Bars

With the launch of The Cans Festival, organised by Banksy in 2008, the artist was instrumental in popularising the ‘Graffiti Tunnel’ on Leake Street, underneath Waterloo station. Featuring London’s largest legal graffiti wall, Leake Street has since become renowned as a democratic cultural venue for street art. Ten years later, Rat Bar will open on Leake Street this weekend (Saturday 16th June), embracing the history and heritage of the area. The brainchild of creative events agency, Shout About London, Rat Bar promises to showcase...

“Here's to alcohol, the rose colored glasses of life.” F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote in his 1922 novel, The Beautiful and Damned. On modern life, Ernest Hemingway also claimed: “Modern life, too, is often a mechanical oppression and liquor is the only mechanical relief.” I could go on quoting famous authors all day, outlining their published relationships with drink. The point, however, is that literature and alcohol have deep intrinsic links that aren’t always flagrant on the surface. But with such...

London is no stranger to a themed bar – just think of the number of speakeasies that seem to pop up each year. While this can become tedious, I genuinely believe there’s at least one gem out there, somewhere. The Rotunda Bar at London’s Trinity Square Four Seasons Hotel, is dedicated to the roaring twenties. Inspired by the Bright Young Things (the group of bohemian aristocrats and socialites, known for being at the centre of many a party), Head Bartender...

Whether you’re having a lunch break from work with your pals, or you want to spend a magical evening in the lit-up city, London is home to a large array of high-quality beer gardens. No matter what you look for in a beer garden, it’s highly likely that London will have it. From sparkling fairy lights to respectful memorial benches, each beer garden has its own character. If you’re unsure about which one to visit on your next London outing,...

A sign in a Lloyds Bar has left customers baffled this week. The notice warned locals that the bar would not be accepting the old £1 coin but would give them out as change. The old "round pound" will stop being legal tender on Sunday October 15, which means legally the Wetherspoons chain has to accept them. But that wasn't an option for customers at one chain after a notice warned that they wouldn't be allowed to use them as...

In amongst the shops of Bethnal Green Road you’ll find the 160-year old, inconspicuous blue façade of what used to be a pub called The Albion. Since this summer, though, this the home of Coupette, the presence merely given away by a wholly unremarkable branded doormat. Blink and you’ll miss it. Coupette describes itself as a ‘neighbourhood bar with a local aesthetic and French accent to everything’. The ‘everything’ being both the extensive drinks menu and the comparatively sparse food...

As we look ahead to a busy twelve months of sport action, one criteria that is necessary for every fan across the country – which bar to watch it in? Leagues such as the Premier League for football, Aviva Premiership for rugby have begun in exciting fashion, while we look ahead to an Ashes series down under and none other than Fifa World Cup to be had next summer, we’re not light of sporting events to come. Every Sports fan...

A petrolhead has made sure his local is never far away - after converting his VW campervan into a PUB. Ben Levy, 29, spent months painstakingly transformed his Volkswagen 1957 Splitscreen into a mobile boozer - which comes complete with an optical bar, pub seating and even a dart board. The car nut has splashed out thousands of pounds fitting it out with beer taps, wine racks, disco lights as well as a bell to ring for service. The pub...

London’s most sensorially stimulating restaurant, bar and art space – sketch has become a London icon since opening in 2013. An idiosyncratic blend of ineffable luxury and off the wall interiors, each visit feels like a tumble down the rabbit hole into Wonderland. Directly opposite the powder pink dining room of The Gallery, adorned with over 200 David Shrigley artworks and those pod toilets – The Glade has recently launched a redesigned bar menu from new Bar Manager Pepijn Van-den...