Shoreditch and Hoxton have one of the densest runs of cocktail bars in London, most of them within ten minutes’ walk of Old Street station. The busiest fill up early on Fridays and Saturdays.
A cocktail at the bars below costs between about £12 and £18 before service. Most add a discretionary service charge of 12.5% to 13.5%. This guide lists what each bar charges, when it opens and whether you need to book, checked against each bar’s own menu and website in October 2026.
Nightjar, City Road
Nightjar is a speakeasy-style basement at 129 City Road, a few minutes from Old Street station, with live music every night. Sets run from 9pm to 9.45pm and 10.15pm to 11pm, with a late set on Thursdays and after midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
- Cocktails: mostly £15 to £18 on the current menu, plus 12.5% service
- Music charge: £6 Sunday to Thursday, £10 on Fridays and Saturdays
- Minimum spend: £15 per person per hour
- Booking: recommended. Nightjar does not take new bookings between 9.15pm and 11pm, though it keeps some tables for walk-ins
Callooh Callay, Rivington Street
Callooh Callay, at 65 Rivington Street, takes its name from Lewis Carroll’s poem Jabberwocky. Its current menu, Calloohpoly, is laid out as a board game.
- Cocktails: £14 to £15
- Hours: Monday to Wednesday 6pm to 1am, Thursday to Sunday 6pm to 3am
- Booking: online, through the bar’s website
Happiness Forgets, Hoxton Square
Happiness Forgets is a small basement bar at 8-9 Hoxton Square, open from 5pm every day. It has been on Hoxton Square for more than a decade. It does not publish its prices online. Bookings are taken through its website.
Made in Shoreditch has a longer piece on Happiness Forgets.
Seed Library, Shoreditch High Street
Seed Library is in the basement of the One Hundred Shoreditch hotel at 100 Shoreditch High Street, opposite the Overground station. It is run by Mr Lyan, the bar group behind Lyaness.
- Cocktails: £15 to £17, plus 13.5% service
- Hours: closed Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday 6pm to 1am. Friday and Saturday 5pm to 2am
- Booking: recommended, with walk-ins taken where there is space
Swift, Great Eastern Street
Swift Shoreditch is at 91-93 Great Eastern Street. It is the cheapest bar on this list, and it opens earlier than most.
- Cocktails: £12 to £16. Alcohol-free cocktails £9. The Irish Coffee is £11
- Early drinks: a short list of cocktails at £7 before 6pm
- Hours: Sunday to Wednesday 4pm to 11pm, Thursday to Saturday 3pm to midnight
Satan’s Whiskers, Bethnal Green
Satan’s Whiskers, at 343 Cambridge Heath Road, is east of Shoreditch, close to Bethnal Green station. It opened in late 2013 and writes a new menu every day.
- Hours: from 5pm
- Booking: by phone only, on 020 7739 8362. Walk-ins are welcome
Bars that have closed
Two bars often listed in Shoreditch cocktail guides are not open.
- Tayēr + Elementary, 152 Old Street, has been closed since a fire on 5 May 2026. The owners say it will not reopen in 2026.
- Coupette, 423 Bethnal Green Road, served its last drinks on 28 June 2026. The company entered liquidation in September 2026.
How to plan a night
- Book ahead for Friday and Saturday at Nightjar and Seed Library. Callooh Callay and Swift are the easiest to walk into
- Check the service charge. It is added at Nightjar and Seed Library and is discretionary
- For music, go to Nightjar. For a smaller room, Happiness Forgets and Seed Library
- If you are not drinking, Swift lists alcohol-free cocktails at £9, and our guide to alcohol-free bars in London has more