Best Power Lunch Bars in London

London operates on a different business lunch geography from most cities. The financial district (the Square Mile and Canary Wharf) serves the banking and professional services industries. Mayfair serves the hedge funds, private equity, and the luxury end of media. Soho and Fitzrovia serve the advertising, publishing, and technology industries. Each area has its own bar culture at midday, and the bars that succeed are the ones that understand precisely who their lunch clientele is and what they need from a room.

What distinguishes a London power lunch bar is that wine tends to be the preferred midday drink rather than cocktails — the City's drinking culture leans toward wine at lunch in a way that New York does not. The bars on this list all have excellent wine programmes. They also all have the room quality, service standard, and noise management that a serious business conversation requires.

The City and Canary Wharf: Finance Industry Lunch

Mayfair: Where the Old Money and New Money Meet at Noon

Mayfair concentrates private equity, hedge funds, and the luxury end of financial services. The bar culture here at midday is less egalitarian than the City — the rooms are designed to signal wealth as much as to provide function. The best bars in Mayfair overlap substantially with the power lunch circuit.

"London's power lunch culture leans toward wine rather than cocktails. The bars that succeed understand exactly who their midday clientele is and what they need from a room."

Soho and Fitzrovia: Media and Creative Industry Lunch

London vs New York Power Lunch Culture

The main practical difference is reservations. London's top power lunch bars are booked 2 to 3 weeks in advance at peak times — New York's equivalent bars typically manage 1 to 2 weeks. Plan accordingly. The other difference is duration: London business lunches run longer than New York ones, typically 2 hours rather than 90 minutes. The bars on this list are all comfortable with table turns at the 2-hour mark.

For comparison, see our guide to power lunch bars in New York. For the full picture of London's bar landscape, our complete London bar guide covers all occasions and all neighbourhoods.

One email every week. The bars our editors are recommending right now, across 72 cities worldwide.