-
Forum
You can find your way to the Forum - once the famous Town & Country Club - by the ticket touts that line the way from Kentish Town tube. It's a really popular venue for seeing new big bands, and the medium-sized hall, with stalls and a mezzanine, is spacious enough and perfectly intimate.
-
Foundry
Everything about the Foundry is truly bonkers. 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. There's usually a nutter poet reading their verse on the makeshift stage, or a piano rendition of vintage David Bowie that'll stay with you for a long time, while downstairs is a live gig venue. The Foundry rules.
-
French House
The 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.
-
Freud
Make this the first stop on your crawl because there's no way you'll make it down the stairs (not much more than a ladder) after a few bevvies. It's a small basement bar/café/gallery with the sort of beige walls that could look just plain dirty, but there are purposefully arty pictures to head off scrutiny. The décor and punters are suitably scruffy and arty, and the cocktails are fat and fancy, but beer is sadly only by the bottle.
-
Fridge
Poor old Fridge has hit hard times after years of being one of London's best and longest-running venues, with closing-down threats and suspicions for drug offences (hence the heavy searching at the door). Despite its problems, the Fridge is pulling through. This is an excellent bar and club venue that has a wide variety of club nights and live music, from African gospel and Cuban salsa to reggae and punk.
-
Friendly Society
Definitely one of Soho's hippest gay bars, and thankfully one of the few fashionable queer drinking establishments that hasn't initiated a dubious door policy or membership scheme to ensure that only the rich and beautiful arrive. A fun and up-for-it crowd assemble in the early evening, drink beer under S&M Barbie and Ken, and chill out to live DJs all evening.
-
Garage
This sweaty, indie-strong venue was closed for refurbishment at the time of research and should reopen in 2007 - though the management was iffy when we inquired - so we don't know what wonders they will have installed to amp-up the space.
-
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.
-
Gate
The Gate's single screen has one of London's most charming Art Deco cinema interiors - although the bar area is a little squished. It's the programming it prides itself on, however, introducing new art-house and independent films.
-
George & Dragon
Once a scuzzy local pub, the George (as ye shall dub it if you value your Shoreditch High St cred) was taken over and decorated with the owner's grandma's antiques and has since been the epicentre of the Hoxton scene for a decade. Some of the best DJ nights in London are on offer here, with cabaret performances taking place on window sills (Sunday cabaret is trés popular). It's total fun and mindless hedonism. Not a place for a quiet pint.
-
Advertisement
-
George Inn
The George is a rare bird indeed - a National Trust pub. It's London's last surviving galleried coaching inn, dates from 1677 and is mentioned in Dickens' Little Dorrit . It is on the site of the Tabard Inn (thus the Talbot Yard address), where the pilgrims in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales gathered before setting out (well lubricated, no doubt).
-
Ghetto
In a sweaty basement, this leading gay club has nevertheless established itself as the hippest Soho has to offer, with its 1950s American milk bar-style white seats and red walls. The most talked about night is Nag Nag Nag, where both Boy George and Yoko Ono have appeared, followed by Friday's in-yer-face The Cock. There's also Thursday's indie-music Mis-shapes and Saturday's trashy Wig Out.
-
Golden Hart
An unsurprisingly trendy Hoxton crowd mixes in the surprisingly untrendy interior of this brilliant Spitalfields boozer. As it's famously a hang-out for the YBAs (Young British Artists), you may well catch Tracey Emin expounding over a pint and chips, although most agree that the person to come and see here is the charming (and, yes, possibly bonkers) landlady, Sandra, who ensures that the bullshit never outstrips the fun. Smashing.
-
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, dark and its French and New World wines are heady and reasonably priced, and there's bread, cheese and olives to pick on.
-
Grapes
One of Limehouse's renowned historic pubs - there's been a drinking house here since 1583 - the Grapes is cosy and very narrow. Actually, it's absolutely tiny, especially the riverside terrace, which can only really comfortably fit about a half-dozen close friends. But it continues to radiate olde-worlde charm.
-
Guinea
Top-quality Young's beers, famous autographs on the toilet walls and the whiff of money define this quiet and out-of-the-way pub in London's most exclusive neighbourhood of Mayfair. There are very few places to sit, though, and it sometimes feels little more than a waiting room for the rear restaurant (renowned for its pies).
-
Hampstead Theatre
Not only is this Ewan McGregor's favourite London theatre, the Hampstead is famed for putting on new writing and taking on emerging directors. It staged Harold Pinter's new work way back in the 1960s, which shows they know a good thing when they see one. The theatre is in a modern building, with two auditoria. One seats 80, the other 325.
-
Headliners
The first purpose-built venue in west London, and younger sibling to Ha Bloody Ha, Headliners is comfortable and has a traditional shape in that the compere introduces the act and scarpers, try-outs open the night, and the best is saved until last.
-
Heaven
This long-standing and perennially popular gay club, under the arches beneath Charing Cross station, has always been host to good club nights, but its big draws today are its three long-established nights: Saturday is still the flagship night for gay clubbers who like very commercial house music, while Monday is the cheap and cheerful student-oriented Popcorn, possibly gay London's best-value night out. Wednesday is cheeky Fruit Machine.
-
Herbal
You'll recognise Herbal by all the plastic grass stapled to its front wall. Inside is a two-level bar/small club. The laid-back, grown-up loft upstairs has a small dance floor, seating and a window overlooking Shoreditch. Downstairs is more minimalist and can get very sweaty. There's a mix of drum 'n' bass, house, funk-house and hip hop, interspersed with live shows.
-
Advertisement
-
Hoist
One of Europe's most famous fetish clubs, the Hoist is a one-stop shop for guys into leather and uniforms. The dress code is very strict - everyone has to wear boots, and either rubber, leather or uniform. Check out the array of fetish nights on the website.
-
Hollybush
A beautiful pub that makes you envy the privileged residents of Hampstead, Hollybush has an antique Victorian interior, a lovely secluded hilltop location, open fires in winter and a knack for making you stay longer than you had intended at any time of the year. Set above Heath St, it's reached via the Holly Bush Steps.
-
Jamaica Wine House
Not a wine bar at all but an historic Victorian pub, the 'Jam Pot' stands on the site of what was the first coffee house in London (1652); such places were often just fronts for brothels. At the end of a narrow alley, this is a difficult place to find.
-
Jazz Café
Though its name would have you think that jazz is this club's main staple, its real speciality is the crossover of jazz into the mainstream. It's a trendy industrial-style restaurant with jazz gigs around once a week, while the rest of the month is filled with Afro, funk, hip hop, R&B and soul styles with big-name acts and a faithful bohemian Camden crowd.
-
Jerusalem Tavern
This has to be London's most beautiful pub. It was one of the first London coffee houses (founded in 1703), with the 18th-century décor of occasional tile mosaics still visible. It's teeny, so come before the nine to fivers do and get a seat. There's good lunch food and a brilliant range of drinks: organic bitters, cream stouts, wheat and, mmm, fruit beers, many of which are dispensed in green, apothecary-like bottles.
