The best quirky bars and pubs in London

Named after a banger from Hamilton, The Room Where It Happens is inspired by New York’s famous Marie’s Crisis Café. The concept is glorious: ‘resting’ professional musical theatre performers work as singer-servers, oscillating between taking orders and casually blasting diners with Sondheim, Lloyd Webber and Kander and Ebb’s finest. Guests can scan QR codes to request songs (in exchange for tips), and everyone is very much encouraged to sing along.

This disused air-raid shelter has been reinvented as a post-war tube station complete with vintage bric-a-brac, staff enthusiastically in character, and inventive cocktails that nod to rationing. War – what is it good for? Inspiring sunnily nostalgic themed bars, it seems. Don’t miss the envelope at the back of the menu marked ‘Do Not Open’ – it’s full of black market specials served surreptitiously.

Since 2020 this Highgate boozer has been making waves as north London's only country music-themed US style honky tonk and dive bar. They're doing a pretty good job of it too, with walls covered in 1970s and 1980s music memorabillia, PBR on draught and a very American beer and bourbon shot deal, as well as a range of over one hundred different bourbons, whiskeys and ryes. There's live music too, as well as regular country karaoke, and wings, brisket and mac and cheese from rack city ribs. Come here and live out your Waylon Jennings or Dolly Parton dreams. It's damn sight cheaper than a flight to Nashville. 

Step straight into the ’70s. Bobby Fitzpatrick is a retro-themed bar in West Hampstead that takes nostalgia to new levels. Stucco ceilings and kitsch furniture provide a look that would have Austin Powers blushing: this bar is the very definition of a shag pad. Have drinks that transport you far away from any dreariness. Off the booze? Ask nicely and the staff will whip you up a fruity mocktail.

Cocktails in teapots might be old hat, but there’s still a lot to love about a night out at Deptford’s Little Nan’s Bar. There’s leopard-print on sofas and doilies on hard surfaces, plus more royal family memorabilia than you can shake a sceptre at. Add to that some ’90s pop anthems, sparklers in your cheesy chips and Pat Butcher references aplenty. And temperance has never looked so silly, with alcohol-free cocktails including a Baroness Dimmock and a drink honouring TV’s original huns ‘Loose Women’.

The Booking Office remains Kings Cross’ undisputed cocktail champion. For one thing, it’s a great place to sit, whether you’re in the lovely former ticket booking hall, with its dark wood and soaring gothic arches, or outside overlooking the train tracks. There can be slightly longer waits outside, so don’t go if you’re in a rush. Frequented by a lot of business people – and, naturally, by travellers – it’s not a place you go for a cool hangout vibe. But you make your own atmos at the comfortable, low-slung tables.

A beautiful 1930s green and yellow Dutch barge moored between Lambeth and Vauxhall bridge, with incredible views of the Thames. Get off boring old dry land and see if this bar floats your boat instead.

Part pub, part theatrical production, this Waterloo-based boozer is owned by the brains behind The Vaults – and you can tell. The place is littered with humungous props that whisper of onstage antics. There’s Espresso Martini on tap, draft Negronis (from a tap shaped like a miniature barrel) and boozy lychee or Pimm’s slushies. Anyone who can’t decide what cocktail to have will find themselves offered a spin on a ‘Wheel of Fortune’-esque pointer. 

If you’re after a romantic tipple, tiny French bar Tabac is right up your rue. The charming Kentish Town spot will make you feel you’ve been transported to mid-century Paris, with memorabilia, sliding ladders in front of bookshelves and lots and lots of candlelight. Lock eyes with a loved one (or a stranger, no judgment here) over a Lemon Garden, a smooth gin martini with bitters and a sprig of lemon thyme.

Scooter Caffè brews its coffees in a strikingly retro 1957 Faema espresso machine. And though owner Craig O’Dwyer is a Kiwi, the air of Scootercaffè is old-school Italian. The space is open late serving beer, wine and spirits, and some snacks are available.

Remember when a trip to the arcades was the best thing you could do with your Friday night? At this London arcade bar, it still can be. Lose yourself to the retro delights of Street Fighter, Ms Pac-Man, Asteroids et al. Unlike the gaming, 4Q’s menu is far from a throwback and features plenty of London craft beers. 

This tiny basement bar – a former public loo – squeezes a lot of fun within its walls, including nightly cabaret, burlesque and drag acts. It’s camp, it’s quirky, and you'll love it. 

This is one ‘cool’ (hint hint) speakeasy hidden behind the innocuous-looking Smeg fridge in the Spitalfields branch of all-day diner The Breakfast Club. Once inside, you’re transported to a trapper’s log cabin and plied with quality cocktails pepped up with artisan shrubs and bitters. 

‘Why the fuck can’t I have fun all the time?’ asks a sign outside. ‘Well-behaved women don’t make history,’ screams a neon sign at the bottom of the stairs. ‘Wear the pants, boss lady,’ insists the wallpaper. In millennial pink? You bet. This tiny basement bar is plastered in cyber-sayings and meme-material. It’s silly, sassy and utterly shameless. It wants you to be too – and then to post about it on social media. Time to get sassy.

Drinking at a Mr Fogg’s bar is more than just drinking – it’s an experience. And Mr Fogg’s Society of Exploration is no different. Offering a whistlestop tour of the world, the menu is split into different destinations such as the North Pole and the Sahara desert, with drinks inspired by each.