ICA © Rob Greig
Where to find free wi-fi in London
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By Harry Williams
Updated: Tue Apr 14 2009 -
Who says nothing comes for free? Time Out crosses London to find the pubs, bars, cafés and restaurants that offer free wi-fi, as well as some free wi-fi hotspots
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Free wi-fi in central London
The Social
The Social, spawn of the legendary Heavenly Social club night held at Turnmills in the 1990s, has been a haven from the horrors of Oxford Street for a decade. Free wi-fi is available in the top bar where you can nestle in the diner-style booths and indulge in such homely comforts as pie and mash or fish finger sandwiches. Beers include Hoegaarden and Kronenbourg; the cocktail list features exotic creations such as a cucumber martini. In evening live music is a regular fixture, so it’s probably not the place to hold your business meeting.
The Social, 5 Little Portland St, W1W 7JD (7636 4992/www.thesocial.com).
Bedford & Strand
You’ll encounter lawyers tapping furiously on their laptops at lunchtimes at this elegant wine bar-cum-bistro in a basement off the Strand. Choose from the wine categories of ‘Honest’, ‘Decent’, ‘Good’, and ‘Staff Picks’. For eats, order from the respectable, if slightly unimaginative, à la carte menu.
Bedford & Strand, 1a Bedford St, WC2E 9HH (7836 3033/www.bedford-strand.com).
Brasserie de Malmaison
You can get free wi-fi in the bar, lobby and dining room of this luxurious boutique hotel. Ask for a card from reception and you’ll be able to take advantage of the internet to your heart’s content for up to eight hours. The low lighting and soft upholstery will provide an intimate setting for you and your Mac. The ‘Home Grown and Local’ menu serves oysters, among other delicacies.
Malmaison, 18-21 Charterhouse Square, EC1M 6AH (7012 3700/www.malmaison-london.com). Feature continuesAdvertisementChristopher’s
Open-access wi-fi is available in the buzzy Martini bar at this Covent Garden venue. Open until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays. Christopher’s, 18 Wellington St, WC2E 7DD (7240 4222/www.christophersgrill.com).
The Diner
This is the place to come for the open access wi-fi washed down with American fast food. The all-day breakfast of pancakes, omelettes and Mexican treats is more than enough to power you through a three-hour Facebook-athon.
The Diner, 16-18 Ganton St, W1F 7BU (7287 8962/www.thedinersoho.com).
Christopher's Eagle Bar Diner
It’s probably best to avoid this place during lunchtimes if you’re planning on stretching a Budweiser out over an afternoon’s worth of email catch-up – it gets quite busy. Otherwise it’s a perfect place for a big burger and fries washed down with a mammoth milkshake.
Eagle Bar Diner, 3-5 Rathbone Place, W1T 1HJ (7637 1418/www.eaglebardiner.com).
Hawksmoor
Given there can often be a dirth of pews to pull up in this debonair steakhouse and cocktail bar, you might prefer a branch of Coffee Republic for setting up your mobile office for the day, but if you are happy perching on a barstool, have a penchant for saucy cocktails and highly acclaimed slices of beef, then this is the wi-fi place for you.
Hawksmoor, 157 Commercial St, E1 6BJ (7247 7392/www.thehawksmoor.com).
Joe Allen
This restaurant opened in 1977 and has been a popular haunt of the theatre crowd and tourists alike. The menu changes daily and might include such dishes as slow-cooked pork or corn-fed chicken breasts.
Joe Allen, 13 Exeter St, WC2E 7DT (7836 0651/www.joeallen.co.uk).
Shampers
Shampers is a lively, no-nonsense place that serves British food and wallet-friendly wine and Champagne. It gets very busy at lunch and dinner times, and it’s hard to imagine a lone internet surfer hogging a table. Nevertheless, the manager is very happy to hand out the wi-fi code to anyone who asks.
Shampers, Kingly St, W1B 5PE (7437 1692/www.shampers.net).
Zetter
In the heart of Clerkenwell, Zetter (a boutique hotel), is the place to head if you’re in search of comfort and style. Your fellow surfers will probably be monied sophisticates from the neighbourhood who are there for the weekend brunches and elegant setting.
Zetter, 86-88 Clerkenwell Rd, EC1M 5RJ (7324 4455/www.thezetter.com).
Café at Foyles
Fresh juices, healthy salads, top-notch sandwiches, Monmouth coffee, plenty of seating, jazz on the soundsystem… the café in Foyles provides a buzzy environment in which to wile away the afternoon surfing the web. If you tire of digital reading, pop downstairs to buy an old-fashioned book.
Café at Foyles, 113-119 Charing Cross Rd, WC2H 0EB (7440 3207/www.foyles.co.uk).
Scandinavian Kitchen
Quirky café and deli serving delicious Swedish open sandwiches, gravadlax, herrings, meatballs and the Danish ‘red hotdog’, apparently the Vikings’s favourite snack. In the spirit of Scandinavian egalitarianism there is a fair usage policy, so in other words you shouldn’t abuse their good will by sitting there all day and not buying anything (and yes, that means you will be frowned upon if you nurse a single cup of coffee throughout the lunchtime rush).
Scandinavian Kitchen, 61 Great Titchfield St, W1W 7PP (7580 7161/www.scandikitchen.co.uk).
ICA Café
Since its Peyton & Byrne makeover, this café and bar has become a super-stylish destination in which to dine on simple, tasty food and sip on a cocktail or two. The daily membership fee has been scrapped so it’s free to get in. Take your laptop and update your blog on aesthetic discourse.
ICA Café, The Mall, SW1Y 5AH (7930 3647/www.ica.org.uk).
Hummus Bros
A temple to chickpeas, Hummus brothers serves, erm, houmous, with a wide variety of toppings and wedges of warm pitta bread. There is open wi-fi access but this is essentially a busy fast-food restaurant so avoid lingering at peak times. There’s another branch on Southampton Row.
Hummus Bros, 88 Wardour St, W1F OTJ (7734 1311/www.hbros.co.uk).
Camera Café
The idiosyncratic Camera Café brings a touch of Parisian eccentricity to London. The front of the café is a shop with cabinets jam packed with second-hand cameras: anything from beautiful old Leicas to restored Hasselblads. In the back is a small but cosy café. French music is played and the walls are covered with photographs hung at jaunty angles. All the juices come freshly squeezed and the Thai food is excellent.
Camera Café, 44 Museum St, WC1 (7831 1566/www.cameracafe.co.uk).
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26 comments
its the first time i have used this site and each time i am in london i find its the first one i use to locate.
Debbie who sent a message on 11th May 2009 comments about Brighton, but there are plenty of free sites there. I have a question to ask, is this the same Debbie who claimed to have a house in Kensington, Hounslow and Brighton?
There are LOADS of free wifi places in East London....at the top of Brick Lane, E2 (the Bethnal Green ROad end) there is a small cafe between the 2 bagel bakeries which offers it, plus one accross the road on the corner with big sofas, and the Surf Shop/cafe directly opposite the end of Brick Lane also has a couple of laptops you can use. THere are also other cafes along there which offer it too.
Bethnal Green library also offers free computer/internet use (possibly wifi too) you just become a member so need proof of address but do NOT need to be a resident of Tower Hamlets.
The Gallery Cafe next to York Hall swimming baths on Old FOrd Road E2 also offers free wifi.
London in the Stoneage indeed. When the pebbles on Brighton Beach have worn down to sand and the howling chill wind on the seafront dies, call me, it might be worth a visit :D
Leon's in Regent Street does not have wi-fi, nor do staff know anything about it
Well! That was a bit of lame effort was'nt it? I thought you'd have more than a few for the whole of East London! I get the impression this article was written to fill quota rather than serve any useful purpose. Disappointing!
I just called the Southbank Centre to see if there have been any issues with connectivity before I make the journey. The girl on the phone was useless! ''We haven't been told anything...urrrmmm...there's always problems and glitches...but I haven't been told anything'' Give me strength!
Southbank Centre WAS a great place to go until the wifi signal mysteriously became hit and miss a few weeks ago.
Spacious, large tables, numerous power outlets to plug in your laptop, no obligation to buy anything and stay as long as you want without being hassled -- these things made this my favorite free wifi place to go for a full day's work when I started going there about 2 months ago. But about 3 weeks go, the signal strength dropped to the point where basic browsing is painful (flashback of 56k days), and twice the wifi signal dropped completely. It's no longer reliable and now I have to find a place...arghhh.
When I clicked on your article I thought you would have information for students and those with laptops but no money to have access to the internet. How naive! There may be some places that are truly free in your report but they are hidden in the most part amongst plugs for cafe's and pubs that have 'free' wifi bundled in with their wares. In other word you have to buy something in order to get the so-called 'free' access.
Why not have an article promoting wifi that is really free to access by anyone.
Well done to those enlightened establishments that emulate the spirit of this century by not actually charging for access, but lets see some support for those organisations that understand that society as a whole will benefit from providing wifi as a public good. Of course there are capacity problems but if , for instance (or so I understand), Milton Keynes can do it, why not a few boroughs in London?
The "free WiFi" in Wetherspoon's is very hit & miss. In December 2008 The Cloud told me:
"Please be advised that access at JDW is provided thru IT Box's by a company called Inspired who are responsible for maintaining the router in their machines and the lines.
We are aware of the current challenges and are working with Inspired and JDW towards stable wireless access."
Unfortunately it is still hit & miss. Even worse, in some pubs you get taken to the wrong log-in screen. I have the correct URL as a Bookmark on my Eee PC so I can still get on-line in pubs where that happens but it isn't good news.
McDonald's WiFi is also provided by The Cloud but is much more stable but JDW burgers are far better quality. Ho hum...
The British Library is possibly one as well. It certainly has lots of places to plug in your lapton
Gastronomica Wapping in Garnet Street, Wapping, London
The Cafe Nero in Putney has wifi, but it's not free. You have to buy BT Openzone time. Both Prets in Hammersmith have free wifi - I'm not sure if it's at all of them, but definitely to any that are covered by The Cloud.
well i'm all for free wifi being a laptop owner without internet @ home so was keen to look on the east London section of this article. But what no departure !! not only do they have free WIFI they are quite possibly the candidate for best cafe / multi use space in the galaxy and the friendliest staff in the universe !! Check them out you wont be dissapointed http://www.depart.in/
and what about all the idea stores in tower hamlets ??
free wifi in several locations and cafes too in places
oh and on the subject of wetherspoons the first time i went their server was being repaired and the second time it didn't work because even on their leaflet they don't give the right info to allow mac users to connect, and the windows info is printed so small you cant actually read it.
anyway gripes aside there's a lot more free wifi in east london than you have found, and not that i'm getting commission but if you dont know about departure i suggest you get your selves down there pronto
ian
Why is London stuck in the stone age? Here in Brighton we've had free wifi in lots of pubs and a number of cafés for years - I know of around 20 places in the centre of Brighton with free wifi. And Paris has got free wifi in public parks.
The British Library is like a squat these days with thousands of people sitting on the floor browsing. I'd say only about a third of people at the library are there for the books. The free Wifi movement looks sure to back fire on many of our finest institutions. No wonder the cakes at the BL cafe cost two pounds eighty! Its managements polite way of saying, get lost! Em
Minkies in Kensal Green. polkaSpots operated but free and great!