London Nightlife - A guide to nightclubs and going out in London

1. Before Arriving in London
2. How to get to London - Getting to London by plane, train, bus or car
3. Public Transport in London - Getting around London
4. Cost of Living in London
5. Save Money in London - Tips for Living in London on a Student Budget
6. London neighborhoods - The most important districts of London
7. London Nightlife - A guide to nightclubs and going out in London
8. Where to eat in London - British Cuisine and British Gastronomy Restaurants
9. Top London Attractions - The best things to do in London (1st part)
10. Top London Attractions - The best things to do in London (2nd part)
11. Top London Attractions - The best things to do in London (3rd part)
12. Top London Attractions - The best things to do in London (4th part)
13. Day Trips from London - Places to visit and excursions around London
14. Festivals in London - Festivities and celebrations calendar
15. London in 3 days - What to see in London in 3 days

With night buses and the recently introduced “night tube”, getting around London late at night (or in the early hours of the morning) has never been easier! Despite London being fairly pricey at times, there are still possible ways of cutting down your costs on a night out by going to one of the cheaper (but still incredibly fun) clubs in London - you’ll be spoiled for choice in the bustling British capital. Just one thing you have to remember about clubbing in London - it’s quite strict! A lot of clubs use airport-style metal detectors and have the right to pat you down and search your bags, so be on your best behaviour!

Top Cheap Nightclubs in London

Heaven

Heaven is actually a gay club located underneath Charing Cross train station close to Trafalgar Square. It opens its doors and welcomes everyone. If you pass by G-A-Y BAR in Soho, you can get a wristband which gets you £1 entry into the club. With 4 different rooms playing a variety of music from rap and R&B, commercial, pop and throwback hit, it’s no wonder this club is so popular amongst the youth of London.

The Roxy

Located in the heart of the West End, The Roxy is a New York styled bar during the early evening which transforms itself into a subterranean club underneath the busy streets of Fitzrovia. There is an event every night so the music is very much varied and the club is even open on bank holiday Sundays! Drinks are of a moderate price with 2 Kronenbourg beers for £3.90 or a double spirit and mixer for £3.70 - they even offer a reduced student entry fee!

Tiger Tiger London

Come to Tiger Tiger London if wild nights out are your kind of thing. With 6 different rooms which have 6 different themes giving off a different vibe in each one, this is truly one great club in London. The dress code is smart casual, so it gives you a chance to wear some of your classier gear. Be sure to visit the club’s Cloud Lounge terrace bar for a view of the Piccadilly streets below!

Top Cheap Bars in London

Be At One

The great thing about Be At One is that there are a load of them all over London, so wherever you may be based, you shouldn’t have to travel too far to find one and not only that, but the bar offers over 100 cocktails for you to try! In regards to prices, each bar has its own happy-hour times and cocktails range from £6.60 to £10.60. So with plenty of cocktails for you to try at a reasonable price, there is no reason for you not to go to Be At One!

Revolution

With bars up and down the country, Revolution (or Revs as most English students call it), is one popular place to drink. Just like Be At One, they have such a wide range of cocktails, drinks and 30 different flavoured shots on offer and although their happy hour is only from 17:00-19:00 Monday to Friday, they do offer a ‘Revolution Card’ which costs an amazing £3 and gets you 25% off of food as well as 2-4-1 deals on selected cocktails. Have a look at their website to check out their awesome cocktails and get yourself a Revs card.

All Bar One

All Bar One is definitely somewhere you can save some pennies. There are 23 in London alone with more up and down the country offering food, cocktails, wine & beer and spirits. Not only do they have “5 o’clocktails” (selected cocktails are only £4.95 from 5 pm), but they also do deals such as “Tapas Tuesday” where every Tuesday you can get a bottle of wine and 4 small tapas dishes for £20! They also offer a cocktail masterclass for added fun!

Quirky Bars in London

If there is one thing London isn’t lacking, it’s quirky bars. There really are a lot of them, so instead of listing them all, I’m going to tell you about one bar from each part of London (North, East, South and West).

Bobby Fitzpatrick

I don’t have to say much for you to realise this is a quirky place - Bobby Fitzpatrick is a 70’s themed bar and pizzeria (quirky, right?) in West Hampstead located in North London. Their drinks are mainly rum-based but of course, there are other options. It’s definitely more of a “sit, chill & relax place” rather than just rushing in and out.

The Mayor of Scaredy Cat Town

Located in Shoreditch, East London, The Mayor of Scaredy Cat Town is a hidden bar that is accessed by walking through a fridge and descending down some stairs to a basement filled with fun, food and drinks. Although it only has a small cocktail menu, they do have an amazing collection of very unique beers, ciders and pale-ales.

Fu Manchu Bar

This bar is located in Clapham, South London. It’s such a unique bar due to its Edwardian/Opium den theme and its cocktails, the majority of which are made from an exciting mix of Asian spices and Chinese teas. It’s open until 3 am on the weekends and also transforms into a club!

The Escapologist

Getting its name from legendary party fiend, Baron Von Took who managed to escape the death penalty, this unique bar is modelled in a “modern day Victorian men’s club” style in Covent Garden, West London.

All these bars and more can be found on this website.

Organised Parties

Student Night Pub Crawl with Free Pìzza and Shots

As the name suggests, this bar crawl is perfect for students! Tickets only cost £10 and include free pizza and shots, free entry into 4 venues in Central London (very rare), drink discounts and queue jump! Don’t believe me? Well check it out and buy your tickets here.

1 Big Night Out

With multiple crawls across London, 1 Big Night Out promises you a wild night full of cheap drinks, club entry and party fun in some of London’s best bars and clubs! Get more information and your tickets here.

Lockdown London

With tickets from £15, this tour takes you to some of the most secret and exclusive clubs and bars in Central London and ends in Tiger Tiger. Their VIP ticket gives you fast-track entry to all venues with a free shot at the first 3. Check it out here.

Gay and LGBTQ+ Bars and Clubs

The heart of the gay bar and club scene in London is, without a doubt, Soho. It’s where the majority of gay establishments are located and even where a lot of the events during London’s gay pride happen. There are a lot of places so I won’t go through all of them but here are the main ones and if you feel like checking out the ones I haven’t mentioned, then you can easily find them on Google!

Admiral Duncan

The Admiral Duncan is one of the oldest gay pubs in London. It’s a great place to just grab a drink and chat with your friends.

Circa

One of the livelier gay bars in Soho, Circa hosts regular DJ sets which play all the commercial club tunes. Circa attracts primarily a younger crowd, but anything goes and anyone is welcome!

Ku Bar

There are 2 Ku Bars in London - one in Soho and one in Leicester Square. Ku Bar in Soho is more intimate and cosy and a nice place to sit and have a relaxing drink after spending the day shopping or sight-seeing whereas Ku Bar in Leicester Square is bigger with 3 floors, and hosts regular DJ club nights.

G-A-Y Bar & G-A-Y Late

G-A-Y Bar is the predrink bar for anyone going to Heaven for a night out. Cheap drinks offers and a wristband for free entry into Heaven bring crowds of people to this bar, alternatively, if you don’t want to go to Heaven but want to stay out late, you can make your way to G-A-Y Late which is more of a bar/club that stays open until the early hours of the morning.

Heaven

As aforementioned, Heaven is a great club for students, especially if you’re looking to go out to a gay club. You can get £1 entry with a wristband from G-A-Y Bar and drinks prices aren’t at all expensive. There are often shows put on in Heaven featuring famous drag queens and other pop personalities. You can follow Heaven on Facebook to get all the information about upcoming shows and appearances in the club.

If you want to have a deeper look into gay life in London, have a look at this website.

Rooftop Bars

Throughout the year and especially during the summer season, rooftop bars can be found in so many places, you just have to know where to look for them! There is a mix of expensive and cheap ones, so I’ll tell you about the student-budget friendly ones only.

Rooftop Kitchen at Alfies

Located along Church Street in Angel, only a few minutes away from Marylebone station, Alfie’s Antique Market can be found, however, if you venture in a little further and go up the staircase to the third floor, you’ll find a hidden gem; a rooftop garden with panoramic views of London. Prices are pretty cheap with a portion of chips or a beer setting you back £3 and wine and cider only costing £4.

The closest station to Alfie’s is Edgware Road station (Circle, Hammersmith & City and the Circle & District lines).

Queen Elizabeth Hall Roof Garden

This rooftop garden is found right on the banks of the River Thames in South Bank and still manages to be one of London’s best-kept secrets. The garden is adorned with fruit trees and exotic flowers, riverside views of the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye, allotments and a café-bar. The best thing about this bar is that it’s free to enter and open from 10 am - 10 pm every day during the spring and summer months!

The closest stations to the Queen Elizabeth Hall Roof Garden are Embankment(Bakerloo, Circle & District and Northern lines) and Waterloo(Northern, Bakerloo and Jubilee lines as well as Overground services).

Queen of Hoxton

With cocktails from just £6 and main dishes just £8, this Shoreditch rooftop bar really is a bargain! The rainbow benches and fake grass are the perfect accompaniments for sipping on a cocktail during the urban heat of London’s summer or the perfect place to snuggle up during London’s winter months. The Queen of Hoxton regularly puts on events in the roof garden, including transforming the rooftop into an open-air cinema every so often. Check the website here for events.

The closest stations are Old Street(Northern line and overground), Moorgate(Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines and overground), Shoreditch High Street(overground) and Liverpool Street(overground).

Frank’s Café

Located on the 10th floor of the multi-storey car park in Peckham, Southwark, Frank’s bar is more of a rustic rooftop bar (you might have to sit on the floor on a busy day!). Nevertheless, the bar provides some of the best panoramic views of London, as well as selling delicious food which costs between £3-10, cocktails for around £7 and beer, cider & wine for £4.50. Frank’s café is open from Tuesday-Friday from 5 pm until 11 pm and on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 am until 11 pm.

The closest station is Peckham Rye which is an overground station only.

Brixton Rooftop Beach

Located a few minutes from Brixton station, this pop-up event runs from the end of May until the end of August (that’s good news for those coming during the summer months!). Essentially, the event is a rooftop Beach with a different theme every year (a couple of years ago it was 1980’s Miami, this year it’s a Cuban themed beach). As it’s located in the heart of Brixton Market, the gate to South London’s food scene, a winning combination of cocktails and street food will be served up with entertainment to really make you feel like you’re on a Cuban beach. Check out their events here.

The closest stations are Brixton(overground station) and Brixton underground station (Victoria line)

Camden Beach at the Roundhouse

Two beaches in London, is this for real? Yes, yes it is. Camden Beach is an urban beach with sand, deckchairs, a beach bar, Ben & Jerry's ice cream van, barbecues (and a whole lot more!) located on top of the Roundhouse building, located close to Chalk Farm station. It’s open during summer from Tuesdays-Sundays from noon until 11 pm (5 pm-11 pm on Mondays) and entry is free, so there really is no reason not to go.

The closest station is Chalk Farm(Northern line).