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Happiness Forgets
Rob Greig / Time Out

The best secret bars in London

Unmarked doors, hidden passages and loads of interesting alcohol. These are the city’s most mysterious drinking spots

Leonie Cooper
Edited by
Leonie Cooper
Contributor
Laura Richards
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At Time Out, we know a lot about bars in London. We know about the city’s best bars. We know about rooftop bars. We know about cocktail bars. And yes, we even know about (whisper it) hidden bars. There’s a chance you might have walked past a bunch of these secret smashers without even realising they're there. That’s how extremely secret they are. London has its fair share of mysterious, hard-to-find drinking establishments and if you promise to be discreet, we’ll let you in on them...

RECOMMENDED: London's best quirky bars and boozers

London’s best secret bars

The Vault of Soho
  • 3 out of 5 stars
  • Bars and pubs
  • Cocktail bars
  • Soho
  • price 3 of 4

Psst! Over here! The Vault of Soho is a bar hidden behind an unassuming bookcase at the rear of Soho whisky specialist Milroy’s. Once you find your way through it and then down the stairs, you’ll find a dark, delectable little basement where cocktails are made from potent spirits – whisky included, naturally. 

  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • Bars and pubs
  • Cocktail bars
  • Hoxton
  • price 2 of 4

Bruno’s can be found gently bobbing away on the Islington stretch of the Regent’s Canal. This cocktail barge is that rare thing – a hidden London bar that at no point makes you feel like you’re an unwilling participant in an immersive theatre production. Find the buzzer and access a secret pontoon of houseboats as well as this special spot with comfy velvet armchairs, flattering lighting and a soul-focused playlist that pumps out low-level Rick James to a well-behaved cocktail crowd. As romantic spots go, Bruno’s has got the intimate, but not too intimate, thing nailed. This is ideal third-date territory. 

 

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  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • Bars and pubs
  • Cocktail bars
  • Hoxton
  • price 2 of 4

Happiness Forgets may be known the world over for its impeccable cocktails and classy service, but you’ll need to be in the know to locate this hidden-away basement dive. Once you’re in, staff go out of their way to make sure you’re happy. Decor is minimal, table lighting is from candles, no standing is allowed. One of the best bars in east London – or in all of London, for that matter. 

  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • Bars and pubs
  • Cocktail bars
  • Soho
  • price 3 of 4

Okay, okay, so this is one of London’s worst-kept bar secrets. But go along with it for a bona-fide ride. Cahoots is a vintage-tube-themed bar and you’re met at the door by an awkward ‘train guard’ actor in mockney character. He’ll escort you to the platform (you know, the bar) in time for cocktail hour – just so long as you’ve booked far enough in advance.

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  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • Bars and pubs
  • Cocktail bars
  • Goodge Street
  • price 2 of 4

Confession time: cocktails are a bit good at the Rev’s place in Fitzrovia. This bar is hidden on the former site of a rectory, although once you get down the stained glass stairwell, there’s not much else holy about the place. It’s a cosy bar with lengthy – not to mention comfy – sofas in semi circles, ideal for group outings. Say a little prayer for a clear head the day after.

  • 3 out of 5 stars
  • Bars and pubs
  • Spitalfields

This dimly lit basement bar beneath the Breakfast Club in Spitalfields is reminiscent of a ‘Twin Peaks’-style log cabin, with moose heads, mirror balls and retro wallpaper. How do you find it? Through the café’s fridge, of course. Cocktails, consisting of classics and house specials, are well crafted on the whole.

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  • Bars and pubs
  • Cocktail bars
  • Shoreditch

Tucked away in the basement of One Hundred Shoreditch hotel, Seed Library serves up delicious creations of world renowned mixologist Ryan 'Mr Lyan' Chetiyawardana. Discreet and darkly lit, it's the ideal joint for a late night date, as vinyl-only DJs play seriously smooth groves to accompy your chive Daiquiri or corriander seed Gimlet. Don't ignore the snack menu either, with the indulgent likes of bacon jam on toast and smoked chicken nuggets on offer. 

  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • Bars and pubs
  • Cocktail bars
  • Hackney Road
  • price 2 of 4

Hackney Road’s The Natural Philosopher has its residence in the converted storeroom of a Mac repair shop, and nothing much gives its presence away. An ageing rug on the floor, a grandfather clock and deep red walls give a retro feel that contrasts with the laptop workshop upstairs. The bar is found lowered into a well in the ground, while a small room behind and below the bar makes for an intimate cubbyhole. 

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The Blind Pig
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • Bars and pubs
  • Cocktail bars
  • Soho
  • price 2 of 4

As a nod to its Prohibition-flavoured nickname (‘blind pig’ being US underworld slang for a good old-fashioned den of iniquity), look under the vintage ‘Optician’ sign for the blindfolded hog doorknocker. The decor is authentically retro but never schmaltzy with a mirrored ceiling, and copper-topped bar making you feel like a wide-lapelled Al Capone when out for cocktails. 

Discount Suit Company
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • Bars and pubs
  • Cocktail bars
  • Spitalfields
  • price 2 of 4

It may look like an old run-down tailor’s, but this is a place for very serious drinking in the dark. After finding the DSC (not easy for first-timers), descend the steep stairs and watch your head so you don’t bump it on the low ceilings. This wood-heavy, dimly atmospheric east London ‘speakeasy’ does tailor-made cocktails to a tee. 

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  • Bars and pubs
  • Cocktail bars
  • London Bridge
  • price 2 of 4

A Victorian basement bar opposite some railway arches in London Bridge, Nine Lives is a hidden (tropically themed) gem well worth your attention. The cocktails are delicious, fruity and balanced but the hand-picked soundtrack deserves a mention too. These guys love their music, as evinced by their incredibly high definition quadraphonic audio sound system.

Phoenix Arts Club
  • Bars and pubs
  • Charing Cross Road

Kitsch, louche and very late-night, the Phoenix attracts a regular crowd of debauched Soho luvvies and miscreants to its famous basement den (the former dressing rooms of the theatre above). Decked out in ancient publicity shots and gaudy amateur art, it is a reliably upbeat and lively space. Membership is required to gain entry after 9pm, so it remains a bit of an inside secret (wink wink, don’t tell them we told you). 

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This subterranean lounge bar can be found in Covent Garden’s former Bow Street police station. The lockup gained nationwide attention in the late 19th-century for imprisoning Oscar Wilde for his crimes of ‘gross indecency’ (or in modern speak: homosexuality). Today, the venue is far more forward-thinking, serving hyper-seasonal ingredients, from butternut squash to beetroot, in its cocktails. The Tomatoes R’ Us margarita shouldn’t work but is clean and tangy, while the Hot, Cold & Nutty mixes fire and ice by pairing cold brew coffee with hot salted cobnut cream. 

  • 3 out of 5 stars
  • Bars and pubs
  • Cocktail bars
  • Soho
  • price 3 of 4

Disrepute’s Kingly Court entrance is pretty discreet, and getting into this Soho members’ club makes you feel like you’re letting your date in on some sort of secret. The cocktail list at this speakeasy-style bar is equally enigmatic, with a separate coded sheet in case you actually want to know what’s in your beverage. Otherwise, take a gamble and pick a tipple from the lyrical, lusty tales used to describe each drink. 

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  • 3 out of 5 stars
  • Bars and pubs
  • Cocktail bars
  • Earl’s Court

Evans & Peel sure does make a big noise about being secretive, taking bookings for ‘cases’ on its website and introducing you to the venue by intercom interrogation. You’re then subjected to a meeting with a detective in their private office. How far you take this pantomime is up to you. The big reveal is worth it, though, a supernaturally dark speakeasy revealed by a trap door. 

Experimental Cocktail Club
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • Bars and pubs
  • Cocktail bars
  • Chinatown
  • price 3 of 4

Experimental Cocktail Club isn’t the kind of place you’d expect to find in Chinatown. In fact, it’s not the kind of place you should expect to find full stop: don’t be surprised if you walk past the bar’s unassumingly battered door several times before realising it leads to this buzzing three-floor joint filled with trendy groups and dating couples absorbed in lively chatter.

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Opium
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • Bars and pubs
  • Cocktail bars
  • Chinatown
  • price 2 of 4

Once you find this hidden hangout, gawp at its jawdropping design that creates a look of Eastern smoking den-meets-Western hipster hangout. Find Chinese vases and burning incense mixed with deep funky beats and retro armchairs. Much like neighbouring bar ECC, the entrance is concealed – look out for a jade door on Gerrard Street. 

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