Great London beer gardens where you’ll actually get a seat

Four great London pub gardens where you’re guaranteed to get a seat 

Everyone has a favourite London pub garden. The trouble is that, come summer, loads of people have exactly the same fave pub gardens. You head off for a cool pint in the blistering sunshine only to find that a boozer’s outdoor bits are absolutely rammed and you can’t so much as perch awkwardly on the end of someone else’s table. And that sucks. No one in their right mind wants to stand around on a hot day when the sun’s beating down. Pub gardens where you’re guaranteed a seat might sound a bit like the Holy Grail – but they do exist. Whether it’s because a place has a ginormous outdoor area, is a little off the beaten track or just doesn’t get as many revellers as it should, there are a few gems where you’ll find delicious pints and ample seating. Here are four of the best.

Despite being only a short hop from the madness of Camden’s main drag, this lively, bustling and bright green Irish bar always (and inexplicably, tbh) has seats in its recently-renovated and gloriously sunny beer garden. Cut off from the garish noise of Camden, Sheephaven Bay conjures its own vibe: a combo of raucous sports coverage, sprightly live Irish trad gigs and good ol’ fashioned chitter-chatter. We can’t imagine it’ll continue to go under the radar for long, so go make the most of it! You’d be silly not to.

Your drink in the sun: The Guinness here is quality, but if it’s sunny we’ll opt for the pint of the moment: a Madri lager. From Madrid!

2 Mornington Street, NW1 7QD

Sure, Wandsworth’s The Ship often gets touted as this city’s finest Thameside beer garden, but if you’re after all the views with the best chance of getting your ass on a seat, The Angel in Rotherhithe is your best bet. Its beer garden consists solely of a few benches and beer tables on a balcony that sits on stilts over the Thames. You can get pretty much the same views inside, but the tiny outside space is so much more of a sensory experience. From the whooshing waves and droning foghorns of the Thames to the fresh river air, it’s special.

Your drink in the sun: A pint of Sam Smith’s finest Taddy Lager; an old-fashioned bevvy for an old-fashioned boozer.

101 Bermondsey Wall E, SE16 4NB

If you can’t find a seat in the bloomin’ massive garden of Clapton’s Crooked Billet, you may as well give up on finding one anywhere. Or there might just be a massive football game on. Running all the way along the back of the building and down the side, the Billet’s garden is shrouded in shrubbery and has benches and booths galore. Serving up delish stone-baked pizzas and often hosting DJs, it’s a lovely place to make the most of the sunshine. And with its heaters and awning, it’s a top outdoor boozing spot when the weather isn’t so balmy, too.

Your drink in the sun: A crisp pint of ‘Neck Oil’ from a little-known local brewery that goes by the name of Beavertown. Thank us later.

84 Upper Clapton Road, E5 9JP

Past the glinting chandeliers and earthy wooden beams of this stately Lewisham boozer is a sizeable beer garden that feels like it’s on another continent. The patterned sofas and tent-like awnings covering its outdoor space give off desert caravan vibes, while an enormous ’50s train carriage (dubbed ‘The Firkin Express’) only adds more character. But the grot is just for looks. Boasting comfy furnishings, plenty of shade and loads of seating, the F&F’s garden is a homely sort of place – with live music offerings to boot.

Your drink in the sun: An ice-cold Asahi would go down an absolute treat here on a hot summer’s day.

316 Lewisham High Street, SE13 6JZ

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‘Elemental’

What? Trippy interracial romance from Pixar

Where? In cinemas today

Like most of Pixar’s output in recent years, ‘Elemental’ fails to reach the heights of its golden run in the noughties. The setting for its latest big-screen offering is the vividly imagined Element City, inhabited by the anthropomorphised elements: Fire, Water, Air and Earth. The Fire people's tendency to incinerate things has seen them consigned to the peripheral suburb of Firetown, in a more pointed metaphor for segregation than you might expect in a family movie. It’s here that Bernie and Cinder Lumen have set up a convenience store called The Fireplace, and where water element and city inspector Wade Ripple forges a delicate bond with their daughter Ember when he is sent to inspect the place. Director Peter Sohn and his screenwriters deserve kudos for embracing such knotty ideas. But for all the kaleidoscopic design and candy-coloured world-building, it could do with a bit more storytelling rigour.

Langbourns’ thirst quenching ‘Falling Up’

What’s the drink? Inspired by Emma D’Arcy fave the negroni sbagliato, this twist on the TikTok-famous drink breaks free from its Mediterranean mold, using ingredients from around the world to create a lip-smacking thirst quencher. Pisco and lychee liquor are added to an Aperol base, topped with sweet Riesling wine and finished off with a twist of grapefruit.

Where can I get it? Langbourns, a chic brasserie-style seafood bar tucked away in the resplendent Leadenhall Market.

What’s its deal? It’s famous for its oyster happy hours, but it takes booze just as seriously as its carefully sourced fish. There’s a huge menu of fine wines and cocktails to lap up while you tuck into a seafood platter, or two.

And the taste? Bittersweet, earthy and mischievous.

77 Gracechurch Street, EC3V 0AG. £12.

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Header image: Shutterstock; beer gardens: Time Out staff; Elemental: Pixar / Disney; Fwiday Dwinkies: Jess Hand; Yard Sale Pizza: Justin De Souza; Barbie: Warner Bros; Bakerloo Line: Shutterstock; The Barbican: Shutterstock.

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