London bar reviews

If the Pocket feels familiar, that’s because it comes to you from the same independent pub pros as Gospel Oak’s incredibly good Southampton Arms. Despite appearances, the rustic-leaning Pocket hasn’t been here for 100 years, but was opened by stealth in the spring of 2025, complete with new-old wood panelling, a 1930s anaglypta ceiling, a nerdishly impressive collection of 1970s pub ashtrays (on the walls alas, not the tables), and a battered upright piano (which gets played three times a week).  The Pocket’s premise is simple, and, let’s be honest, perfect: ‘No reservations. No green food. No shit beer. No terrible modern music,’ they say. The bar snacks come in various shades of beige (scotch eggs, sausage rolls, pasties, and pork pies), the music comes from either the piano or a vinyl record player which favours vintage jazz and soul, and the crowd is gorgeous. Beer is priced in order of strength, meaning it’s possible to get that rare thing - a London pint for a fiver. We are fully in the Pocket’s pocket. Time Out tip The Pocket is mere steps away from another great Islington pub, the Compton Arms. If you’re looking for more of a gastro experience, pop over for one of their unfailingly good kitchen residencies; as of summer 2025, it’s the powerhouse Rake boys.

‘Rose, for many people this is their idea of Hell,’ wrote my editor, his message flashing up obnoxiously on my phone. I smirked, and prepared to unleash my best Liza Minnelli vibrato along with 50 other delirious musical theatre fans. I don’t take back a word of the message I sent my editor that evening: ‘This is the best night of my life’.  Okay, maybe not the best (my wife made me write that) – but pretty goddamn close. And if you, like me, love showtunes, cocktails, and arguing over whether Idina or Cynthia hit those ‘Defying Gravity’ high notes best, then you need to make your West End debut here ASAP.  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 simple and glorious: from 5pm, ‘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. Then at 9pm, the pianist continues playing for those who can’t yet call it curtains.  TRWIH sits at the top of a Soho townhouse once frequented by Oscar Wilde. It’s a shamelessly theatrical space; flickering fake candles illuminate a gilded gold ceiling; a camp red curtain drapes across the back wall and West End show posters hang proudly above cabaret-style tables. On my visit, eager musical fans of all...

Setting up shop in the space formerly occupied by well-loved Haggerston hang-out Pamela, Ellie’s has given the Kingsland Road venue a lick of paint and some softer lighting but kept the ethos roughly the same: an easy-going neighbourhood drinking spot that’s big on vibes and low on unnecessary pretence. We went on a Wednesday evening, where groups of mates were sat under their glowing green sign, sipping on potent £8 martinis and munching on paper-wrapped takeaway from the next door chippy (there are plans, we’re told, to open a rotating kitchen residency in the near future). On a balmy summer’s night, their open front and pavement tables are a welcoming place to work your way through Ellie’s punchy cocktail list, from a pleasingly tart raspberry daiquiri to an always-welcome spicy marg. With rows of stools pulled up to the bar, an excellent playlist of alt throwbacks, and a ‘kitchen at the party’ feel to its small-but-cosy confines, you can easily imagine the weekends getting far looser.  Order this On Wednesdays, their all-day happy hour deals include a £5 Guinness and £6 spritz. Ellie’s go-to, however, is their martini: we went dirty and gin-based, and felt pretty giddy after just one. Time Out tip  Need something to soak up the cocktails? Dalston’s plethora of Turkish ocakbasi grills are just a short stumble up the road.

Remember when Pat Butcher came back from the dead? The homecoming of Little Nan’s Bar to Deptford – it originally opened in 2013 and was forced to close in 2014 – feels just as euphoric. The ‘EastEnders’ analogy will make sense to those who experienced the pure joy of visiting the bar in pop-up form, as it roamed around London waiting to find a way back to Deptford. It’s a retro living room parody in a railway arch at Deptford Market Yard, with leopard print, china and Pat references aplenty. The little nan in question belongs to Tristan Scutt, who refers to himself as the grandson of this operation. He set up the bar in honour of his late grandmother (who made it to 104), and has been very clear that while it’s all vintage, there’s nothing ‘shabby chic’. Instead, it’s full-throttle ’80s front room fetishism, with cocktail menus hidden inside Charles and Diana memorabilia books, mocktails served in leopard-print mugs, soap stars in photo frames and cat-covered cushions galore. You can order cocktails by the teapot, or go solo and get a cocktail umbrella in the bargain. The drinks are on the sweeter, sillier end of the scale, my Chief Girl of Deptford being a bubbly mix of gin, prosecco, lemon and Morello cherry syrup, which tasted a bit like a boozy cherry Vimto. Snacks are true Brits – from a cracking fish-finger sarnie to hoops on toast if you’re into nostalgia. They even stuck sparklers in our portion of hipster fries (dusted with paprika). If you’re trying to make...

Remember The Nest, or, if you’re even older, Barden’s Boudoir? The excellent basement club below what is now the Red Hand has finally got the relaunch it deserves. A roomy 150 capacity cocktail bar from Andy Kerr (founder of Discount Suit Company and The Sun Tavern) and Tom Gibson (Ruby’s, Corrochio’s, The Bluecoats), they’re calling it a ‘1980s NYC style mutant disco’ with classy cocktails and regular DJs. Much cosier than any of its former incarnations, Parasol features little booths spread around a main dancefloor. Drinks are not just delicious, but pretty reasonably priced - there's a £7 martini (the Umbrella Vesper), and all the rest are a tenner. We like the smooth and chocolately Kinder Bueno, made with whiskey, Irish cream liqueur, hazelnut, cacao and clarified milk, and the punchy Korean Jesus, with tequila, mezcal, plum soju, gochujang, sesame, coriander, ginger and honey. Time Out tip Run by some of the same team as Parasol, line your stomach with extremely good tostadas and tacos at nearby Corrochio’s (one of Time Out’s favourite Mexican restaurants in London) before getting on the cocktails here. What’s nearby? Dalston is simply riddled with bars. Go on a proper crawl with help from our list of the best bars in Dalston. Not after any more drinks? Here are the best 20 things to do in Dalston, from Turkish grill houses to independent cinemas, live jazz, and drag shows.

The picket fence goes up by 6pm, partioning off a little patch of ground next to Clapham Common’s tube station. The folding tables then fill up in minutes with glass-clinking sybarites, attracting the stares of zipped-up commuters. This former public toilet, integral to the Tube station but derelict for years, is now a wine bar, which turns its tiny outside space into a drinking terrace.Down the wide stairs it still looks and feels like a Victorian convenience, albeit a sanitised one. The wall tiles and floor mosaics are still there, the cubicle doors have been laid flat and turned into tables within secluded and low-lit booths. Other fixtures and fittings are also reclaimed Victoriana, much of it from a nearby school. It’s cosy and appealing.A score of wines are sold, from a dry German Riesling to a Bulgarian Merlot. Service is enthusiastic and engaging, and the cheese platters and charcuterie plates are both are better than bog standard. 

A former school for girls is now offering an education in beer. The chapel-shaped, Victorian building is a bit of an anomaly on Tottenham’s High Road, in among the corner shops and with a glimmer of Spurs’ shiny HQ in the distance. Inside is welcoming; the pub suits the seasons – one side is light-filled and modern, while a partition separates off a dark, distressed room with a mahogany bar and vintage signs bearing old-fashioned crests. But the most important season of all is the footie kind. If football is this pub’s first love, beer would have to be its second. A long blackboard advertises ‘house’, ‘craft’ and ‘cask’ beers. Local breweries Redemption, Pressure Drop and Beavertown are represented, but you’ll also spy Walthamstow and Bermondsey beers, plus Guinness and Heineken – there’s a refreshing absence of craft beer snobbery. Time Out tip Come hungry. Various food pop-ups have taken over the pub since it opened in 2018, but as of summer 2025, it belongs to Ling Ling’s, the Chinese-inspired kitchen residency that also bashes out one of the best Sunday roasts in London.

London’s current infatuation with all things agave has spawned dozens of new bars specialising in the Mexican spirits du jour. But while you might find more extensive collections of tequila and mezcal elsewhere, few agave-focused bars can match the sophistication of this elegant Latin American-themed spot in the Grade II-listed former Police Station that now houses the NoMad hotel.  There’s an old-school gentleman’s club kind of grandeur to this low-lit space, decked out in dark wood booths, green leather seating, an imposing marble-topped bar and walls covered in vibrant photographs taken on the streets of London and Southern California. On the menu, you’ll find a seasonally-changing delection of half a dozen takes on the margarita, plus six bar classics and another dozen or so drinks categorised as ‘refreshing’ or ‘spirit forward’. Most cocktails are agave-based, but the menu also incorporates a host of trendy ingredients from across the globe, from yuzu and white miso to pandan and cachaça. And for beer drinkers, there’s the hotel’s own Mexican Sour, a collaboration with King’s Cross-based brewery Two Tribes. Alongside this, the bar serves up a solid menu of mostly Mexican bar snacks; zingy guac is served with a hefty pile of crunchy tortilla chips, creamy prawn croquettes come topped with salty, umami shavings of bonito and churros are accompanied by thick chocolate sauce and fudgey dulce de leche crema.  Order this On our visit, the star of the show was a chocolate...

It’s only rock’n’roll, but east Londoners clearly love it. The brainchild of Australian sisters Verity and Sharmaine Cox, Blondies is a down-and-dirty Mecca for music-lovers and a decided riposte to those who say London has lost some of its grit. The tiny bar (with a capacity of about 50) is comprised of delightfully wonky furnishings, which is down to the fact that the Coxes created almost everything themselves. That DIY spirit is reflected in the regular gig nights, which have attracted everyone from Grammy winners Mastadon to legendary Swedish hardcore punks Refused. There’s also a good chance you’ll find team Time Out holding down spicy margaritas and working our way through the ever-changing menu of superior craft beers, including their very own Blondies branded beer. Time Out tip Keep an eye on the ‘upcoming events’ section of the bar’s website, as big bands love to get back to basic at Blondies. What’s nearby? You’re less than a five-minute walk from My Neighbours the Dumplings, a sensational dim sum joint that’ll soak up the booze.

This glam hotel hideaway has the enviable claim of being the ‘longest-surviving cocktail bar in London’. A veritable Joan Collins of sophisticated bars, the American Bar opened in 1893, and has taken up its current location just off the Savoy’s grand lobby since 1904. The room itself feels like stepping into the pages of the Great Gatsby (but minus the existential dread); all grey and silver, with a grand piano plonked in the middle of the room, and Frank Sinatra’s cigar lighter casually displayed next to Noel Coward’s powder compact. Classic cocktails are available (including the Fernet-Branca-addled Hanky Panky, which was actually created at The Savoy back in 1903), but it would be foolish not to dip into bar manager Andrea Di Chiara and head bartender Angelo Sparvoli’s list of curated drinks inspired by the hotel’s history. The delicate Touch of Pink is inspired by Marlene Dietrich, who would request 12 pink roses in her Savoy suite, and mixes gin, the perfume-like Muyu Jasmine Verte and lemon, scattered with perfectly pink rose petals. If you’re after something a little punchier, the magnificent Moon Landing combines mezcal, Luxardo Bitter Bianco, Cocchi Americano and Muyu Vetiver Gris into something deeply herbal and smokey, while Five O’Clock Somewhere is a heady, tomato-based take on a martini.   Time Out tip The bar’s high-end offering of vintage and rare spirits, means that, if you want, there is a £5000 sazerac on offer. In more practical advice, it’s walk-ins...