London Gay Bars & Clubs

One of Europe's top party cities, gay London offers up so many gay bars and clubs that there’s something for every LGBT traveler, whatever your style or musical taste. In a city so big, choosing a venue can be tricky, but, thankfully, there are just three main gay hoods: Soho, Shoreditch/Dalston and Vauxhall. Spend time in these areas and you’ll find the coolest gay clubs and best gay bars in London.

Gay Soho

Soho is the heart of the original gay scene in London. The action centers in and around Old Compton Street, a virtual catwalk for the queer community and a perfect people-watching (read cruising) spot.

While Soho has seen many gay-bar closures, the busiest and best gay pubs in London can still be found here. The likes of Comptons of Soho, The King’s Arms and the Duke of Wellington attract a regular, bearded crowd, while G-A-Y Bar, Ku Bar, Village and Rupert Street boast a younger, more style-conscious clientele.

Gay Shoreditch and gay Dalston

The epicenter of all things hipster, Shoreditch and Dalston have rapidly gentrified – closing many queer spaces in the process – but east London still remains the home of alternative gay London.

Pub and performance space The Glory and club East Bloc are the pick of Shoreditch, while up the road in Dalston, basement club Vogue Fabrics and the Dalston Superstore host some of the quirkiest, coolest and best gay London club nights. If you’re not staying close, make the effort to head east and check out these hotspots... you won't regret it!

Gay Vauxhall

If you want to have a blowout, you might want to go to the gay clubs London locals head to. Many of those are in Vauxhall, just south of the river. If a shirts-off, muscled crowd is your thing, most of the big circuit-style house and techno parties such as A:M, Beyond, WE and held here or closeby. On the other hand, world-famous disco night Horse Meat Disco at Eagle London calls Vauxhall home as does the Royal Vauxhall Tavern one of London’s biggest alternative and cabaret venues.

Indeed, in some ways, Vauxhall ticks all the boxes when it comes to partying in gay London: there really is something for everyone.