Bar entertainment in London
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French House
French House is Soho’s legendary boho boozer (with a good restaurant downstairs) with a history to match: this was the meeting place of the Free French Forces during WWII, and De Gaulle is said to have drunk here often, while Dylan Thomas, Peter O’Toole and Francis Bacon all frequently ended up on the wooden floors. Come here to sip on Ricard, French wine or Kronenbourg and check out the quirky locals.
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93 Feet East
Brick Lane’s hot spot is evident by the long queue outside. This great venue has a courtyard, three big rooms and an outdoor terrace that gets crowded on sunny afternoons, and it’s packed with a cool East London crowd. There are some excellent nights, such as the superpopular Slipped Disco on Friday. Relaxed Sunday afternoon Fuse Party sessions are free and see tonnes of DJs sizzling inside, while a barbecue’s smokin’ in the courtyard. It’s worth getting tickets in advance through the website to beat the queue.
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Foundry
Everything about the Foundry is refreshingly surreal. Let’s start with the look: it’s ‘decorated’ with genuinely shabby (not chic) furniture that clutters the space, the bar is made out of a plank of wood and propped by a yellowing old man, and the floor is icky. Art events (often in the loosest sense of the word) begin at 7pm each evening and they are always free. Downstairs is a live gig venue where anything can, and does, happen. It’s so mad and unpredictable we love it.
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Favela Chic
Smaller sister of the original Paris club, this place profits from ‘slum chic’ just like the producers of Havaiana flip-flops did. It’s a one-room bar-club with permanently long queues on Friday and Saturday and innovative music nights. The decor is very much about the vintage, distressed and flea-market pieces, though markedly self-consciously so, but if you can endure the long wait and get past the high ’n’ mighty door whores, you’ll have a good night.
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Endurance
A Soho favourite, especially for music lovers who comb the vinyl shops on this street before surrendering to the pull of the pint. The Endurance has a retro jukebox that’s full of indie hits, there’s good wine and draught ales to be savoured, and there’s decent food too; Sundays are quiet and good for a long, newspaper-reading lunch. Often the crowds spill outside in the evenings, and daytime drinks afford good views of Berwick Street market buzz.
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Boogaloo
‘London’s Number 1 Jukebox’ is how Boogaloo flaunts itself and how it’s been described in the local media: its celebrity-musician-fiddled-with jukebox playlists feature the favourite 10 songs of the likes of Nick Cave, Sinead O’Connor, Howie B and Bobbie Gillespie, to name but a few. There’s plenty to boogie to, with live music on every night of the week. If you’re into music in a big way, it’s worth going out to Archway.
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Two Floors
It’s amazing that Two Floors has managed to keep its relaxed atmosphere when so many bars in Soho have been mobbed by drunken weekenders, but it might be to do with the fact that it’s hard to notice from the outside, and this low profile has helped maintain its cool personality. The punters are young and bohemian, the bar staff equally so, and the music is usually uber-now. The distressed decor is leather sofas and country-diner tables and chairs.
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Polski Bar
Formerly known as Na Zdorowie (‘cheers’ in Polish), Polski Bar changed its name probably as a result of no one being able to pronounce it before or after many a flavoured vodka shot, but the spirit (no pun intended) has remained: around 60 different types of vodka, from coffee to fruity to wheat-flavoured, there’s even kosher vodka, or simple old Polish slivowica (plum brandy). There’s great Polish food here, too.
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Shadow Lounge
This home from home for the Soho glitterati is a stylish basement bar with plenty of comfortable coves to hang out in as well as a dance floor complete with pole for dirty dancing. The door policy is a little erratic: at quiet times you’re usually fine although there’s generally a £5 to £10 entry charge; other times you’ll need to be with a member or a Soho ‘face’ to make it past the gorillas on the door.
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Bistrotheque
This place in a converted East End warehouse offers three things: drinking in the Napoleon bar, transvestite lip-synch cabaret in the Cabaret Room (9.30pm Friday and Saturday) on the ground floor and dining in its stylish white restaurant above. The bar is a moody, slightly decadent room with dark walls (the oak panels came from a stately home in Northumberland) and plush seating, the drinks are expertly mixed and the bar staff always friendly.
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Social
The Social remains one of the best places for a good night out in Central London thanks to the fact that it steers well clear of catering to the regular West End crowd. You can have a lunch here of beans on toast or, indeed, spaghetti hoops on toast, and follow it up with a quiet drink in the stylish wood-panelled upstairs bar, or descend into the downstairs area, revel in live or DJ music and £6 cocktails until late.
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Bradley’s Spanish Bar
Hanway St is home to several Spanish-style tapas-and-flamenco and speakeasy bars that open till dawn and serve beer from crates. Bradley’s is vaguely Spanish in decor, though it’s really Spanish in its choice of booze: San Miguel, Cruzcampo and some decent wines. The punters are squeezed under low ceilings in the nooks of the basement, while a vintage vinyl jukebox plays out rock tunes of your choice.
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Floridita
This slick, glamorous, mirrored basement bar-restaurant should echo the Havana original, but it's a little more Terence Conran (the restaurateur backer) than Cuban and we're not sure Ernest Hemingway would have approved. Still, plenty of others do, arriving for the live Latin bands (always good), food (good, but not great value) and cocktails (variable). There's often an around £6 cover charge.
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Garlic & Shots
A fantastic place if you like your make-up pale and your hair raven black and your drinks laced with garlic, though it's equally fun for anyone who wants to have a drink while checking out London's Goth crowd. It's never too crowded here and you can get a seat at the cosy back garden on summer days or head down to the slightly scary bar where monster masks watch as you order.
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Elk in the Woods
A wonderful take on a stylish countryside hunters’ pub, this comfy Islington bar is also equally notable for its good, simple food. With its large, rough oak-wood tables, old mirrors, stuffed deer head and friendly staff, this is a spot to savour – though, as ever, come early, as tables are always sought after and it’s not the kind of bar you stand in.
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Ku Bar
The Ku Bar now runs a small Soho empire, consisting of two bars and a club. All three venues are very popular – the former pub on Lisle St is always rammed with teens warming up for the evening with the Ku Klub downstairs hosting a range of fun nights throughout the week, while the new Ku Bar Frith St is popular with a slightly older, smarter crowd.
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Barcode
Tucked away down a Soho side street is this fun gay bar, full of a diverse range of people enjoying a pint or two and some evening cruising. There are frequent club nights in the downstairs area, including the very popular gay comedy night, Comedy Camp, every Tuesday. There’s a second, clubbier venue, Barcode Vauxhall south of the river.
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King’s Bar
Nestled behind the awesome Victorian Gothic facade of the Hotel Russell, the King’s Bar is an oasis of booze in a neighbourhood sorely lacking decent bars. The grand Edwardian decor, huge leather armchairs and table service make the prices worthwhile. There’s a great selection of cocktails and wines, and you’re always guaranteed a seat.
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Everyman Hampstead
Ever dream of having your own private cinema? For the next best thing, go to the Everyman. The two auditoriums have comfy armchairs and sofas where you can sprawl out and watch a film with your cup of tea or glass of wine. The program has a wide range of films, from Singing in the Rain and opera on film to current blockbusters.
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Gordon’s Wine Bar
We shouldn’t really include Gordon’s here – it’s already too crowded as soon as the office hours are over – but it’s simply too good to leave out. It’s cavernous and dark, and the French and New World wines are heady and reasonably priced; and you can nibble on bread, cheese and olives.
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Fox Reformed
Stoke Newington’s firm favourite for more than two decades, the Fox has all the qualities of a good local: a friendly landlord, loyal regulars, good food, wine and beer, and a cosy back garden. The quiet atmosphere and chess and backgammon boards for entertainment on relaxing afternoons always bring new converts to its charms.
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Edge
Overlooking Soho Sq in all its four-storey glory, the Edge is London’s largest gay bar and heaves from the early evening until the early hours with preclubbing revellers fuelling up for the night ahead. There’s a heavy straight presence, as it’s so close to Oxford St, but it’s still a fun place to start the evening.
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Hawksmoor
Newspaper critics insist that Hawksmoor serves the best cocktails in London, and for once we’re inclined to agree. The vast cocktail menu features no less than nine variations on the mint julep, along with martinis, manhattans, punches fizzes and sours. The attached restaurant serves thick, juicy steaks.
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Laughing Gravy
This casual bar fronting a sky-lit themed eatery (Laughing Gravy, which is the name of Laurel and Hardy’s dog, is a colloquialism for whisky) has a delightful and almost louche atmosphere. With vintage advertising posters, paintings, potted plants and piano, it recalls a bohemian late-1940s living room.
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Baltic
This very stylish bar at the front of an Eastern European restaurant specialises – not surprisingly – in vodkas; some 50-plus, including bar-infused concoctions, are on offer. The bright and airy, high-ceilinged dining room, with a glass roof and lovely amber wall, is just behind, should you need some blotter.
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