World City Guide

Nightlife

London’s nightlife is currently buzzing with everything, from some of Europe’s liveliest nightclubs right through to stylish design bars and traditional old London pubs. Night-time hotspots can be found across the capital, although there is a particular concentration in the West End, where Soho is still the coolest place to drink, although it remains seedy along the edges. Soho is also the best place for gay bars and clubs. Two particularly hip areas in which to drink are the perennially cool Notting Hill/Ladbroke Grove area in the west and the now very up-and-come Old Street/Shoreditch area in the east (where the fashionable art and media crowd has popularised ‘Hoxton cool’). Many local areas, such as Camden and Angel in the north, Brixton and Clapham in the south, have great local pubs and bars and remain the areas where the best of the well-established gastropubs can be found.

The legal drinking age is 18 years and almost all of the clubs exact an admission price (often increasing after 2300 or 2400), which can be pricey, particularly in the West End. Dress codes vary depending on the calibre of the club but it may be wise to leave the trainers at home. Although there have been plans for change for a while now, England’s licensing laws still mean that pubs and bars traditionally close at 2300 Monday to Saturday and at 2230 on Sunday. However, some places have special licences that allow them to stay open later. Clubs usually open at 2200, fill up by 2400, and stay open until 0200/0300 during the week and usually around 0500 at weekends, although often later. Drink prices are exorbitant in London and can vary from pub to pub and club to club. A pint will cost anything from £2.50 upwards and will be much more like £3 in the West End. Few venues can be defined by their music, featuring different styles on different nights, with regular sets by guest DJs. The best way to keep abreast of goings-on is to check out the listings in the weekly Time Out magazine (website: www.timeout.com).

Bars: If a traditional English pub is what you are after, try the 17th-century George Inn, 77 Borough High Street, SE1 – the only surviving example of a galleried coaching inn in London. Nearby, a popular watering hole for patrons of the Globe Theatre, tourists and locals is The Anchor, Bankside, SE1. This 17th-century haunt is quaint and quirky, while its Thames-side terrace is a delight on sunny days. Alternatively, the Nell Gwynne, 1-2 Bull Inn Court, just off the Strand, WC2, is one of the smallest and most endearing of the central, old-fashioned pubs, while the hugely popular 17th-century Lamb and Flag, 33 Rose Street, WC2, offers two floors connected by a rickety staircase and an outdoor area in summer. For ornate Victorian interiors, The Salisbury, 90 St Martins Lane, WC2, with its gin palace atmosphere, is unbeatable. No less popular is the Lamb, 94 Lamb’s Conduit Street, WC1. As for bars, many of the best in Soho are members only but Yo!Below, in the basement of Yo!Sushi, 52 Poland Street, W1, is far more egalitarian, featuring Japanese cartoons, Karaoke-singing staff, self-service beer dispensers and masseuses. For a chilled scruffy kind of Soho cool, try Two Floors, Kingly Street, W1; it doesn’t have the name above the door but you can tell it by the sofas in the window and the green walls. For stylish, hugely busy, trendy bars that stay open past 2300 and do not require a membership card, Amber, 6 Poland Street, W1, is one of the nicest, while Akbar, 77 Dean Street, has a touch of exotic decor. The beautiful people go to The West Bar at Sketch, 9 Conduit Street, W1 (see Restaurants). Voted ‘Bar of the Year’ in 2002, by both the Evening Standard and Time Out, Rockwell, on the ground floor of the Trafalgar Hotel, Trafalgar Square, WC2, currently is one of the city’s coolest meeting places, with its sumptuous cocktails and chic decor. Point 101, 101 New Oxford Street, WC1, is a late-night West End bar that defies the archaic drinking laws with DJs and an up-for-it clientele.

For gay men in Soho, there is only one street in which to pose. Almost all of the Old Compton Street pubs, bars, cafés and restaurants are gay or very gay-friendly. A new and popular one is G.A.Y. Bar, 30 Old Compton Street, W1, run by the unstoppable club night, G.A.Y. (see Clubs below). Off Old Compton Street, two well-established male favourites are The Edge, 11 Soho Square, W1, and The Yard, 57 Rupert Street, W1. For women, the choice is much more limited; the best by far is The Candy Bar, 4 Carlisle Street, W1.

Further west, in Notting Hill, one of the newest and best bars in the area is Under the Westway Bar and Restaurant, Westbourne Studios, 242 Acklam Road, W10. This bar is set out on the vast open ground floor of a studio/office warehouse – you have to buzz security/reception to be let in, explaining you want to go to the bar. The ceiling of the bar area is actually the concrete flyover known as the Westway. Two pubs about as different from each other as chalk and cheese are the old and unpretentious favourite Portobello Gold, 95-97 Portobello Road, W11, and one of the trendiest pubs in the area The Westbourne, 101 Westbourne Park Villas, W2.

Heading east, Vertigo, Level 42, Tower 42, 25 Old Broad Street, EC2, at 180m (590ft) above the ground, is one of the UK’s highest bars and boasts stunning views across the city from the floor-to-ceiling windows, although it is only open on weeknights, as it is in the business-orientated City of London. For pubs in the Old Street area, The Bricklayers, 63 Charlotte Road, EC2, is as reliable as ever for a pint and a possible glimpse of a famous artist, while for kitsch cool, the George and Dragon, 2 Hackney Road, E1, is your best bet. Table football is the focus of the Brazilian-style Kick Bar, 127 Shoreditch High Street, E1. If you are after more of a designer bar, the place to go for DJs is the Medicine Bar, 89 Great Eastern Street, EC2, or for food is Grand Central, 91-93 Great Eastern Street, EC2, possibly the most beautiful bar-restaurant in London.

Casinos: There are over 20 casinos in London. For contact details and other information, refer to the British Casino Association, 38 Grosvenor Gardens, SW1 (tel: (020) 7730 1055; fax: (020) 7730 1050; website: www.britishcasinoassociation.org.uk). By law, only members and their guests over the age of 18 years can enter a British casino; membership usually takes 24 hours.

Clubs: UK garage (becoming ever closer musically to its R&B cousin across the Atlantic) is still the ‘in’ sound of London and many clubs across the globe, however, a variety of musical styles pervades clubs throughout the capital. The world-famous super-club Ministry of Sound, 103 Gaunt Street, SE1 (website: www.ministryofsound.com), is still going strong a decade on, with its stunning sound system pumping out popular house and garage. Its big rivals today are the more underground Fabric, 77A Charterhouse Street, EC1 (website: www.fabriclondon.com), Pacha, Terminus Place, Victoria, SW1 (website: www.pachalondon.com), which has brought a touch of Balearic glamour to Victoria, and The End, an ultra-stylish club at 18A West Central Street, WC1 (website: www.endclub.com).

However, despite some big players, the club scene today is probably swinging more towards smaller clubs and DJ-bars. One area that is gaining in popularity for good small-scale clubs is Shoreditch/Old Street, springing up around the now well-established grand-dame of the scene, 333, at 333 Old Street, EC1 (website: www.333mother.com). Clubs like the Bridge and Tunnel, 4 Calvert Avenue, E2 (with popular electro nights and rocksteady nights), Cargo, 83 Rivington Street, EC2 (website: www.cargo-london.com) (mostly soulful house), Herbal, 12-14 Kingsland Road, E2 (website: www.herbaluk.com) (house, breakbeats, hip hop and drum‘n’bass), and slightly further away, 93 Feet East, 150 Brick Lane, E1 (hip hop, deep house and Latin nights). DJ-bars playing various different tunes on most nights of the week include the hugely popular Market Place, 11 Market Place, W1, and the relaxed arty vibe of the Vibe Bar, 91-95 Brick Lane, E1.

Although the east is running away with things at the moment, the west’s Notting Hill Arts Club, 21 Notting Hill Gate, W11, is always worth checking out, for its eclectic nights (famous for Latin nights but more recently a rocking punk night). South of the river, Brixton’s reputation for nightlife remains unscathed with The Fridge, Town Hall Parade, SW2, a long-time favourite, and Substation South, 9 Brighton Terrace, SW9, the original and still the best cruisey gay nightclub. The most popular gay night, however, is back in Soho, G.A.Y. at The Astoria, 157 Charing Cross Road, WC2.

Comedy: The Comedy Store, Haymarket House, 1A Oxendon Street, SW1 (tel: (020) 7344 0234; website: www.thecomedystore.co.uk), still offers the best comedy in town. Jongleurs comedy and cabaret clubs are based in Battersea, Camden and Bow (website: www.jongleurs.com).

Live Music: International acts play at Earl’s Court Exhibition Centre, Warwick Road, Earl’s Court, SW5 (tel: (020) 7385 1200 for general enquiries or (0871) 871 9809 for bookings; website: www.eco.co.uk) , and Wembley Arena, Lakeside Way, Wembley, HA9 (tel: (0870) 060 0870; website: www.whatsonwembley.com). Next door, Wembley Stadium (website: www.wembleystadium.com) was once a vast auditorium for massive stars but it is currently being rebuilt. For a more unique atmosphere, try The Astoria (LA1), 157 Charing Cross Road, WC2 (tel: (020) 7434 9592; website: www.meanfiddler.com), or the Brixton Academy, 211 Stockwell Road, SW9 (tel: (020) 7771 3000; website: www.brixton-academy.co.uk). The Shepherd’s Bush Empire, Shepherds Bush Green, W12 (tel: (020) 8354 3300; website: www.shepherds-bush-empire.co.uk), and the Forum, 9-17 Highgate Road, NW5 (tel: (020) 7284 1001 or (0870) 060 3777 for bookings), draw medium-sized acts. New and exciting indie acts usually play the Barfly Camden, 49 Chalk Farm Road, NW1 (tel: (020) 7691 4243 or (0870) 907 0999 for tickets; website: www.barflyclub.com/london), on their way up, while pubs with regular, often unsigned live music include the Hope and Anchor, 207 Upper Street, N1 (tel: (020) 7354 1312), Camden’s famous Dublin Castle, 94 Parkway, NW1, (tel: (020) 8806 2668) and the Swan, 215 Clapham Road, SW9 (tel: (020) 7978 9778; website: www.theswanstockwell.co.uk). For jazz, head to the Jazz Café (tel: (020) 7916 6060; website: www.jazzcafe.co.uk), 5 Parkway, NW1, or to Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, 47 Frith Street, W1 (tel: (020) 7439 0747; website: www.ronniescotts.co.uk), a legendary venue in the heart of Soho.

Tickets for most gigs and concerts are available from Ticketmaster (tel: (0870) 534 4444, website: www.ticketmaster.co.uk), or contact the venues direct.