Millbank
The American Bar at the Savoy is one of London's most famous cocktail bars, inside the hotel that opened in 1889. It sits on the Strand between Charing Cross...
Charing Cross / Embankment 3 min · Bookable
Cover story
North Meets South: Fair Meeting Points Across the River
South Bank and Bankside venues both tribes can reach without a sulk. River views, bridges, and fair journeys.
The little black book
North Meets South: Fair Meeting Points Across the River
South Bank and Bankside venues both tribes can reach without a sulk. River views, bridges, and fair journeys.
Central London
Chapter 1 · 34 pubs
Southwark
Bar Douro serves Portuguese small plates and regional wines at marble counters in a Flat Iron Square arch. It is between Borough, Southwark and London Bridge,...
Borough / London Bridge 1 min · Bookable
The Borough
Borough Market has more than 100 specialist food traders beside Southwark Cathedral. It is next to London Bridge station. Everyone grazes what they fancy, so a...
London Bridge 1 min · Walk-in
Walk-in
Stockwell
Brunswick House is a Grade II* listed Georgian mansion built for the Duke of Brunswick in 1758, two minutes from Vauxhall's rail, Tube and bus interchange. It...
Vauxhall 1 min · Bookable
Islington
Café in the Crypt serves canteen food and cake in the brick crypt beneath St Martin-in-the-Fields, on Trafalgar Square. Children and non-drinkers are entirely...
Charing Cross / Leicester Square 10 min · Walk-in
Walk-in
Holborn
The Cittie of Yorke is a Samuel Smith's pub on High Holborn, near Chancery Lane. Its great hall has giant wine vats and private wooden cubicles. The pub was...
Chancery Lane / Holborn 1 min · Walk-in
Walk-in
Southwark
Doggett's Coat & Badge is a Nicholson's pub over four floors at the south foot of Blackfriars Bridge. It is named after Thomas Doggett and his rowing race on...
Blackfriars 3 min · Walk-in
Walk-in
Southwark
The Founders Arms is a Young's pub on Hopton Street, with a riverside deck facing St Paul's. It sits between Blackfriars and the Millennium Bridge, so...
Blackfriars / Southwark 3 min · Walk-in
Walk-in
Embankment
Gordon's Wine Bar calls itself London's oldest wine bar, established in 1890, in a candlelit cellar on Villiers Street. It sits between Embankment and Charing...
Embankment / Charing Cross 4 min · Bookable
Southwark
Lyaness is Mr Lyan's cocktail bar inside Sea Containers on the South Bank, overlooking the river. Its drinks are built around house-made ingredients, and the...
Blackfriars / Southwark 3 min · Bookable
Southwark
Mercato Metropolitano fills a former paper factory on Newington Causeway with more than 40 food traders and bars. Elephant & Castle station is two minutes...
Elephant & Castle 1 min · Bookable
Southwark
Monmouth Coffee's Borough shop on Park Street sits on the corner of Borough Market. The company has roasted and sold coffee since 1978. It is open Monday to...
London Bridge / Borough 2 min · Walk-in
Walk-in
Southwark
The OXO Tower Restaurant, Bar and Brasserie is on the eighth floor of OXO Tower Wharf, with views over the Thames to St Paul's. It has a fine dining...
Blackfriars 3 min · Walk-in
Walk-in
Millbank
Radio Rooftop is a tenth-floor rooftop bar at ME London on the Strand, with views from St Paul's to the London Eye. It opens from midday, until 1.30am Thursday...
Temple / Charing Cross 5 min · Walk-in
Walk-in
Plashet
Roast serves British cooking in the Floral Hall above Borough Market, looking down on the stalls. It opens for breakfast from 7.30am on weekdays and serves...
London Bridge 28 min · Walk-in
Walk-in
Millbank
Rules on Maiden Lane was established in 1798 and calls itself London's oldest restaurant. It specialises in game, pies and puddings, under walls crowded with...
Covent Garden / Charing Cross 3 min · Bookable
Holborn
Scarfes Bar is inside the Rosewood hotel on High Holborn, hung with Gerald Scarfe's caricatures and warmed by an open fire. It serves cocktails with live jazz,...
Holborn / Chancery Lane 1 min · Bookable
Bloomsbury
Seven Dials Market fills a converted banana warehouse on Earlham Street with street food and bars, run by KERB. Everyone picks their own thing and reconvenes,...
Covent Garden / Leicester Square 2 min · Bookable
Waterloo
Skylon is on Level 3 of the Royal Festival Hall, with floor-to-ceiling Thames views. It has a restaurant, a grill and a bar, so you can meet for one round. It...
Waterloo 2 min · Walk-in
Walk-in
Southwark
Swan is a British restaurant and bar at Shakespeare's Globe, looking across the river to St Paul's. It is on Bankside, a short walk from Blackfriars, Southwark...
Blackfriars / London Bridge 5 min · Bookable
Southwark
Tate Modern is free to enter, with the vast Turbine Hall and a café with skyline views. The Millennium Bridge lands northerners straight from St Paul's. It...
Southwark / Blackfriars (Millennium Bridge from St Paul's) 4 min · Walk-in
Walk-in
Stockwell
Tea House Theatre is half tea room and half theatre, in a Victorian former pub beside Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. It serves food all day, with alcohol from...
Vauxhall 5 min · Walk-in
Walk-in
Southwark
The Anchor is a Greene King pub on Park Street in Bankside, beside Southwark Bridge, with a terrace by the Thames. It serves food from 11am to 10pm, from 10am...
London Bridge / Blackfriars 2 min · Walk-in
Walk-in
Millbank
The Coal Hole is a Grade II listed Nicholson's pub at 91-92 Strand, beside the Savoy. Its Edwardian interior is one of the more ornate on the Strand. It sits...
Charing Cross / Temple 3 min · Walk-in
Walk-in
Millbank
The Delaunay is a grand European café and restaurant on Aldwych, inspired by the cafés of Vienna and Paris. It serves breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and...
Temple / Covent Garden 4 min · Bookable
The Borough
The George is London's last surviving galleried inn, rebuilt in 1676 on Borough High Street. Greene King runs the bars, and the cobbled courtyard is walk-in...
London Bridge / Borough 1 min · Walk-in
Walk-in
Millbank
The Harp is a narrow Fuller's pub on Chandos Place, a couple of minutes from Charing Cross. It is known for its cask ales, and it has won the West London CAMRA...
Charing Cross / Leicester Square 2 min · Bookable
Millbank
The Lamb & Flag is a Fuller's pub on Rose Street, a narrow alley a few minutes from Covent Garden and Charing Cross. It is one of the area's best-known...
Covent Garden / Charing Cross 1 min · Bookable
Southwark
The Old Thameside Inn is a Nicholson's pub at Pickfords Wharf on Clink Street, with a terrace by the river. It is right beside the Golden Hinde replica...
London Bridge 1 min · Walk-in
Walk-in
Holborn
The Princess Louise on High Holborn has one of London's finest Victorian pub interiors, remodelled in the 1890s with etched glass, gilt mirrors and wooden...
Holborn 3 min · Walk-in
Walk-in
Millbank
The Ship & Shovell is a Badger pub of two halves on Craven Passage, by Charing Cross. Its two buildings went up between 1731 and 1733 as terrace houses and...
Charing Cross / Embankment 1 min · Walk-in
Walk-in
Southwark
The Table Café on Southwark Street serves all-day brunch at communal tables. It is between Blackfriars and London Bridge, an easy option for a group that wants...
London Bridge / Southwark 3 min · Bookable
Waterloo
The Understudy is the National Theatre's bar and restaurant on the South Bank, with craft beer and KERB street food. No theatre ticket is needed. It opens from...
Waterloo / Embankment (across the footbridge) 3 min · Bookable
Blackfriars
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese has stood on Fleet Street since 1538 and was rebuilt in about 1667 after the Great Fire. Its warren of dark panelled rooms and cellars...
Temple / Blackfriars 3 min · Walk-in
Walk-in
East London
Chapter 2 · 10 pubs
The Borough
Aqua Shard is a three-storey bar and restaurant on Level 31 of the Shard, with panoramic views. It sits right above London Bridge station. The bar menu is...
London Bridge 1 min · Bookable
The Borough
Bar Tozino is a small jamón bar in a railway arch on Maltby Street's Ropewalk. Legs of Spanish ham are carved on the spot, with a long sherry list. It opens...
Bermondsey / London Bridge 4 min · Bookable
The Borough
Steaks, seasonal British cooking and Sunday roasts on a terrace facing Tower Bridge. It sits at the Tower Bridge crossing, an equally fair walk from Wapping or...
London Bridge / Tower Hill (via Tower Bridge) 3 min · Walk-in
Walk-in
The Borough
Le Pont de la Tour is a French restaurant on Shad Thames, with a terrace by Tower Bridge. It serves lunch and dinner daily, including a Sunday lunch. Book...
London Bridge / Tower Hill (via Tower Bridge) 4 min · Bookable
The Borough
Maltby Street Market runs street food and bars in railway arches along the Ropewalk, and it has been going since 2010. It opens from 5.30pm to 9pm on Friday,...
Bermondsey / London Bridge 4 min · Walk-in
Walk-in
The Borough
The Dean Swift is a small pub on Gainsford Street, near Shad Thames, with a long list of craft beers and board games. Its Sunday roast was named among London's...
London Bridge / Bermondsey 3 min · Walk-in
Walk-in
The Borough
The Garrison is a Young's gastropub on Bermondsey Street, part of the neighbourhood since 2003. It serves seasonal food and Sunday roasts, and the Cinema Room...
London Bridge / Bermondsey 2 min · Bookable
Rotherhithe
A small, historic Thames pub on cobbled Rotherhithe Street, near where the Mayflower set sail in 1620. There is a snug bar, an upstairs dining room and a...
Rotherhithe 3 min · Walk-in
Walk-in
The Borough
The Woolpack is a Young's pub on Bermondsey Street, a short walk from London Bridge. It serves food every day from midday to 9.30pm, including its Sunday...
London Bridge 2 min · Walk-in
Walk-in
The Borough
Vinegar Yard is a big outdoor bar beside London Bridge station, with street food stalls, drinks and repurposed art, including a train carriage installation. It...
London Bridge 2 min · Bookable
South London
Chapter 3 · 4 pubs
Nine Elms
Arcade Food Hall Battersea is on the first floor of Battersea Power Station, with food brands and restaurants under one roof. It sits on the Northern line...
Battersea Power Station 2 min · Bookable
Nine Elms
Battersea Brewery Taproom on Arches Lane pours cask and keg beer brewed on site, with snacks for groups. It is inside the Power Station complex, as easy for a...
Battersea Power Station 2 min · Bookable
Stockwell
The Fentiman Arms is a Young's pub on Fentiman Road, between Oval and Vauxhall. It is a comfortable gastropub rather than a proper boozer, with Sunday roasts...
Oval / Vauxhall 6 min · Walk-in
Walk-in
Nine Elms
Vagabond Battersea Power Station is a wine bar in Circus West Village, inside the Power Station complex. You pour yourself from more than 100 wines by the...
Battersea Power Station 2 min · Bookable
West London
Chapter 4 · 1 pub
Shepherd's Bush
Control Room B is a cocktail bar in Battersea Power Station's restored 1950s control room, with dials and switchgear intact. It is in Turbine Hall B, and the...
Battersea Power Station 20 min · Bookable
Frequently asked questions
Where should north and south London meet without punishing one side?
North Meets South: Fair Meeting Points Across the River focuses on neutral riverside and bridge-side venues. Add origins from both sides of the Thames in FairWhere and it ranks by journey fairness, not “my local is fine for you.”
Why not just say “meet on the South Bank”?
Because the river stretch is long and vague. Pair this list with South Bank Meeting Points for an exact pin, then rank the pub or terrace fairly for everyone crossing.
How does FairWhere rank places on North Meets South: Fair Meeting Points Across the River?
FairWhere ranks venues on this Placelist by FairWhere Score: journey fairness for your whole group, not by popularity, sponsorship, or who suggested the place first. Open Plan a fair meet to add origins 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.
Where next
South Bank Meeting PointsExact riverside pins when “meet by the river” is too vague.
After-Work DrinksCentral pubs when the group isn’t split north/south.- Pubs Near Big StationsTerminus pubs when everyone arrives by train.
More from FairWhere
- Quiet pubs, bars and cafés in LondonA calmer room when the river pub is too loud to talk.