15 London Bars To Drink Alone In

    It's good to venture out of your living room, sometimes.

    Laura Silver
    by Laura Silver

    BuzzFeed News Reporter, UK

    Jenny Chang / BuzzFeed

    1. Mark's Bar, Hix, Soho.

    Design my Night / Via designmynight.com

    There's not many places you can get a martini in Soho at 3pm, but Mark's Bar is open all afternoon for your quiet-but-fancy day-drinking needs. It's dark and cosy whatever the weather, and has soft leather sofas that are perfect for melting into with your book.

    2. The Lyceum Tavern, Covent Garden

    3. The French House, Soho

    Flickr: tarnie
    Flickr: markhillary

    The French House gets a bit lairy most evenings, but go there early on, sit at bench along the massive main window and watch the world go by with a wine or a lovely Breton cider.

    4. Peckham Refreshment Rooms, Peckham

    5. The Carpenter's Arms, Shoreditch

    6. Hawksmoor Spitalfields Bar, Shoreditch

    Toby Keane

    Cocktail bars can often feel stuffy, but at Hawksmoor's Spitalfields bar you'll find a more relaxed atmosphere and an ever-changing cocktail menu that's up there with a best of them. Bag a seat at the bar and you might just get chatting with their mega-friendly and knowledgeable staff, too.

    7. The Palmerston, East Dulwich

    8. The Salusbury, Queen's Park

    The Salusbury
    The Salusbury

    The perfect quiet spot complete with good dogs, nice Italian food, sometimes even decent eavesdropping.

    9. The Peckham Pelican, Peckham

    Morley Von Sternberg

    With its proximity to Camberwell Arts College the Pelican is often filled with loners, deep in their thoughts. The kind of place that won't give a hoot if you spend a couple of hours dragging out a wine or a bottle of local craft beer while you lose yourself in a good book.

    10. The Talbot, De Beauvoir

    11. 69 Colebrooke Row, Angel

    12. The Prospect of Whitby, Wapping

    Isabelle O'Carroll

    This ancient pub has attracted drinkers, alone or otherwise, for centuries and you couldn't find a better spot for a riverside pint by yourself than the long, comfy benches that run around The Prospect of Whitby's outdoor area.

    13. Bar Américain at Brasserie Zédel, Soho

    Brasserie Zédel
    Brasserie Zédel

    Walking down the stairs at Brasserie Zédel is like stepping back in time into some sultry, '30s novel about glamorous people who sit at bars with an old fashioned or a martini, the weight of the world on their shoulders and Film Noir looks on their faces. Be one of those people for an hour at Bar Américain, and then scoot into the brasserie next door for a prixe fix steak haché and fries, if you're feeling wild.

    14. Sager and Wilde, Hackney

    Sager and Wilde

    Bar-side stools are the best friend of the lone drinker, and Sager and Wilde, a wine bar that's casual enough to just feel like a really nice pub, has loads of them. Choose a glass from their massive wine list, or got retro-but-classy with a sherry and tonic.

    15. Blixen, Spitalfields