Cheap alcohol need not indicate warm Stella in Soho Square. Here's our guide to truly excellent bars with happy hours in London
Thanks to chain bars draining low-grade drinks, happy hours in London can get a bad rep. However, there are a lot of quality facilities offering good costs at remarkably decent locations. After all, we have some of the best drinking establishments globally, from cocktail bars to great old conventional bars serving craft beer.
So we've gathered a list of our preferred happy hours in London-- from King's Cross to Battersea, Carnaby Street to Clapham, these lots make it cheap and simple to get merry with your nearby and dearest any day of the week. Let these London happy hours cheer up your winter season and loosen up your wallet.
20. Supermax
₤ 6 for a cocktail and a plate of Cicchetti. Wed-Sat, 5.30 pm-7 pm.
This basement bar is so dripping in disco, visiting it ought to quickly have you buzzing-- but Supermax's happy hour makes a journey here even more groovy. For 2 and a half hours, a list of 5 banging vermouth-based mixed drinks will set you back ₤ 6 a pop-- including a deliciously citrusy, two-tone Amer Citron-- and each one features a plate of Italian meats and cheeses on the side. Enjoy them all under the retro radiance of a shining ball and to an unequalled soundtrack. This has got to be the capital's coolest happy hour.
19. Murder Inc.
₤ 7 for picked cocktails. Daily, until 7 pm.
You'll seem like you're breaking the law by drinking this cheaply in central London. At gangster-themed bar Murder Inc, there's a list of 'freeloader' mixed drinks readily available until 7 pm every day-- a menu that includes classic Negronis, Daiquiris, and Espresso Martinis, as well as a Frozen Banana Ramos-- and all, are served with a side of enjoyable. The style is a little bit of an unusual one; however, when the drinks are this good and this affordable, we'll take it-- guilty as charged.
18. Funkidory
₤ 5 mixed drinks. Wed-Sun, 5 pm-8 pm.
Every day this friendly neighbourhood bar assists residents to feel even more welcome with an 'aperitive hour' that in truth runs for 3 entire hours and sees cocktails at a cut price of ₤ 5 a pop. Original numbers on the menu are filled with ingredients local to Peckham and include a Fela Kuti-honouring beverage that resembles a New York Sour but with a Nigerian bitter leaf. The tunes that fill the air will get you feeling quite buzzed, too-- the playlist is as cool as the bar's name recommends.
17. Bar Elba
Two-for-one mixed drinks. Sun-Wed, 4 pm-6 pm.
A year-round roof bar with a mid-week drinking offer; if those words don't make you happy, you're rather potentially dead within. Bar Elba is a couple of stories up from the frazzled commuters at Waterloo Station. Suffering the rush hour from this sanctuary in the sky is rather frankly a no-brainer, specifically when you toss the bar's day-to-day happy hour into the mix: Elba provides two mixed drinks for the rate of one across its whole menu. That means cut-price Spritzes, Frosés, and Porn Star Martinis. Many drinks ordinarily hover around to ₤ 10 marks, so that means ₤ 5 cocktails with a roof view a part of the deal. See you up there.
Venue states Join us for endless roof brunches every Saturday & Sunday, or head on up for our outdoor cinema Tues, Wed & Sundays. Schedule Now!
16. El Garito
Trendy bar in Hackney Downs Studios that blend beverages influenced by the Mediterranean.
Place says Book Your Christmas Celebration or private event with the United States!
15. Bar Story
₤ 8, ₤ 9 or ₤ 10 for two mixed drinks. Daily, 6-- 7 pm.
This location is Peckham's stylish side personified, railway arch and all. There you'll discover old friends-- Espresso Martinis, Mojitos, and Sours-- on offer together with a couple of more inventive options such as the Bar Story Bonfire (gin, mint, kiwi, and elderflower), amongst which we've never ever found a dud. Personnel is efficient; however, they're no match for the crowd of determined and thirsty punters that quickly gathers. You'll probably wait as much as ten minutes to order, so discover a patient mixed drink buddy who'll get the next round and ensure they're in the line well before the clock strikes sad-to-be-paying-full-price-hour.
Location says Boil down for Happy Hour, 6 pm-7 pm every day, stay for the atmosphere and the music.
14. 4 Quarters East
₤ 3.80 for beer, cider, home wine and spirit, and mixer. ₤ 7 for picked mixed drinks. Mon-Fri, 5-7 pm.
Four Quarters East is a retro arcade-gaming bar set by the canal in Hackney Wick, and its collection of vintage devices-- from beat 'em as much as first-person shooters-- draws in curious gamers. Here's another reason to overcome the Wick: a happy hour as stimulating as one of Mario's mushrooms. Consume chosen cocktails at ₤ 7 apiece (₤ 2 off the typical rate), with beverages themed all over the world of gaming. Or indulge in house beers-- including Camden Hells-- for simply ₤ 3.80. Old-school games, old-school prices.
Place says Re-open once again for bookings from July 4th with a prolonged outside location. Booking is advised for any indoor seating or during great weather conditions.
13. Adam & Eve
₤ 3.50 beers and home red wines, ₤ 5 double spirits, and mixer. Mon-Wed, 4-- 8 pm. ₤ 4 single Bloody Mary, ₤ 5.50 double bloody Mary. Sat-Sun, noon-- 4 pm.
From the outside, this big concrete slab of a club smack in the middle of a hectic Hackney high street doesn't precisely yell 'Garden of Eden'. But action inside and it's all unwinding environment, quite stained glass windows, a tranquil mix of locals, beards, and households, and a holy grail of inexpensive booze that even Adam and Eve would sin for. The deals bless most days of the week with beer, ale, and wine for simply ₤ 3.50 till 8 pm (noon-- 4 pm weekends, are when Bloody Marys are on the deal). Individuals quietly talk along, and it never gets too packed, so it's the best place for a calm, midweek pint. Happy hour heaven.
12. Kanpai London Sake Brewery & Taproom
₤ 6 for cocktails, ₤ 5 for the sake of the day. Friday 5pm-7pm.
As far as happy hours go, this one is pretty sophisticated. Head to the UK's first craft sake brewery, Kanpai, at clocking off time on a Friday to enjoy the enjoys its taproom at a knockdown rate. That consists of the premium sake of the day for a fiver. You can also attempt mixed drinks made from Japanese rice white wine and filled with flavours from the nation to get those tastebuds dancing at the start of the weekend.
11. Rum Kitchen
₤ 5 and ₤ 6 mixed drinks. Daily, 5pm-- 7pm (Carnaby St); midday-7pm (Brixton).
Given the place's name, no prizes for guessing that its happy hour is a rum do. Waiters whizz past the corrugated metal panelling and thoroughly distressed driftwood of this duo of Caribbean-themed bar/restaurants ferrying ₤ 5 and ₤ 6 offerings from their all-rum cocktail menu that consist of a citrussy, blue-coloured take on rum and Ting (Wray & Nephew rum, lime, blue curacao, Ting), a tall, fruity punch, a Jamaican Mule and a Mojito. We're presuming you like your measures large, your flavours strong, and your costs inexpensive. However, who does not, eh?
10. The Drunken Oyster
₤ 10 for two cocktails. Daily, 4-7 pm.
Make happy hour aperitive time at The Drunken Oyster, a flashy Italian-American-themed watering hole above Jason Atherton pizza joint Hai Cenato. There are six mixed drinks available throughout the bar's happy hour when they'll set you back just a fiver. While you can order a couple of souped-up G&T s, it's the Italian-leaning drinks you must explore-- from a Bike to an Americano. Bellisima.
9. Burlock
₤ 12 for two cocktails. ₤ 12 for four beers. ₤ 14 for a bottle of house red wine. ₤ 18 for a shared punch bowl. Mon-Fri, 5-8pm; Sat 6-9pm.
Get on your Cuban heels for a night in the depths of Marylebone. This basement rum den is dressed up like something out of Colonial Cuba, with tropical palms shooting out from dark corners and Latino rhythms filling the air. To help get into the groove, happy hour begins at clocking-off time and includes traditional mixed drinks with a healthy kick of-- you guessed it-- rum. If rum truly isn't your thing, other drink offers on beer and wine encourage some severe sharing, so bring a gang and get happy.
8. The Social
₤ 3.50 for chosen pints of beer. ₤ 3.50 for house spirit and mixer. For members (but the subscription is free). Daily, till 8.30 pm.
The main London bar that's not rammed with Stella-swigging matches? It does exist, and it's an intimate, arty retreat (wood panelling, kooky art, and foreign cinema posters) that pulls off retro cool without being pompous. Cooled though it is, The Social is a little venue, and things get a little busier after workplace hours, so get there early or book ahead if you desire a booth to lounge in. What can you delight in throughout happy hour? Presently, the offer includes pints of Camden Pale and home spirits with mixers until 8.30 pm for members-- and do not worry; membership is complimentary; you just require to send an email ahead of time. We're loath to let you in on this hidden, boozy secret, honestly.
7. London Cocktail Club
2 mixed drinks for ₤ 12. All the time Mon across all locations; Tue-Sat, 4.30 pm-- 7 pm (Shaftesbury Av, Goodge St, Oxford Circus, Covent Garden); Tue-Sat, 5 pm-8 pm (Shoreditch); Tue-Sat, 4 pm-7 pm (Old St, Monolith, Liverpool St); Tue all the time, Wed-Sun, 5 pm-8 pm (Bethnal Green); Tue-Sun, 5 pm-8 pm (Clapham).
Popular mixologists London Cocktail Club now boast nine bars throughout the town, all of which ply punters with half-price booze six days a week. We like their poorly lit, tattoo-themed Shaftesbury Opportunity dive the most, with its loud '90s music and well-mixed booze. Despite the happy hour lasting from opening up until closing time on Monday, it's later on in the week that things begin to get loaded. As the weekend approaches, expect it to get busier (and sweatier), still waiting at the bar feels not unlike squeezing onto a tube train at 8 am. Other than that, this is a much better way to fulfill strangers.
6. Café Kick
₤ 5 for mixed drinks. ₤ 2.50 for home bottled beers. ₤ 3 for a glass of house red wine. Daily, 4pm-- 7pm.
For those searching for a happy hour where you do not need to pitch a tent to get served, this table-football bar on Exmouth Market is the location to go. Even at the late end of a Friday night happy hour, the ambience's remarkably unwinded, with the majority of the punters-- hipster-professionals starting their weekend-- outside in a cloud of smoke. With an easy-going salsa soundtrack selected by easy-going staff and Barca and AC Milan scarves hanging among the rough spun decor, nobody would blame you for thinking you're in northern Spain rather than Clerkenwell. The beers are global, the tapas unfussy, and if some mixed drinks are better than others (the caipirinha ticks all boxes; the Jamaican mule lacked the obligatory punch), you'll let it go since the general experience is massive bloody enjoyable. The exact same deals are also available at Bar Kick on Shoreditch High Street.
5. Venn Street Records
₤ 19 for two pizzas and 2 beverages, from picked beer, white wine, cocktails, and spirit and mixers, Sun-Wed 5-8 pm. Two-for-one cocktails. Tue-Sun, 5pm-- 8pm.
Down a buzzy pedestrianized street in main Clapham, early evenings see Venn St Records dropping a little of its unusual vibe and attempting to plug into the generic after-work crowd with an excellent happy hour mixed drink offer. From 5 pm, a sparse, matched crew gather inside the dark, run-down, underground, neon-tinged space in pursuit of their skillfully mixed, well differed mixed drinks. It's all part of the bar's 'cheap date' menu and consists of pizza as part of the deal. Check out sister bars Old St Records and Northcote Records for similar bargains.
4. Dirty Bones
₤ 5 cocktail specials, two bottles of beer for ₤ 6. Mon-Fri, 3-- 6pm. Also available from 3-7 pm in Shoreditch; 5-7 pm in Kensington; 3-6 pm Soho.
It would be rude not to come down and unclean in the West End. 6 days a week, this hot-dog and sticky rib-centric basement bar and restaurant provide 'high fives and good vibes' for those making a mad dash from their desk for tasty mixed drinks. The 6 mixed drinks are crowd-pleasers, with the Top Dog (vodka, prosecco, Chambord, strawberry, lemon) showing popular amongst those with sweeter taste buds, while the Dog's Nuts (bourbon, maple syrup, apple, lemon, bitters) is a winner for scotch fans. There's also an offer on bottles of Portobello Pilsner. We can validate the bite of this happy hour is as good as its bark.
3. Slim Jim's Liquor Store
Two-for-one mixed drinks. Beer ₤ 3.60. Mon 4-10pm; Tue-Fri 5-8pm; Sun 6-- 10pm.
Usually, the term 'dive bar' is an insult; however, that's generally the ambiance that this late-opening Islington facility is opting for. The lighting levels are minimal, the jukebox will punch you if you ponder anything aside from traditional rock, and in an eyebrow-raising nod to the prime time of the Sunset Strip, the rafters of the ceiling are covered in used bras. This being London, the only thing missing is dive bar rates; however, throughout the happy hour, you can get 2 of the very same mixed drinks for the price of one (they're generally ₤ 8.50- ₤ 9.50 each). It's a rugged, whisky-centric list: try a Lynchburg Lemonade (Tennessee bourbon with Cointreau, lemon juice, lemonade, and bitters) for something crisp and revitalizing and a not too full-on way of settling the working day.
2. The Escapologist
Two-for-one mixed drinks, house beer bottles, glasses of house red wine, and prosecco. Sun-Fri, 5-7 pm.
This is a crowd-pleasing kind of happy hour, set bang in the middle of main London and covering all the bases: mixed drinks, home beers, home wines, and even home fizz in the form of prosecco fall under the everyday two-for-one deal. Pretty decent when ordinarily, the typical price of a single mixed drink is ₤ 10.50. Not only that, but you can spread yourself out in the basement bar's 'grand hall' behind a secret door or in the 'vault' even further underground. Although the mixed drink list is a modern offering, the theme is slightly Victorian—time to party like it's 1889.
Venue says Look after the cents with The Baron's Social Club package & take pleasure in bottomless Espresso Martinis & Prosecco with our new pre-order package!
1. Simmons King's Cross
₤ 2.50 bottles of spirit, mixer, and beer. ₤ 3 glasses of wine. ₤ 10 for 2 mixed drinks. ₤ 12 bottles of white wine (prosecco ₤ 18). Sun-Fri, 4-- 9 pm.
Answers on a postcard if you have any concept how this retro bar hasn't bankrupted itself with its deal basement drinks provides. Retro '90s celebration bangers play while bar personnel serves a young crowd white wine, beer, and spirits with mixer for ₤ 2.50 a time. Given that it does not simply last 60 minutes, but five entire hours (less 'happy hour,' more 'extremely pleased afternoon'), it's a marvel that the crowd isn't all shouting abuse at each other while playing extremely shaky video games of 'Micro Machines' on the resident Megadrive or loudly slurring along to 'Return of the Mack'. But, astonishingly, things are quite civilized-- particularly if you head down early in the week. Oh, and don't worry if you do not look elegant the journey to King's Cross-- each of Simmons' 13 other areas all offer the same deals.
