South Bank
Lyaness is Ryan Chetiyawardana's bar on the ground floor of Sea Containers, beside the Thames on the South Bank. The team makes its own core ingredients, which...
London Waterloo 10 min · Bookable
Cover story
The best cocktail bars in London for groups
A cocktail bar earns its place when the drinks are the night, not the warm-up: a birthday, a catch-up worth dressing for, or friends who haven't all been in one room for months. These bars run from Satan's Whiskers in Bethnal Green and Three Sheets in Dalston to Bar Americain under Brasserie Zédel, Common Late in Clapham and Trailer Happiness on Portobello Road. Some take walk-ins and some need a booking, and Swift...
The little black book
The best cocktail bars in London for groups
A cocktail bar earns its place when the drinks are the night, not the warm-up: a birthday, a catch-up worth dressing for, or friends who haven't all been in one room for months. These bars run from Satan's Whiskers in Bethnal Green and Three Sheets in Dalston to Bar Americain under Brasserie Zédel, Common Late in Clapham and Trailer Happiness on Portobello Road. Some take walk-ins and some need a booking, and Swift...
Central London
Chapter 1 · 5 venues
Soho
Three Sheets Soho is the bigger, central sibling of the much-loved Dalston original from brothers Max and Noel Venning. Drinks are clever twists on classics,...
Tottenham Court Road 3 min · Bookable
Piccadilly
Bar Americain is a low-lit art deco bar in the basement of Brasserie Zedel, just off Piccadilly Circus. The list is built around drinks from before, during and...
Piccadilly Circus 2 min · Bookable
Soho
Bar Lina is a speakeasy-style room under Lina Stores on Brewer Street, with a cocktail list full of Italian twists. The signature is a Bloody Martini made with...
Piccadilly Circus 5 min · Bookable
Soho
Swift has two floors on Old Compton Street: a bright aperitivo bar upstairs that takes walk-ins, and a moody basement with a whisky library. Upstairs suits a...
Tottenham Court Road 5 min · Bookable
North London
Chapter 2 · 4 venues
Islington
69 Colebrooke Row is a small, low-lit bar on an Islington backstreet near Angel, with a quiet jazz-age feel. Staff are serious about their craft, and the...
Angel 8 min · Bookable
Crouch End
Little Mercies is a cool but unpretentious cocktail bar on Crouch End Broadway. Cocktails are playful and fairly priced, starting around 10 pounds, with...
Hornsey 13 min · Bookable
Islington
Homeboy is a packed, party-ready Irish bar on Essex Road that serves both cracking cocktails and pints of Guinness. The Whiskey Smash and the Irish coffee are...
Essex Road 4 min · Bookable
Dalston
Three Sheets in Dalston is the original bar from brothers Max and Noel Venning, narrow and intimate with a short, precise menu. It led to the bigger Soho site....
Dalston Junction 3 min · Bookable
East London
Chapter 3 · 10 venues
Bethnal Green
Satan's Whiskers is a Bethnal Green bar with vintage posters, taxidermy and a hip hop soundtrack, and it was ranked 29th in the World's 50 Best Bars for 2026....
Bethnal Green 4 min · Walk-in
Walk-in
Shoreditch
Waltz is a Japanese-inspired cocktail bar in Shoreditch that entered the World's 50 Best Bars at number 32 in 2026, only a year after opening. The menu follows...
Old Street 8 min · Bookable
Haggerston
A Bar with Shapes for a Name has three coloured shapes over the door instead of a sign, and a Bauhaus-inspired interior on Kingsland Road. It is open until 4am...
Haggerston 6 min · Walk-in
Walk-in
Hackney Road
Equal Parts is a green-tiled bar on Hackney Road from Michael Sager of the neighbouring Sager + Wilde. The seasonal menu changes every few months, and the...
Hoxton 8 min · Bookable
Shoreditch
Seed Library is Ryan Chetiyawardana's relaxed bar in the basement of the One Hundred Shoreditch hotel. Terrazzo tables, pine panelling and 1960s styling make...
Shoreditch High Street 6 min · Bookable
Hoxton
Happiness Forgets is a small basement bar on Hoxton Square with exposed brick and muted colours. Its motto is Great Cocktails, No Wallies, and the drinks...
Old Street 9 min · Bookable
Old Street
Nightjar is a candlelit basement bar a few metres from the Old Street roundabout. There is live jazz every night, leaning on the 1920s to 1940s. The menu is...
Old Street 4 min · Bookable
Shoreditch
Callooh Callay is a long-running Shoreditch bar named after a line in Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky. You go through a wardrobe to reach the back bar, which adds...
Old Street 8 min · Bookable
Deptford
Jazu is a listening bar at the top of Deptford High Street, built around a bespoke audiophile sound system. The house cocktails, such as an agave martini or an...
Deptford Bridge 5 min · Bookable
Peckham
Jumbi is a music-led bar in Copeland Park, Peckham, built around DJ Bradley Zero's wall of records. Time Out ranks it second among London's best bars for 2026....
Peckham Rye 4 min · Walk-in
Walk-in
South London
Chapter 4 · 3 venues
Tooting
Good Measure is a small Taiwanese-inspired cocktail bar underneath Daddy Bao on Mitcham Road in Tooting. Time Out rates it as one of the most intimate cocktail...
Tooting Broadway 6 min · Walk-in
Walk-in
Peckham
Upstairs at Hausu is a cocktail and listening bar above the Hausu restaurant, right by Peckham Rye station. Red curtains, 1970s classroom chairs and walls of...
Peckham Rye 1 min · Bookable
Clapham
Common Late is a candlelit cocktail bar in a vintage apothecary space on The Pavement in Clapham Old Town. Drinks use homemade ingredients, and classics are...
Clapham Common 3 min · Bookable
West London
Chapter 5 · 2 venues
Notting Hill
Viajante87 hides in plain sight on Notting Hill Gate, behind which is a luxe room in rich teal and gold. The drinks draw on flavours from Central and South...
Notting Hill Gate 3 min · Bookable
Notting Hill
Trailer Happiness is a long-running basement tiki bar on Portobello Road, with rum-heavy drinks and kitsch decor. It suits a group that wants a fun night...
Ladbroke Grove 10 min · Bookable
Frequently asked questions
What is this Placelist?
A shortlist of London cocktail bars for a group night out. Add where everyone is starting from and they are ranked by how evenly the journey is shared, so nobody has to guess where halfway is.
How are these ranked?
By how evenly the journey is shared across your group, not by popularity, sponsorship or who suggested the place first. Start a plan from this Placelist, add where everyone is starting from, and see the ranked shortlist.
Do I need everyone in the same area of London?
No. FairWhere is built for groups coming from different zones. Add each person's start location and it ranks venues so the travel burden is as fair as possible across the group.
Is this free to use?
Browsing Placelists and creating a basic plan with estimate-only ranking is free in the London beta. Optional live checks and deeper routing may use credits where offered.