Venturing out to a bar with the right sort of people should by itself prove entertaining enough. There is now however a plethora of bars scattered around London that offer a whole lot more than just drinks and a place to sit. The growing popularity and advent of activity bars around the capital has led to a host of venues that dish up a side of competitive antics with your drinks. What follows is a non-exhaustive and geographically organised bundle of the best activity bars in London.
Howzat!? Really rather good indeed actually. If you fancy a side of cricket to go with your bar (and who doesn’t) then look no further than Sixes. Combining the old tried and tested sport of cricket with your favourite tipple and friends, Sixes uses cutting edge technology to simulate bowls from the world’s best cricketers. All you have to do is smash it out the park! Enabling groups as small as a pair and up to six per net you’ll have hours of entertainment with your drinking. With fantastic food available too you’ll be fuelled in every sense to hit those sixes.
Extremely fitting for a bar activity, Flight Club is a take on the traditional pub sport of darts on steroids. There are no shortage of games present in this interactive and digitally enhanced version of the game. With slow motion action replays and pinpoint sensors watching every move, there’s no fooling the score board here! Of course with table service and a delicious selection of food your every need will be catered for throughout as well. With social darts ranging between two and 36 people most party sizes will as well. Bullseye!
Swinging back to a more traditional sport theme we find ourselves with Pitch Golf in Bishopsgate. Not to be confused with a crazy golf themed venue, Pitch Golf utilises some very hi-tech gear so it’s more of a golf simulator enabling you to play on some of the worlds most famous courses. While you can take it seriously and practice properly it’s fully set up for hours of group fun with the clubhouse serving a host of drinks and some truly excellent food to boot.
If you’re looking to simply sit down and take in your entertainment then the shows put on at Circus London will take some beating. As a unique cabaret restaurant and cocktail bar you can enjoy fine food and drinks as you stare in wonderment at the acts on offer. You’ll be mesmerised by the aerialists, contortionists, hand balancers, fire-breathers and more, all while enjoying the sophisticated pan-Asian menu with your pals.
You may want to get your skates on when it comes to booking our next offering. Queens, appropriately located at Queensway is a very different take on the activity bar. Offering some truly unique winter pursuits including ice skating, curling and bowling there’s an event to suit any taste. And on the subject of taste, there’s a fantastic array of food on offer as Queens have linked up with MEATliquor to give you a tasty selection of food to choose from. For drinks, there’s a skate up rinkside bar running the whole length of the rink!
Involving a little less physical exertion but demanding a lot of skill is Electric Shuffle. As with others in our list, it’s a modern twist on an old game made all the more fun by use of extensive technology and some truly excellent graphics. With a host of games on tap, you and your cohort can line the board with a delicious selection of food and drink while eeking out that competitive spirit.
All Star Lanes Bowling (Holborn)
Professing to be ‘London’s original good time’ All Star Lanes is a quirky bowling venue with a host of other activities on offer – so we’re inclined to agree. Fantastically decorated and with karaoke, bottomless brunch deals and locations throughout London there’s barely a part of the city not accessible to this superb activity-based bar. A fantastic combination catering for just two people up to full-sized corporate events.
Price:
£7.50pp Off-Peak & £10pp Peak (£5 pp for Bookado Members)
Location:
Holborn
Activity Type:
Bowling
Review:
4.0* on Google
Rialto Backstage Bar
The Backstage Bar at the Rialto is the ideal location for simply sitting back watching the show go on. With a host of fantastic live performances including magicians, comedians and dancers there’s entertainment on tap to cater for any taste. If having the occasional flutter is one of your vices, then the Backstage bar is actually located within the French Renaissance style Rialto Casino – should the prospect of winning big temp you at any time of the day or night.
Price:
£10pp deposit
Location:
Leicester Square
Activity Type:
Entertainment (Comedy/Magician/Dancers)
Review:
5* on Design My Night
N1 Bar
N1 Bar is perfectly poised to cater for the screening of any live sporting event. As an added bonus, the bar is home to five American and two English pool tables for a side of entertainment. As the evening progresses, the bar becomes a late night club hosting excellent resident DJ’s.
Price:
£12 per game
Location:
London Bridge
Activity Type:
Pool & Ping Pong
Review:
4.4* on Facebook
The Grid Sci-Fi
Entering the dark world of evil startup Neosight you’ll be charged with a host of tasks and puzzles in order to defeat their AI technology in a bid to save humanity. Along the way you’ll be making secret concoctions (these may happen to contain alcohol). Working through several different rooms in your group, you will infiltrate Neosights computers for the benefit of mankind. You’ll have hours of fun in this futuristic themed bar sipping on some great cocktails.
Price:
£32pp (includes 2 drinks)
Location:
Southwark
Activity Type:
Cocktail Infused Escape Room
Review:
4.1* on Google
Puttshack (Bank)
Like others in our selection, Puttshack has employed the use of seriously impressive technology and sprinkled it on the game of minigolf. This means live leaderboards so no paper score cards, and instead sensors and smart balls that know exactly where they are and how many times they’ve been hit – so no cheating either. A variety of games, great music and a seriously stylish bar with great food all combine for a cracking social.
Price:
From £10pp
Location:
Bank
Activity Type:
Immersive Mini-Golf
Review:
4.5* on Google
Activity Bars in South London | GREEN
The Four Thieves
Located a stone’s throw from Clapham Junction, The Four Thieves is your typical pub on the surface, but venture a little deeper and you’ll be confronted with a huge selection of activities and entertainment. Upstairs plays host to several arcade game favourites such as Time Crisis, as well as VR games, a remote control racetrack and of course air hockey. If all that wasn’t enough, there are stand up comedy nights with acclaimed performers and it also has a craft beer tap room and its own pizzeria so you’ll neither go hungry nor thirsty as you while the hours away.
Price:
From £10pp
Location:
Clapham Junction
Activity Type:
Entertainment (VR / Racing / Arcade / Comedy)
Review:
4.0* on Design My Night
Gravity Wandsworth
Want endless entertainment under one roof? Your one stop solution for that is Gravity in Wandsworth. With eight different activities inside you’ll be hard pressed to decide between electric go-karts (the most powerful on the market as it happens), AR bowling, AR darts, mini golf and loads more. Naturally there’s all the drinks you could want but also a dedicated cocktail bar and its own Japanese noodle bar too to keep the hunger at bay.
Price:
From £7pp
Location:
Wandsworth Southside
Activity Type:
Entertainment (VR / Racing / Arcade / Ping Pong / Bowling)
Review:
3.9* on Google
Sixes Cricket (Fulham)
Howzat!? Really rather good indeed actually.
Price:
From £6.67pp
Location:
Fulham
Activity Type:
Cricket Nets
Review:
4.6* on Google
Four Quarters
With just about every classic arcade game you can think of under one roof, Four Quarters is by all means your one stop shop for classic gaming heaven. With serious throwbacks such as Pac Man and Space Invaders to more modern classics such as Crazy Taxi, Sega Rally and Street Fighter II to choose from you’ll have no end of fun reliving these cult classics in the company of friends whilst enjoying a beverage or two.
Price:
From £15pp (min 2people) includes half pizza + house drink
Location:
Fulham
Activity Type:
Arcade
Review:
5* on Design My Night
Activity Bars in East London | YELLOW
Hijingo Bingo
A far cry from the traditional image of a bingo hall, Hijingo Bingo is a Japanese twist on the game we all know and love. Add to the mix a fantastic soundtrack, incredible lighting, drinks at your disposal and of course the heart pumping thrill of winning and you have a recipe for an excellent time with friends. Offering food and brunch events too means you have ultimate flexibility in deciding when to embrace this turbocharged bingo hall.
Price:
From £11pp
Location:
Shoreditch
Activity Type:
Bingo
Review:
4.7* on Google
Roof East
Stay on top of the action with Roof East in Stratford. Located atop a multistory carpark (stay with us) Roof East have transformed this otherwise bland structure into a stunning open air entertainment space. On the top you’ll find a multitude of activities among the bars and food including minigolf, baseball nets and a wonderful outdoor cinema. We challenge you to try and find a better space to spend those warm summer evenings!
Price:
*Closed for the Winter*
Location:
Stratford
Activity Type:
Bowls, Minigolf & Baseball
Review:
4.3* on Google
Alcotraz Immersive Experience
If you want to work for your liquor in a team quest then an escape from ‘Alcotraz’ is well overdue. Working together you’ll be smuggling hooch whilst bribing and outsmarting the prison warden and guards as you attempt to make your way through this prison-themed bar in order to make a host of fantastic cocktails. Think of your traditional escape room but with a refreshing side of alcohol along the way.
Price:
From £35.99pp
Location:
Shoreditch
Activity Type:
Immersive Cocktail Experience
Review:
4.8* on Google
London Shuffle
Originally a game employed by the more wealthier members of society on the decks of transatlantic cruise liners, the game of shuffleboard now comes to you in the more accessible location of East London. With a combination of indoor and outdoor boards you’ll compete against your rival team in a bid to rack up the highest score. Onsite you’ll find amazing drinks and a gourmet pizzeria to quench that hunger and thirst.
Price:
From £3.13pp
Location:
Shoreditch
Activity Type:
Shuffle Board
Review:
4.3* on Google
Bat and Ball
Located within the beating heart of Stratford, Bat and Ball gives you championship sized table tennis, live sports, multiple bars and amazing food from Well Street Pizza. This package comes spread over two floors so Bat and Ball can cater for any group size. A stack of craft beer on tap and resident DJs let’s you party on until late.
Price:
From £8pp
Location:
Stratford
Activity Type:
Ping Pong / Table Tennis / Beer Pong
Review:
4.1* on Google
Electric Shuffle (Canary Wharf)
Mentioned a little further up our list we revisit Electric Shuffle, this time however located conveniently in Canary Wharf so it’s perfect for post work drinks with a twist.
Price:
From £7pp
Location:
Canary Wharf
Activity Type:
Shuffle Boards
Review:
4.5* on Google
All Star Lanes Bowling (Brick Lane)
You’ll find All Star Lanes in East London as well for your convenience. An unbelievably stylish bowling venue gives you a great venue to meet and socialise with friends while hunting down that elusive strike.
Price:
£7.50pp Off-Peak & £10pp Peak(£5 pp for Bookado Members)
Location:
Brick Lane
Activity Type:
Bowling
Review:
4.0* on Google
TOCA Social
If you see yourself as a bit of an undiscovered Cristiano Ronaldo then there’s no better place to put those skills to the test than at TOCA Social. As an immersive digital football experience, there are a series of games to be played in order to tot up the highest score among your friends and teammates alike. Even if football isn’t your thing or you have a foot shaped like a 20p piece, it’s still a place to love with a fabulous selection of drinks to hand and some truly mouth watering food on the menu too.
Price:
£35pp Off-Peak & £65pp Peak
Location:
The O2, Peninsula Square
Activity Type:
Bowling
Review:
4.8* on Google
The Doodle Bar
This is one you should definitely pencil in. Located within glorious arches near Tower Bridge, Doodle Bar lets you paint the town the red – quite literally. You can unleash your artistic flair all over the walls which you’re actively encouraged to draw all over. With a host of craft beers on tap (including their own Doodle Brew) and twenty odd gins to choose from you’ll be well watered. If you’ve not drawn anything since you played with crayons then there’s ping pong tables out the back and an event space that hosts VR nights as well as guest speakers.
Price:
TBC
Location:
Southwark
Activity Type:
Ping Pong & VR
Review:
4.2* on Google
Baille Ballerson
If you feel denied the pleasure of a ball pit in your adulthood then Baille Ballerson has you covered. With over one million balls spread over two pits you can indulge in that early life pleasure but with the added bonus of alcohol. As a cocktail bar too you’re well covered for drink variety, and food is offered in the mouth watering form of pizza. A dancefloor and DJs give you the option to dance the night away. Think Wacky Warehouse for grownups.
Price:
From £5pp
Location:
Shoreditch
Activity Type:
Ball Pit
Review:
4.5* on Google
Activity Bars in North London | BLUE
Foosball Club
If you see yourself as a table football champion then take the action to Foosball Club located near Highbury. With a stack of tables on offer you can battle it out in tournaments in order to be crowned table football champion. Once you’ve conquered that (or if you need to lick your wounds) then there are over 80 different classic arcade games to choose from that handily work on the same tokens as the tables. Craft beer and all manner of drinks with a great pizza menu mean you’ll be sorted for food and drink too.
Price:
From £20 per game
Location:
Highbury & Islington
Activity Type:
Foosball Table / Arcade
Review:
4.5* on Google
Bounce Ping Pong
Bounce in Farringdon is a ping pong venue on steroids. It’s a huge open space that offers an unrestricted view of all 17 ping pong tables and dining space for up to 130 people. Needless to say this makes for quite the atmosphere. There’s a massive drinks menu and the food on offer is both varied and genuinely excellent. If you’re seeking a more intimate space then there’s a private party area with three tables and it’s own karaoke booth. If you’re after more than straight up Ping Pong then Bounce have now launched Wonderball; it’s a high tech version of the game using ball-tracking technology, lights and cool graphics making for an immersive experience and a night to remember. As an added bonus, Bounce is located just a stones throw from where the original game of Ping Pong was trademarked.
Price:
From £5pp
Location:
Farringdon
Activity Type:
Ping Pong / Shuffle Bard / Beer Pong / Karaoke
Review:
4.5* on Google
Pong London
If you take your beer pong seriously (and you should) then Pong London is the place to hone your skills or usurp your dominance. Bringing beer pong into the modern age, PONGConnect adds a digital dimension to the game enabling users to track their progress on an app which ranks you not just against your friends but fellow beer pongers the world over! There’s a huge variety of drinks on tap and their resident DJs will keep the party going in the basement bar until late. Make your reservation online beforehand to avoid disappointment.
Price:
From £12
Location:
Kings Cross
Activity Type:
Ping Pong / Beer Pong / Karaoke
Review:
4.1* on Google
Activity Bars in West London | PURPLE
All Star Lanes (White City)
You’ll find more on All Star Lanes a little further up, but as a reminder it’s a cracking bowling venue – very stylishly decorated and with loads on offer such as karaoke and a big selection of mouth watering food and drink. In this instance located near White City for those in the west.
Price:
£7.50pp Off-Peak & £10pp Peak(£5 pp for Bookado Members)
Location:
White City
Activity Type:
Bowling
Review:
4.0* on Google
Puttshack Mini-golf (White City)
Puttshack has a notable mention a little further up too. To recap it’s a beautifully designed version of minigolf with some truly fabulous food and drink on offer. Located too in White City giving you plenty of choices.
Price:
From £9pp
Location:
Whitecity
Activity Type:
Immersive Mini-Golf
Review:
4.5* on Google
