorite haunt of fashion glitterati such as Stella McCartney, Victoria Beckham, and Alexa Chung.

With 37 beers on tap and 350 more in bottles (one brewed exclusively for The Craft Beer Co.), the main problem here is knowing where to start. Luckily, friendly and knowledgeable staff are happy to advise or give tasters—or why not sign up for a guided tasting session? A huge chandelier and a mirrored ceiling lend antique charm to the interior, and a smattering of tourists and beer pilgrims break up the crowds of Leather Lane workers and locals. As is the case with many pubs in this neighborhood, they are closed on Sunday.

Enjoy canal-side craft beer and pizza at the busiest of a handful of grown-up bars in this ultratrendy area of East London. Rub shoulders with the locals—the community still has its share of artists who made their way east following rent hikes in Shoreditch—as well as visitors who come for late-night raves in the area's many warehouses. There's a warm atmosphere inside, with quirky upcycled interior design and DJs playing on weekend evenings. The beer comes from the on-site brewery, while thin-crust pizzas emerge from the open kitchen.

Run by the same family for nearly three decades, The Dublin Castle has hosted almost every modern British rock group you care to name, including Madness, Blur, Coldplay, and the Arctic Monkeys. With four bands on the bill almost every night, and DJs taking over afterward on Friday and weekends, there's something for most tastes at this legendary venue.

This sprawling subterranean club opposite Smithfield Meat Market is a firm fixture on the London scene and is regularly voted one of the top clubs in the world. The "fabriclive" series hosts drum and bass, dubstep, and hip-hop crews and live acts on Friday; international big-name DJs play slow, sexy bass lines and cutting-edge music on Saturday. The devastating sound system ensures that bass riffs vibrate through your entire body. Get there early to avoid a lengthy line, and don't wear a suit. Expect a mainly young crowd.

Just around the corner from King's Cross mainline station, this popular pub is the perfect place for a late afternoon pick-me-up or as an evening destination in its own right. Cocktails, craft beers, and an impressive wine list are all on the menu, as is a winning selection of shared plates and more substantial pub fare (their Sunday roasts are legendary in these parts). There's also a cute rooftop terrace.

Not every pub is also a Grade I–listed, National Trust property, but this is London's last surviving galleried coaching inn. Dickens once frequented the inn's Coffee Room (now the Middle Bar) and name-checked The George in Little Dorrit. The gallery overlooks a cobblestone courtyard where plays may have been performed in Elizabethan times (galleried inns were frequently used as production venues), although the current building dates back only to 1677 after the original was destroyed in a fire. The interior is a maze of 18th-century low-ceilinged rooms replete with wood-paneled walls and period features. The cozy Parliament Bar, where passengers would have waited for the coach, is on the ground floor, while a restaurant is upstairs on the galleried level. Luckily the pub is not just a museum piece—it also has modern amenities like a beer garden and Wi-Fi.

This is the sort of friendly flower-decked local pub you might find on some out-of-the-way backstreet, except that it's right in the middle of town, between Trafalgar Square and Covent Garden. As a result, The Harp can get mighty crowded, but the squeeze is worth it for the excellent cask beer and cider (there are usually 10 carefully chosen ales, often including a London microbrew, plus 10 ciders and perries) and a no-frills menu of high-quality British sausages, cooked behind the bar.

Located in a charming, quiet, residential enclave just off Notting Hill Gate, this friendly local pub is the perfect place for a pit-stop. Find a spot inside the snug wood-paneled bar or outside on the terrace where you can watch the world go by. Excellent pub food is also served.

Located a short walk up the hill from Hampstead Tube station, the friendly Holly Bush dates back to the 18th century and retains something of the country pub it was before the city spread this far north, thanks to the stripped wooden floors, walls paneled in dark wood, and big open fires. The combination of great ales and organic, free-range gastropub food makes it perennially packed with locals. Try the roast pumpkin and sage ravioli or the pan-roasted hake loin with celeriac, leek, and a mussel velouté; and don't miss the hot cider in the wintertime.

Charles Dickens and his contemporaries drank here, but today's enthusiastic clientele make sure this intimate and eternally popular pub avoids the pitfalls of feeling too old-timey. One interesting feature: for private chats at the bar, you can close a delicate etched-glass "snob screen" to the bar staff, opening it only when you fancy another pint.

A deliciously camp vibe, toned bar staff, and a friendly atmosphere make this one of Soho's most popular LGBTQ+ bars. The crowd is mostly male, but women are very welcome. Head to the quieter upstairs lounge bar for a more laid-back mood, or dance the night away at Ku Klub in the basement. There's a second branch around the corner on Lisle Street, near Chinatown and Leicester Square.

If you find yourself craving a drink at 11 am, this traditional London pub, dating back to 1638 (although the name was changed in 1890), is for you. The early opening hour is not because it caters to alcoholics but for the Borough Market stallholders, who have already put in several hours by opening time (in fact, the pub is actually also open weekdays from 6 am to 9 am for this very reason although it doesn't start serving alcohol until 11 am). The S-shape Victorian-era bar, with its walls and ceiling covered in pump badges and beer mats, is packed when the market is busy but calms down during off-peak hours. There are 12 real ales on draught, and decent pub grub using seasonal produce from the market is served in the restaurant upstairs. The pub also provided the location for the Third Hand Book Emporium in the movie version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

With a solid claim to being the oldest pub on the Thames, this deeply atmospheric riverside inn dates back to the mid-16th century (although it was rebuilt in the 17th) and comes with exposed beams, mullioned windows, open fires, and nautical design touches. You can sit outside on the heated-deck jetty that overlooks the Mayflower's original mooring. When the ship sailed for America in 1620, it was here that Captain Christopher Jones took on the 65 passengers who became some of the original Pilgrims before proceeding to Southampton and then Plymouth (Jones is buried in the nearby church of St. Mary's in Rotherhithe; legend has it that he moored here to avoid paying taxes farther down the river). The Mayflower, formerly known as The Spread Eagle, is also the only pub licensed to sell U.S. and U.K. postage stamps (inquire at the bar), a tradition dating back to the 1800s when time-pressed sailors were able to order a pint and a postage stamp at the same time.

Across the street from the British Museum in Bloomsbury, this friendly and classy Victorian pub makes an ideal resting place after the rigors of the culture trail. Karl Marx unwound here after a hard day in the British Museum Library. If he visited today, he could spend his kapital on its excellent selection of craft beers and spirits.

The feel is moody, Prohibition-era 1920s Chicago at this fabulously low-lit, tin-tiled-ceiling speakeasy and basement jazz cocktail bar in Shoreditch. Book a table or chance it on the door at this no-standing venue, where live jazz and swing bands nightly keep things lively.

The best up-and-coming and medium-to-big-name music acts from around the world consistently play at this 2,000-capacity club. It's a converted 1930s Art Deco movie theater, with a balcony (the only area with seats) overlooking the grungy dance floor.