LDNGuide
Where To Go For Drinks With A Big Group
photo credit: Haydon Perrier
Maybe someone’s leaving your place of work. Maybe someone’s leaving London altogether. Maybe it’s your birthday, or maybe you just have a glowing personality and have a lot of friends. Whatever the reason, you’ve found that you now need to plan a drinks gathering for a not-small group of people.
The easy option, of course, is to choose your nearest local as a place to meet. But if you’re looking to mix things up and you feel this is a situation that warrants a proper cocktail, some nice wine, or a craft ale, choose one of the options below. They’re all suitable for larger parties and they’re all places we enjoy hanging out.
THE SPOTS
photo credit: The Winemakers Club
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Underneath Holborn Viaduct is The Winemakers Club, a candlelit wine bar in a couple of 150-year-old arches that looks like the kind of place Hannibal Lector would drink a nice chianti. Winemakers is best suited for the evening thanks to its underground setting, and the outside space has the rain protection benefit of being one of those indoor/outdoor type numbers. Tables can be reserved and there’s a pretty accessible list of prices. So get a group together and try something new. Not least the excellent raclette toastie.
photo credit: The Arts Theatre Club
The Arts Theatre Club feels like a proper old-school Soho speakeasy. There are plush, big round booths, old books stacked on the walls, and a piano (that happens to double as a DJ booth) permanently at the ready. It’s been open since the peak days of Soho glamour and that history of good times, combined with a creative cocktail menu, makes it an always-excellent choice for weeknight drinks or a birthday celebration.
photo credit: Wild Card
A microbrewery, in a warehouse, in a car park… leave some east London for the rest of us, Wild Card. When the weather’s good, gathering a group of mates on one of the large, outside sharing tables is the move at this Walthamstow taproom. There are also a few seats inside if the weather’s being British. Wild Card is particularly good for great merch and fans of New England-style IPA (although they do a bunch of pale ales and sours too). And if it is full, you’ve got options nearby. Pillars Brewery and The Real Al Company & Taproom are both next door.
photo credit: Buster Mantis
All bars part of glassy new build developments are questionable by virtue of looking like a shiny Be At One. But, at Buster Mantis in Deptford, you’ll find a low-key spot under the arches that suits group gatherings that grow as the night goes on. The moodily lit cocktail bar has a Jamaican influence that appears in its food as well as its drinks. Wray & Nephew features heavily, particularly in homemade punch, and their tropical martinis go down very easily. We’ve also got a guide to eating in the area, if you fancy a pre or post-drink meal.
photo credit: Below Stone Nest
From the live band on the stage to the distressed basement walls, there is something distinctly Left Bank Paris about this moody bar on Shaftesbury Avenue. Below Stone Nest’s concise cocktail menu keeps things simple for anyone who’s indecisive and the abundance of tea lights keeps the group hang tone set to sophisticated. But with a closing time of 2am from Wednesday to Saturday, we can’t promise things will stay completely sophisticated. Know that it’s walk-in only, but we’ve never had a problem just rocking up. You might have to lean at the bar then pounce on a free table if there are a few of you.
photo credit: 40 FT Brewery
There’s no lack of shipping container-filled yards around east London but one that’s really worth going to is in Dalston, where you’ll find The Dusty Knuckle, Acme Fire Cult, and 40FT Brewery. The shared and covered outdoor space has room for around 100 people and some brilliant beer and food options on their doorstep.
photo credit: The Exhibit
Outside of circus acts, there’s very little that this Balham bar doesn’t have. It’s got a karaoke lounge, stand-up comedy, open mic poetry nights, a cinema, bottomless brunches, happy hours, multiple terraces, and a fish tank—shoutout to our aquatic species enthusiasts. Set over three floors, the energy is always set to maximum fun and you’ll see plenty of other big groups catching up, sinking beers, and inevitably sharing a pitcher of Pimm’s if the sun is out. If you’re in the market for a serious hangover, you can also get involved in the pre-order group drinking packages.
Let’s break this down shall we. Arcade—there isn’t actually an arcade here, Pac-Man fans we’re sorry. Food—excellent edible stuff ranging from fried chicken to momos to unmissable bao. Hall—a hot tell that this place is big and therefore good for groups. Put it all together and you’ve got this huge glossy space near Tottenham Court Road. Unlike many of its food hall contemporaries, Arcade Food Hall genuinely isn’t naff. The endless assortment of nibbles slap, and the smart oval bar serves everything from spritz classics to a great range of mezcals and Japanese spirits. FYI you can make a booking for a group on the website.
“Come on lads, let’s get onnnn ittttt”’ is something you should never ever say within the achingly glam coral walls of this Bloomsbury hotel bar. This place is perfect for pretty much any social event when your priority is good lighting and commandeering a sophisticated sofa on which to casually sip a champagne cocktail. We’re not going to lie to you, the cocktails are going to set you back around £16, but they also serve beers and more affordable glasses of wine.
photo credit: David Paw
OK, so you’ve got the whole team together. Except now a quarter of them have brought their partners, you’ve befriended a group of Dutch tourists on the way from the station, and that annoying cousin interpreted “oh, don’t worry about coming” as “yes please come and bring everyone who works with you at HMRC”. Go to Crate in Hackney Wick. This place is huge, the pizzas are decent, and there are wine options/cocktails/craft beers that all sound like landfill indie band names. A round of Soundwave and one pint of Broken Dreams, please.
Is this a somewhat silly name for a bar? Yes. Is said silly-named bar a fabulous mix of cool, grand, and extremely handy if you need to book a table for 10 like, right now? Also yes. When you first walk into Amazing Grace, look up. The converted church in London Bridge has blues on the speakers, a mezzanine overlooking the candlelit stage where the live music happens, and a whole lot of green leather seating. It’s a swish solution for the eternal riddle of where to go for group drinks when you don't want fluorescent cocktails and to lose your voice. You can make a reservation for up to 20 on the website.
photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch
This spot is Permanently Closed.
Peckham is home to some pretty epic sunsets. We know this because Peckham is also home to a lot of rooftop bars. Skylight Peckham is one of them, and importantly, it’s probably the fanciest. Less industrial low-key cool and more swanky private beach club, it serves weekend bottomless brunches, hosts live jazz events, and serves a spritz-heavy cocktail menu. In winter it’s prepared with a pergola, heaters, and blankets out on the big terrace.
Sometimes you must ask yourself, is the aim of this big group drinks situation to politely dissect the current state of your mate’s love life, or is it to ensure that everyone wakes up with a glorious hangover and lifetime aversion to Jägermeister? If it’s the latter, Meatliquor is your guy. This loud and proud diner just off Oxford Circus is open until 3am every single night and there are plenty of long tables to crowd around. Whether you’re here at 1pm or 1am, expect a dive bar atmosphere, affordable bevs, and plenty of neon lights.
St. John probably isn’t the first spot that comes to mind for a bit of group drinking. But the bar area at the original St. John in Clerkenwell is actually vast, with plenty of seating, and it’s a favourite of ours for drinks with several people, midweek or on the weekend. There’s an enticing aperitif menu, a lot of beers on tap, a great wine selection, and if you get peckish, order the legendary bone marrow salad.
photo credit: Pergola Paddington Central
This spot is Permanently Closed.
Pergola is one of the most popular outdoor hangs in Paddington in the summer, thanks to a tonne of large tables, beachy vibes, and street food hanging around the sides. In the winter, a roof gets added because you know, rain, cold, and London. It’s a solid place to gather a group any time of year.
