You need only glance at William Hogarth's Gin Lane prints from 1751 to realise that Londoners and alcohol have had more than a passing acquaintance. The metropolis offers a huge variety of venues to wet your whistle in – from cosy neighbourhood pubs to glitzy all-night clubs, and everything in between.
The Pub
The pub (public house) is at the heart of London life and is one of the capital’s great social levellers. Virtually every Londoner has a ‘local’ and looking for your own is a fun part of any visit to the capital.
Pubs in the City and other central areas are mostly after-work drinking dens, busy from 5pm onwards with the post-work crowd during the week. But in more residential areas, pubs come into their own at weekends, when long lunches turn into sloshy afternoons and groups of friends settle in for the night. Many also run popular quizzes on week nights. Other pubs entice punters through the doors with live music or comedy. Some have developed such a reputation for the quality of their food that they've been dubbed gastropubs.
You can order almost any beverage you like in a pub: beer, wine, soft drinks, spirits and sometimes hot drinks too. Some specialise in craft beer, offering drinks from local microbreweries, including real ale, fruit beers, organic ciders and other rarer beverages. Others, particularly the gastropubs, invest in a good wine list.
In winter, some pubs offer mulled wine; in summer the must-have drink is Pimms and lemonade (if it’s properly done it should have fresh mint leaves, citrus, strawberries and cucumber).
Beer
The raison d’être of a pub is first and foremost to serve beer – be it lager, ale or stout, in a glass or a bottle. On draught (drawn from the cask), it is served by the pint (570mL) or half-pint (285mL) and, more occasionally, third-of-a-pint for real ale tasting.
Pubs generally serve a good selection of lager (highly carbonated and drunk cool or cold) and a smaller selection of real ales or ‘bitter’ (still or only slightly gassy, drunk at room temperature, with strong flavours). The best-known British lager brand is Carling, though you’ll find everything from Fosters to San Miguel.
Among the multitude of ales on offer in London pubs, London Pride, Courage Best, Burton Ale, Adnam’s, Theakston (in particular Old Peculiar) and Old Speckled Hen are among the best. Once considered something of an old man’s drink, real ale has enjoyed a renaissance among young Londoners, riding tandem with the current fashion for craft beer (small-batch beers from independent brewers). Staff at bars serving good selections of real ales and craft beers are often hugely knowledgeable, just like a sommelier in a restaurant, so ask them for recommendations if you’re not sure what to order.
Stout, the best known of which is Irish Guinness, is a slightly sweet, dark beer with a distinct flavour that comes from malt that is roasted before fermentation.
Numerous microbreweries have sprouted throughout London in recent years. Names to look out for include Meantime, Sambrooks, Camden Town Brewery, London Fields Brewery, the Five Points Brewing Co, Redchurch, Beavertown, Crate Brewery, Hackney Brewery, Pressure Drop, Anspach & Hobday, Partizan, the Kernel, London Brewing Co, Howling Hops, One Mile End, Wild Card Brewery and Brew By Numbers.
Bars
In the large party space left between pubs and clubs, bars are a popular alternative for a London night out. Generally staying open later than pubs but closing earlier than clubs, they tempt those keen to skip bedtime at 11pm but not keen enough to pay a hefty cover charge and stay out all night. Many have DJs on weekends and sometimes a small dance floor too. Drinks tend to be more expensive than pub prices, and some dance bars charge a small cover charge later in the night.
Cocktail bars are undergoing a renaissance, so you'll find lots of upmarket options serving increasingly interesting concoctions. Specialist wine, whisky, craft beer and cider bars have also been sprouting in profusion. A romantic attachment to the US prohibition era has seen a scattering of speakeasies hiding themselves in basements and down back lanes.
Clubbing
When it comes to clubbing, London is up there with the best of them. You’ll probably know what you want to experience – it might be big clubs such as Fabric or Ministry of Sound, or sweaty shoebox clubs with the freshest DJ talent – but there’s plenty to tempt you to branch out from your usual tastes and try something new. Whether thumping techno, indie rock, Latin, ska, pop, dubstep, grime, minimal electro, R&B or hip hop, there’s something going on every night.
Thursdays are loved by those who want to have their fun before the office workers mob the streets on Friday. Saturdays are the busiest and best if you’re a serious clubber, and Sundays often see surprisingly good events throughout London, popular with hospitality workers who traditionally have Mondays off.
There are clubs across town, though it has to be said that the best of them are moving further out of the centre every year, so be prepared to take a hike on a night bus. The East End is the top area for cutting-edge clubs, especially Shoreditch. Dalston and Hackney are popular for makeshift clubs in restaurant basements and former shops – so it's great for night-fun hunters. Camden Town still favours the indie crowd, while King's Cross has a bit of everything. The gay party crowd mainly gravitates south of the river, especially Vauxhall, although they still maintain a toehold in the West and East End.
Cabaret
After years of low-profile parties with high-glitter gowns, the cabaret scene burst into the mainstream in the noughties, showering London with nipple tassels, top hats, sexy lingerie and some of the best parties in town. Subsequently, the ‘alternative’ cabaret scene became overwhelmingly mainstream, and some club-night organisers raised prices to ward off those who wouldn’t buck up and dress up. So prepare to pay up to £25 for some (but not all) of the city’s best cabaret nights, and make sure you look like a million dollars.
Expect anything from male burlesque contests to girls on roller skates hosting tea parties. Bethnal Green Working Men's Club is a true working men’s club that nonetheless hosts quirky cabaret nights. RVT is the kooky kingpin of London's queer cabaret scene and home to the legendary Duckie and Sunday Social. Soho Theatre, meanwhile, is an acclaimed comedy venue that lets the freaks off the leash in their Downstairs bar.
Drinking & Nightlife by Neighbourhood
AThe West End Soho is the traditional heart of London's nightlife, with pubs, bars, clubs and music venues.
AThe City Historic pubs that are busy after work, quiet after dark and dead on the weekends.
AThe South Bank An engaging mix of great old pubs and swanky modern bars.
AKensington & Hyde Park Characterful pubs catering to a well-heeled crowd.
AClerkenwell, Shoreditch & Spitalfields Shoreditch has the capital's most happening nightlife, with dozens of bars, pubs and clubs.
AEast London Dalston and Hackney are London's newest hip 'hoods, with interesting and eclectic venues galore.
AHampstead & North London Amped-up guitars in Camden Town and cosy pubs all around.
ANotting Hill & West London Riverside pubs, smart bars and a rooftop garden club.
AGreenwich & South London Everything from world-famous nightclubs to historic pubs by the river.
ARichmond, Kew & Hampton Court Richmond has some of London's most charming riverside pubs.