Bars
The 5 Best Happy Hour Bars in London
Six London bars where the early-evening deal is worth turning up for: a £7 Swift aperitivo, two-for-one on the tenth floor of The Standard, flat nine-quid cocktails in a Spitalfields basement.
In short: our top picks are Swift Soho, Sweeties at The Standard and Be At One Piccadilly. 5 places in total, chosen on merit, with the full reasoning below.
Happy hour has a reputation problem in London, mostly earned by sticky-floored chains pushing blue stuff in plastic. The good version still exists, you just have to know where the clock matters. A proper one is less about getting cheap and more about timing: arrive before six, before the room fills, when the bartender has a minute to actually make the drink well. That’s the sweet spot. The places below range from a Soho cocktail temple doing seven-pound aperitivi to a rooftop slinging two-for-one with a view, plus a couple of genuine bargains that never had a “deal” so much as fair prices all night. None of them are dives. All of them reward the person who shows up early.
| Place | Area | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Swift Soho | Soho | ££ |
| Sweeties at The Standard | £££ | |
| Be At One Piccadilly | Soho | ££ |
| Side Hustle at NoMad London | Covent Garden | £££ |
| Discount Suit Company | Spitalfields | £££ |
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Editor’s choice
Swift Soho
Why we pick itThe upstairs room does cocktails from £7 before 6pm, Monday to Thursday, which for a bar this serious is something close to a steal. Order an Irish coffee or a Gimlet, get in and out in twenty minutes, and you've had one of Soho's best drinks for the price of a supermarket bottle.
Worth knowingSkip it if you need a table for a big group, which neither room is built for
Cocktail bar
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Sweeties at The Standard
Why we pick itThe Sweet Deal runs two-for-one cocktails from 5pm to 7pm on the tenth floor, with floor-to-ceiling glass looking over the St Pancras clocktower. It's a disco at heart, so go for the early slot before the DJ winds it up and the views are still the main event.
Rooftop cocktail bar
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Be At One Piccadilly
Why we pick itYes, it's a chain, and yes, two-for-one runs from noon to 7pm daily (4pm on Saturdays). But the bartenders genuinely flair and the list runs deep, so it's the rare crowd-pleaser that still mixes a decent Espresso Martini. Add two bar snacks for a tenner and call it dinner.
High-volume cocktail bar
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Side Hustle at NoMad London
Why we pick itThe late happy hour is the move here: £10 margaritas from 11pm to midnight, Thursday to Saturday, in a leather-boothed room inside the old Bow Street Magistrates' Court. It's a Californian-Mexican drinks list, so the agave is taken seriously and the snacks lean salty and good.
Hotel cocktail bar
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Discount Suit Company
Why we pick itNo formal happy hour, just a flat £9 for every cocktail on the list, all night, every night. Five drinks for under fifty quid in a former tailor's stockroom of exposed brick and Motown records. The making is meticulous, the room is tiny, and the value is frankly absurd for this part of town.
Basement cocktail bar
Before you book
Most of these run their deals on weekday early evenings, so aim for a 5pm to 7pm window Monday to Thursday and you’ll catch the best of it. Swift and Discount Suit Company take walk-ins but fill fast after work; book ahead for Sweeties and Side Hustle. Expect roughly £7 to £14 a cocktail during the offer, double that after. Check each bar’s site before you go, as times shift around Christmas.
Common questions
What are the top picks in this guide?
Swift Soho is our editor's choice: The upstairs room does cocktails from £7 before 6pm, Monday to Thursday, which for a bar this serious is something close to a steal. Order an Irish coffee or a Gimlet, get in and out in twenty minutes, and you've had one of Soho's best drinks for the price of a supermarket bottle. Swift Soho, Sweeties at The Standard and Be At One Piccadilly lead the guide, with 5 places in total, all chosen on merit.
How does Lamplit London choose its recommendations?
Every place is chosen on merit, after first-hand visits where possible, with no pay-for-placement. Read our full method at https://www.lamplitlondon.com/how-we-choose/.
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