The debate about whether or not London truly is a late-night city rumbles on, but the fact remains that we’ve all been in the position of wanting the party to go on, once the pubs have shut. The next time you find yourself in central London fancying ‘just one more’ here’s our pick of the bars worth trying.
Balans
Soho - 60-62 Old Compton St, London W1D 4UG
Open till 5am Wed/Thurs and till 6am Fri/Sat
The original Soho party spot (hey, if it’s good enough for Lady Gaga…), Balans’ Soho restaurant and bar has one of those properly late licences that make it the perfect place to hit up when literally everywhere else has called it a night. You can even head here for a boozy breakfast/brunch if you’ve pulled an all-nighter.
Bloodsports
Covent Garden - 27-29 Endell St, London WC2H 9BA
Open till 2am every night of the week
This dive meets sports bar in Covent Garden is somewhere aimed at those “who like their bars loud, late, and a little unhinged”. So if you need a bar that not only shows the footie but also offers karaoke and (worryingly) darts late at night, this is the place for you.
Also see: sibling restaurant MEATliquor just off Oxford Circus which is open until 3am every night of the week for burgers and cocktails.
Below Stone Nest
Soho - 136 Shaftesbury Ave, London W1D 5EZ
Open till 2am Tuesday to Saturday
Run by the Boxer brothers Frank and Jackson (Frank does the cocktails, Jackson runs the food), this gorgeous subterranean bar is an absolute find in the heart of the West End; old-timers will remember when this was Limelight nightclub. The music is good, the skewers snacks and sandwiches are way better than they need to be and the crowd is beautiful.
Kwant
Mayfair - 52 Stratton St, London W1J 8LN
Open till 1am every night
One of the best cocktail bars in the city, in our humble opinion, Eric Lorincz’s Kwant is extremely handy to know about if you’ve been dining in Mayfair and want a post-prandial cocktail that’ll end your evening on a high. That said, the bar food menu here is also very good if you want to make this where you begin and end your night out.
Archive & Myth
Leicester Square - Hippodrome Casino, Cranbourn St, London WC2H 7JH
Open till 2am Thurs-Sat
Who’d have thought that a bar underneath a casino in the most tourist-heavy part of town would be an absolute banger? Well, Archive & Myth is that place. The man in charge is top bartender Jack Sotti (you may have seen him talking cocktails on TV’s Sunday Brunch) and his drinks list is fabulous and particularly good if you’re opting for alcohol-free. The bar food is by Chop Chop, the casino’s restaurant run by Four Seasons, which itself is open for dinner until 4am.
Oriole
Covent Garden - 7-9 Slingsby Pl, London WC2E 9AB
Open till 1am Friday and Saturday
Having made the move from Smithfield to the middle of town, award-winning cocktail bar Oriole is now a very useful late-night drinking hole in Covent Garden. There's a speakeasy-style bar in the basement and a particularly good late-night food menu that roams through Nikkei, Argentine/Italian and Mexican cuisines for inspiration. Inventive, but not crazily priced drinks, and a live music roster keep things interesting.
Opium
Chinatown - 15-16 Gerrard St, London W1D 6JE
Open till 1am Monday/Tues, 2am Wed/Thurs and 3am Fri/Sat
There’s a lot to like about this Chinatown bar, from the speakeasy nature (there’s no signage outside) to the three-floor offering inside. Our preference is to grab a stool at the counter up in the attic bar. Best of all, you get to enjoy really good cocktails along with dumplings courtesy of the chefs at Dumplings Legend.
Soma
Soho - 14 Denman St, London W1D 7HJ
Open till 1am Mon/Tues, 2am Wed/Thur and 3am Fri/Sat
Tucked underneath Kricket in Soho (and directly opposite The Devonshire if you want to carry on post-pub hours), this basement speakeasy bar is a stylish place to perch for a cocktail or two. Like the restaurant upstairs, the drinks take inspiration from the Indian subcontinent and they also have a handy space for private parties too. It’s a dramatic-looking space that feels a world apart from the hordes cramming the Soho pavements above
Albert’s Schloss
Shaftesbury Avenue - 20-24 Shaftesbury Ave, London W1D 7EU
Open till 2am Mon-Thurs and 3am Fri/Sat
You might be wondering why such an overtly tourist-focused funhouse is on this list. Well, that’s because this is actually not a bad place at all to hit up if you’re still up for a good night in the wee small hours of the morning. There’s live music, decent grub and good beer. You just have to turn a blind eye to the bridge and tunnel crowd.
Disrepute
Carnaby - 13 Kingly Court, London W1B 5PW
Open till 3am every day of the week except Sunday when it’s 1am
Kingly Court and Carnaby in general can be a bit of a madhouse, so managing to secure a booking at this speakeasy bar always feels like a win. This space has history too, it used to be the Kingly Club, which is where the 1960s Profumo Affair scandal began, with cabinet minister John Profumo meeting call girl Christine Keeler here. It's still a place for louche get-togethers, although maybe not of the government toppling variety.
Also see
Subscribe to hear the latest from Hot Dinners
