LONDON AFTER
DARK: AN OVERNIGHT GUIDE
1. The night-time tour
Closest Tube station: Green Park
While many Londoners are slipping into their nightwear, our adventure starts at The Ritz, and the unmissable yellow See London by Night tour bus (tickets £21). With a wonderfully off-script guide, 15 illuminated attractions and the 12,000 bulbs that turn Harrods into its very own Christmas tree, this 90-minute ride is the best and brightest way to make you feel like the night’s just beginning.
Top tip: From October to March the last tour begins at 21:20 – make sure you arrive at least 10 minutes early to get your seat.
While many Londoners are slipping into their nightwear, our adventure starts at The Ritz, and the unmissable yellow See London by Night tour bus (tickets £21). With a wonderfully off-script guide, 15 illuminated attractions and the 12,000 bulbs that turn Harrods into its very own Christmas tree, this 90-minute ride is the best and brightest way to make you feel like the night’s just beginning.
Top tip: From October to March the last tour begins at 21:20 – make sure you arrive at least 10 minutes early to get your seat.
2 The midnight snack
Closest Tube station: Piccadilly
Circus
With technicolor artwork, anime pinball machines and loud Japanese slogans, ICHIBUNS may transport you to a multi-sensory night in Tokyo, but the food is what London’s night crawlers stick around for. Served until 2am every weekend, the menu includes sushi platters and tempting Asian/American bites. To immerse yourself in the cool, comic-book vibes, hit the ground-floor bar, order a yuzu-and-grapefruit Collins and look up at a ceiling plastered in moody Manga pages.
Top tip: In the bathroom you’ll find hi-tech Japanese toilets with heated seats and an array of functions.
With technicolor artwork, anime pinball machines and loud Japanese slogans, ICHIBUNS may transport you to a multi-sensory night in Tokyo, but the food is what London’s night crawlers stick around for. Served until 2am every weekend, the menu includes sushi platters and tempting Asian/American bites. To immerse yourself in the cool, comic-book vibes, hit the ground-floor bar, order a yuzu-and-grapefruit Collins and look up at a ceiling plastered in moody Manga pages.
Top tip: In the bathroom you’ll find hi-tech Japanese toilets with heated seats and an array of functions.
3 The all-night movie
Closest Tube station: Leicester
Square
Infused with the spirited rabble of nocturnal movie buffs and the smell of hot popcorn, the Princes Charles Cinema is where London’s thrill-seeking film fanatics swap sleep for a night of back-to-back movies – after its famous all-night marathons, groggy cinema-goers emerge for a ‘survivors photo’.
Top tip: No entry after midnight, so arrive before then armed with PJs, a toothbrush and snacks.
Infused with the spirited rabble of nocturnal movie buffs and the smell of hot popcorn, the Princes Charles Cinema is where London’s thrill-seeking film fanatics swap sleep for a night of back-to-back movies – after its famous all-night marathons, groggy cinema-goers emerge for a ‘survivors photo’.
Top tip: No entry after midnight, so arrive before then armed with PJs, a toothbrush and snacks.
4 The early-morning blues
Closest Tube station: Old Street
While the masses head to Ronnie Scott’s, sultry venues Nightjar and Oriole both run thrilling jazz sets for a night owl crowd. And they have much in common: hypnotising decor, artsy, Orient-inspired menus, nightly jazz and cocktails served in an ever-surprising selection of glasses, barrels, seashells and more.
Top tip: Nightjar and Oriole’s late sets begin at 00:30 and 23:30 respectively, so if you’re already in the bar you’ll need to pay £4 to stay on, otherwise it’s £5 on the door.
While the masses head to Ronnie Scott’s, sultry venues Nightjar and Oriole both run thrilling jazz sets for a night owl crowd. And they have much in common: hypnotising decor, artsy, Orient-inspired menus, nightly jazz and cocktails served in an ever-surprising selection of glasses, barrels, seashells and more.
Top tip: Nightjar and Oriole’s late sets begin at 00:30 and 23:30 respectively, so if you’re already in the bar you’ll need to pay £4 to stay on, otherwise it’s £5 on the door.
5 The 3am pick-me-up
Closest Tube station: Leicester
Square
For the ultimate caffeine wake-up call, there’s no spot more legendary than Soho’s Bar Italia. Popular with both celebrity patrons and wayward Soho souls, this neon-lit beacon serves Italian delicacies from 7am-5am, except on Sundays, when it shuts at midnight. Expect walls adorned with posters of Italian American boxers, football memorabilia and proud il tricolores.
Top tip: The food can be expensive, so stick to the (reasonably priced) coffee and nab a pavement table for some prime-time people-watching.
For the ultimate caffeine wake-up call, there’s no spot more legendary than Soho’s Bar Italia. Popular with both celebrity patrons and wayward Soho souls, this neon-lit beacon serves Italian delicacies from 7am-5am, except on Sundays, when it shuts at midnight. Expect walls adorned with posters of Italian American boxers, football memorabilia and proud il tricolores.
Top tip: The food can be expensive, so stick to the (reasonably priced) coffee and nab a pavement table for some prime-time people-watching.
6 The bedtime blow-dry
Closest Tube station: Bond Street
What do Kate Moss, Keira Knightley and crooner Sam Smith have in common? Neil Cornelius, or rather his star-studded Mayfair hair salon. This is London’s first luxury, 24-hour salon with appointments throughout the night. The floor-to-ceiling glass frontage is perfect for watching the city wake up, plus there’s a bar for that 4am Bloody Mary.
Top tip: If possible, make your appointment with Batou, ‘the French wizard’, who looks after Mariah Carey’s locks whenever she’s in town.
What do Kate Moss, Keira Knightley and crooner Sam Smith have in common? Neil Cornelius, or rather his star-studded Mayfair hair salon. This is London’s first luxury, 24-hour salon with appointments throughout the night. The floor-to-ceiling glass frontage is perfect for watching the city wake up, plus there’s a bar for that 4am Bloody Mary.
Top tip: If possible, make your appointment with Batou, ‘the French wizard’, who looks after Mariah Carey’s locks whenever she’s in town.
7 The sunrise breakfast
Closest Tube station: Liverpool
Street
While London blushes with the cotton-candy hues of dawn, ascend 40 floors in a stomach-dropping glass elevator to Duck and Waffle, London’s highest 24/7 restaurant. Tawny tones and marble-top tables stand before a panorama of the twirling Thames, a still-lit Tower Bridge and the Gherkin's camera-ready curves. Order the eponymous megastar – a salty-sweet phenomenon of duck leg confit, so lip-smackingly crispy it shreds under your fork, topped by a perfect egg, all resting on one fluffy yet firm breakfast waffle.
Top tip: If you have room, follow up with a sweet waffle – a Full Elvis is the perfect sunrise sharer.
While London blushes with the cotton-candy hues of dawn, ascend 40 floors in a stomach-dropping glass elevator to Duck and Waffle, London’s highest 24/7 restaurant. Tawny tones and marble-top tables stand before a panorama of the twirling Thames, a still-lit Tower Bridge and the Gherkin's camera-ready curves. Order the eponymous megastar – a salty-sweet phenomenon of duck leg confit, so lip-smackingly crispy it shreds under your fork, topped by a perfect egg, all resting on one fluffy yet firm breakfast waffle.
Top tip: If you have room, follow up with a sweet waffle – a Full Elvis is the perfect sunrise sharer.
http://theclub.ba.com/october-2018/en/london-after-dark-an-overnight-guide/
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