Nightlife in London
Where London goes out — handpicked bars, clubs, live music rooms and late-night eats for any kind of night.
Top spots in London
Borough Market
Food & DrinkSouthwark
Centuries-old food market — salt-beef bagels, oysters and raclette.
Sky Garden
NightlifeCity of London
Free indoor garden 155 m above the Walkie-Talkie — book ahead.
Best nightlife in London
12 hand-picked bars, clubs, live music rooms & late-night eats.
Connaught Bar
$$$$Cocktail bar · Mayfair
World's #1 cocktail bar three years running.
Tayer + Elementary
$$$Cocktail bar · Old Street
Two-room concept by Monica Berg & Alex Kratena.
Swift
$$$Cocktail bar · Soho
Two floors — upstairs aperitivo, downstairs whisky.
Nightjar
$$$Speakeasy · Shoreditch
Hidden door, live jazz, prohibition cocktails.
Fabric
$$$Club · Farringdon
Three-room techno mecca, vibrating bassbins.
Printworks
$$$Club · Surrey Quays
Cavernous industrial club, top international DJs.
Ronnie Scott's
$$$Live music · Soho
London's legendary jazz club since 1959.
Brixton Academy
$$Live music · Brixton
Historic 5000-cap venue with sloped floor.
Sky Garden
$$$Rooftop · City
Free-entry sky garden at 20 Fenchurch.
Frank's Cafe
$$Rooftop · Peckham
Summer-only rooftop on multi-storey carpark.
Bagel Bake (Brick Lane)
$Late-night eats · Spitalfields
24-hour salt-beef bagels since 1974.
Polo Bar
$Late-night eats · Liverpool Street
24-hour fry-up diner.
Where to eat
St. John
$$$British · Smithfield
Fergus Henderson's nose-to-tail classic — bone marrow and madeira.
Dishoom Covent Garden
$$Bombay café · Covent Garden
All-day bacon naan and house chai in a Bombay Irani-café setting.
Padella
$$Italian · Borough Market
Hand-rolled pici cacio e pepe; expect a 45-min queue.
Lyle's
$$$Modern British · Shoreditch
Daily-changing produce-led tasting menu in a stripped-back room.
Live & on stage
BST Hyde Park
Hyde Park · Jul 4–13 · Festival / Pop
Notting Hill Carnival
Notting Hill · Aug 24–25 · Caribbean / Carnival
BBC Proms
Royal Albert Hall · Jul 18 – Sep 13 · Classical
Winter Wonderland
Hyde Park · Nov 21 – Jan 4 · Christmas Market
Frequently asked
- Standouts include Borough Market, Sky Garden. The list mixes cocktail bars, live-music rooms and dance floors so you can build a full night without leaving the neighbourhood.