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Bunga Bunga Battersea karaoke
Photograph: Bunga Bunga Battersea

The best karaoke bars in London

Sing your heart out at these London bars, pubs and venues where the soundtrack is BYO

Sarah Cohen
Written by
Sarah Cohen
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It’s time to bellow your favourite anthems surrounded by similarly uninhibited friends. London’s best karaoke bars provide the perfect spaces for hairbrush heroes and air-guitar maestros to realise their pop-star dreams, whether in a private room with mates or in front of an audience of strangers. Cue up your tune and step up to the mic at one of these joints that make embarrassing yourself in public fun.

RECOMMENDED: The 50 best karaoke songs.

The best karaoke bars in London

  • Bars and pubs
  • Spitalfields

By the people who brought you The Star of Bethnal Green, the group is now bringing a slice of the action to the City of London. Upstairs there's a bar with craft beers, cocktails and wine plus food from smoked meat dons Hotbox London. In the basement, pick from over 20,000 songs to warble through. Keen vocalists can choose from five differently decorated rooms (each with its own disco ball) and two bigger function spaces. The Glam Palace has space for up to 80 and The Backstage Bar can fit 60 punters. 

 

All Star Lanes
  • Things to do
  • Games and hobbies
  • Brick Lane

Bowling, booze and bites combine at this popular Brick Lane spot, which also offers two private karaoke booths accommodating up to seven or 14 singers (although at the moment only up to six people or two households are allowed in each booth). Branches in Holborn, Stratford and White City.

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Bloomsbury Lanes
  • Music
  • Music venues
  • Bloomsbury

There are five private karaoke rooms at this basement bowling alley under a hotel in Bloomsbury, each with more than 30,000 songs to choose from. The rules of six applies to groups.

  • Bars and pubs
  • Pubs
  • Hackney

A refurbished pub on the edge of Hackney Downs, with beer from local breweries London Fields and Redchurch, stone-baked pizzas, karaoke and DJs. Decor takes the theme of a Victorian circus, with the main bar based on a carousel. There’s also an outdoor terrace. Owner Rob Star also runs the Star of Bethnal Green and Star of Kings in King’s Cross. The karaoke room can host up to 15 warblers. 

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Karaoke Box Smithfield
  • Nightlife
  • Karaoke
  • Smithfield

The second in the Karaoke Box stable is far plusher than its, ahem, more traditional Soho original. Fifteen rooms to choose from, fitting from four up to 25 people, plus a swanky VIP room if you and your 14 friends are feeling flush (or just rather important). We love the wireless mics, touch screens and gorgeous white baby grand piano.

The Old Queens Head
  • Nightlife
  • Angel

There’s a karaoke room that you can hire for up to a dozen people above this much loved Essex Road party pub. The song selection is truly vast, and it even comes with a personal host, so you don’t have to interrupt poring over the songbook in order to go and get a round in. 

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  • Nightlife
  • Marylebone

This popular central London boozer is a good place to drink and an even better place to party. The venue hosts numerous club nights and nightlife events that are focused firmly on full-fat fun. Highlights of the packed party calendar include ‘massaoke’ (mass karaoke) singalong Friday I’m In Love, miserablist pop and indie night Feeling Gloomy (actually very fun and not really miserable, by the way) and Rockaoke, a rock and power ballad-driven singalong night.

  • Bars and pubs
  • Pubs
  • Bethnal Green

A laidback favourite on Bethnal Green Road, the Star has a private karaoke room powered by Lucky Voice that’s available for hire from Thursday to Sunday. Up to 15 people can squeeze in, although only six are allowed at the moment.

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  • Nightlife
  • Karaoke
  • Soho

For those who enjoy crooning into a hairbrush, but are too shy to take to the stage, Lucky Voice might be the solution. Private ‘pods’ ordinarily allow groups of four to 12 people to belt out the classics without any fear of embarrassment, but right now they will only accomodate up to six people or two households. Pizza and nibbles are basic, but the drinks menu is more extravagant: choose a snifter off the list to chase away any lingering inhibitions. With almost a million songs on the 
playlist, there will certainly be a tune you know – so no excuses. Branches in Soho, Holborn and Islington.

But what are you going to sing?

The 50 best karaoke songs
  • Music

We’ve put together a playlist of the greatest karaoke songs ever – party songs, love ballads, hip hop hits, rock anthems and duets – and sequenced them for a pitch-perfect karaoke experience.

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