London has more genuinely atmospheric bars per square mile than any other city in the world. The Victorian gin palaces, the City taverns unchanged since the Great Fire's rebuilding, the Soho jazz cellars and the Mayfair private clubs that still operate as though the twentieth century was an imposition — all of them are here, open to the public and waiting. We have been visiting the best of them for years. These are the ones that reward the effort of finding them.
London's Most Atmospheric Historic Pubs and Taverns
London's oldest pubs carry a weight of history that no amount of reclaimed timber and exposed brick can manufacture. The bars below are genuinely old: built before photography, before electricity, sometimes before the city that surrounds them. They are also still serving drinks.
01
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese
Fleet Street, City$Historic Tavern / 1667
Rebuilt in 1667 after the Great Fire and operating continuously since, Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese is a warren of low-ceilinged rooms on a narrow alley off Fleet Street. Dickens drank here. Dr Johnson's favourite table is marked. The sawdust on the floor, the dark wood, the narrow staircases between floors — none of it is decorative. It is simply what the pub has always looked like. Order whatever real ale is on cask and spend an hour below street level in one of the back rooms.
Order: A pint of real ale from the hand pump — the selection changes seasonally
02
The Princess Louise
Holborn$Victorian Gin Palace / Listed
The Princess Louise is the best-preserved Victorian gin palace interior in London. Grade II listed, the pub retains its original etched glass, tiled pillars, painted ceilings and the series of small mahogany-panelled booths that divide the bar into private compartments. The beer selection is excellent. The noise level is high on Friday evenings but the room absorbs it. This is what every Victorian-themed bar in the world is trying to replicate. The original is within walking distance of seven tube stations.
Order: A pint of Sam Smith's — the house beer, cheap, perfectly suited to the Victorian surroundings
03
The Lamb and Flag
Covent Garden$Historic Pub / Low-Ceilinged
The Lamb and Flag occupies a 17th-century building down a covered alley between Floral Street and Rose Street. The interior is all dark wood and low beams, with the kind of lighting that makes everyone look good and every conversation feel important. John Dryden was attacked outside this pub in 1679. It has been serving drinks continuously since then. The crowd overflows onto the alley on summer evenings; in winter, the interior is exactly what a winter pub interior should be.
Order: A pint of Doom Bar or Timothy Taylor Landlord — the real ale selection here is reliably good
The full London bar guide
Over 120 listings across all categories. Our complete London guide covers cocktail bars, hidden gems, live music venues and historic pubs.
Soho and East London: Atmospheric Bars for the Modern Age
Soho and East London's atmospheric bars are a different kind of experience: rooms that have built their atmosphere through intent and curation rather than centuries of accumulated use. When done well — as in the bars below — the effect is indistinguishable from the genuine article.
04
Nightjar
Old Street$$$Jazz Bar / Underground
Nightjar operates in a basement below Old Street with live jazz seven nights a week, a cocktail menu built around pre-Prohibition and post-war spirits, and a level of darkness that is not quite disorienting but is definitely immersive. The room is Art Deco in spirit if not in literal material — all low lamplight, tightly packed tables and a stage that the band fills completely. Book a 7pm slot and plan to stay for the full evening. One of the best atmospheric bars in London at any price point.
Order: A pre-Prohibition classic from the vintage spirits menu — the Corpse Reviver or a Jungle Bird are both exceptional here
05
Dukes Bar
St James's$$$$Hotel Bar / Martini Club
Dukes Bar is a small, wood-panelled room in a St James's hotel that has been serving Martinis from a trolley since before most of its regulars were born. Ian Fleming drank here and is credited with the "shaken not stirred" order. The Martinis are powerful, precise and served without ceremony in a room that smells of wood polish and quiet money. The cover charge is significant. The experience is worth every penny of it.
Order: A Martini, served from the trolley — the house preparation is definitive and the room demands it
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The City and Southwark: Atmospheric Bars in London's Oldest Districts
The City of London and Southwark contain the oldest surviving licensed premises in the country. The bars below are all within a mile of London Bridge; all were serving drinks when Shakespeare was writing plays 400 metres away.
06
The George Inn
Borough, Southwark$Coaching Inn / National Trust
The George Inn in Borough is the last remaining galleried coaching inn in London, and the National Trust now owns it. The main bar is in the original building: dark wood, low beams, fireplace. Shakespeare is documented as having performed in the courtyard. The beer is good and inexpensive. The atmosphere is unlike anywhere else in the city. Go on a weekday afternoon when the tourists have moved on and you can have a quiet corner of something genuinely medieval.
Order: Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter — the house beer, from a Sussex brewery that Shakespeare would have recognised
07
Hawksmoor Borough
Borough Market$$$Cocktail Bar / Victorian Vaults
The Hawksmoor bar in Borough operates in Victorian railway arches beneath London Bridge Station — brick-vaulted, low-ceilinged, dark and loud enough to feel alive without overwhelming conversation. The cocktail programme is serious and the whisky selection is one of the best in London. The bar is attached to one of the best steak restaurants in the city, which means you can make an evening of it without changing postcodes. The atmosphere rewards the walk from Borough Market.
Order: A Shaky Pete's Ginger Brew or a Dead Bastard — the Hawksmoor signature cocktails are precise and distinctive
08
Callooh Callay
Shoreditch$$Cocktail Bar / Wardrobe Entry
Callooh Callay's Shoreditch room has a wardrobe in the corner that opens into a back bar for members. The Lewis Carroll theme is consistent and genuinely clever rather than superficial. The cocktail programme changes seasonally and maintains a standard that has kept this bar on the World's Best Bar lists for over a decade. The atmosphere is more playful and less serious than the other entries here, which makes it the right call when serious feels like too much work.
Order: The current seasonal signature — the menu is always a reflection of what the bar's creative team is currently interested in
London's hidden gem bars
Beyond the famous names: our guide to hidden gem bars in London, covering all neighbourhoods and all price points.
London's advantage over every other atmospheric bar city is simply that so many of the buildings are genuinely old. Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese and The Princess Louise carry their atmosphere in the timber and plaster — it doesn't need to be designed into them. The cocktail bars and jazz rooms on this list have achieved something more deliberate but equally effective. Together, they represent the range of what London can offer when the city is at its most itself.
Where to start: The Princess Louise for the purest Victorian gin palace experience, Nightjar for the most considered atmospheric cocktail bar in the city, Dukes for the specific and unrepeatable experience of a St James's hotel bar done exactly right. None of them require a booking except Nightjar, where a reservation is essential on weekends.
The most romantic bars in London
When atmosphere is the starting point but romance is the aim: our picks for the most romantic bars in London across all price points.
