Bar entertainment in London
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French House
French House is Soho’s legendary boho boozer 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.
reviewed
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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.
reviewed
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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.
reviewed
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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, you won’t regret the trek to come here.
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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
With around 60 different types of vodka, from coffee to fruity to wheat-flavoured, simple old Polish slivowica (plum brandy) to kosher, everyone should find something that tickles their taste buds. There’s great Polish food here, too, but the bare and cold interior leaves something to be desired.
reviewed
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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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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
Bradley’s is only vaguely Spanish in decor, but much more authentic in its choice of booze: San Miguel, Cruzcampo, Tinto de Verano (red wine with rum and lemonade) and – teenager favourite – Sangria. 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.
reviewed
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Friendly Society
Definitely one of Soho’s friendliest and more relaxed gay bars. A fun and up-for-it crowd assembles in the early evening: drink beer under S&M Barbie and Ken, and chill out to live DJs.
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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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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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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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Camino
This new venture in the Regent Quarter development is very popular with London’s Spanish community and therefore feels quite authentic. Drinks too are representative of what you’d find in Spain: Cava, Estrella on tap, and a long, all-Spanish wine list. In summer, the courtyard is absolutely crammed. Sadly the food is nowhere near as good as the atmosphere.
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Candy Bar
This brilliant bar has been the centre of London’s small but fun lesbian scene for years and is showing no signs of waning. Busy most nights of the week, this is very much a girls’ space (one male guest per two women are allowed, though) and this should definitely be your first port of call on the London lesbian scene.
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Vertigo 42
On the 42nd floor of a 183m-high tower, this circular bar has expansive views over the city that stretch for miles on a clear day, and are particularly stunning at sunset. The classic drinks list is, as you might expect, pricier than average – wine by the glass starts from £9.20 and champagne and cocktails from £14, and there’s also a limited food menu. Reservations are essential and security is thorough.
reviewed
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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, along with cocktails. 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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Troubadour
Bob Dylan and John Lennon have performed here and this friendly cafe-bar remains a wonderfully relaxed boho hang-out decades later. There’s still live music (folk, blues) most nights and a large, pleasant garden open in summer. You’ll be spoilt for choice with the wine list – Troubadour runs a wine club and has a wine shop next door.
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North Pole
Still going strong after almost a decade, this quirky Greenwich bar/restaurant/club on three levels attracts a party crowd. Upstairs is the Piano restaurant, downstairs a club called South Pole. On the ground level it's more relaxed, with the DJ playing R&B and low sofas for chatting etc.
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