Party Venues in Central London
Browse our list of London's finest party venues, from pubs and clubs to restaurants and unusual venues. Throw the party of a lifetime!
Party Venues In Central London Ideas
- Stratford
London Stadium (Formerly 2012 Olympic Stadium, Home to West Ham United)
from £52001000 ReceptionSee venueWelcome to the West Ham East End Pub - a sports bar styled party venue! The Boleyn is a fun, characterful events space featuring pitch views and balcony access. Inside you will find two large bars and two street food kiosks making this the perfect venue for a proper East End knees up party! Chef has created a range of exclusive East End Barrow Boy food stall packages which will give your guests a taste of east London. The Boleyn is perfect for corporate parties from 300 - 1000 guests and also provides a unique backdrop for exhibitions with space for approximately 40 stands and 700 guests
- Wandsworth
Gravity active entertainment, Wandsworth
from £130001000 StandingSee venueAt Gravity, we understand what it takes to make a successful business. That's why we offer best-in-class corporate packages for companies of all sizes. Looking for a well-earned staff reward after a profitable quarter? Team building opportunities that help you get the most from your people? Or a meeting space with a difference? With the state-of-the-art active entertainment across three floors in a convenient central London location, we can help you build the perfect package.
- Hackney Central
Night Tales
from £7000600 StandingSee venueNight Tales offers your guests the largest all-weather terrace in east London, seating up to 250 guests across our fixed seating and lounge booths and a further 150 in Arch 14, with a 350-capacity club room, it's perfect for corporate events and brand activations throughout the year. The plant-filled terrace will lead you to both Arch 14 and the Club, where you will find full-service cocktail bars, lighting, PA and DJ booths to serve each space. Offering plenty of branding opportunities, the space is perfect for product and album launches as well as VIP parties and summer parties.
- Hackney
Hijingo
from £3000250 StandingSee venueHijingo is a multi-sensory bingo experience combining state-of-the-art lighting and AV to provide your guests with a fully immersive game that will keep you on the edge of your seats! The venue seamlessly transforms into the perfect corporate event space for your next team social, product launch or an awards evening. Hijingo can house up to 185 seated guests in the Hijingo room, with plenty more space for standing. While the Lucky Cat reception bar serves as an additional room for welcome drinks or break outs.
- London Bridge
Rennie Vaults at London Bridge
from £150080 BuffetSee venueLooking for a quirky and unique venue then the Monster Bars are perfect! Built within the vaults of London Bridge these are really versatile event spaces. Their exposed brickwork, freaky decor and 2,000 years of history provide the perfect backdrop for your event. Perfect for product launches, networking events, drinks reception, movie nights, team building events, birthday parties and celebrations and many more. Scary screenings, spooky Halloween nights fancy dress parties all welcome too!
- White City
Puttshack White City
from £2700 per hour70 StandingSee venueOverlooking our Emerald and Ruby courses, this amazing semi-private area can hold up to 70 guests. Perfect for all kind of parties, from corporate events to birthday parties, this space includes direct private access to our stunning bar, so your guests won't go thirsty! Tee up, eat up, drink up!
- Clerkenwell
Smith's of Smithfield
from £100 per person20 ReceptionSee venueIf you have something to celebrate, we have the ideal space for you to do it. With stunning features and an array of flexible layouts you really are spoilt for choice when planning your next event in the heart of the city.
- London
The Little Scarlet Door
from £3000220 ReceptionSee venueThe Little Scarlet Door can be found on Greek Street in the beating heart of Soho. Its aesthetics are inspired by a New York loft style apartment met with homely British quirks. Split across two storeys; you can find our open plan living room and kitchen. There we have our kitchen bar with pots and pans hanging above, lots of comfy seating, beautiful works of art and access to our courtyard. Whilst on the lower ground floor you can find our Basement Studio. Here, there is another long bar, a vault, lots of comfy seating, gorgeous artwork and games area with Nintendo 64.
- West End
8 Northumberland Avenue
from £58 per person500 ReceptionSee venueThe Old Billiard Room and Annex are the most adaptable of our central London venue spaces. The combination of white walls, mirror details and subtle architectural touches create the perfect blank canvas space providing a stunning backdrop for your conference, networking reception or Christmas party. Combining traditional Edwardian architecture with a modern contemporary feel due to lighting and mirrors, this space can certainly be adapted to meet all your requirements.
- Holborn
Bounce, the home of Ping Pong | Holborn
from £48 pp/hour60 StandingSee venueIt is the outrageous fun of ping pong, combined with state of the art facilities and reputation for hosting the most well executed events that sets Bounce apart as the ultimate conference and corporate party destination in London. Located just a 3 minute walk from Farringdon station, the venue features our luxurious Jaques Room, available for exclusive hire. It's an ideal setting for group of 50-90 standing, 60 theatre style and 28 boardroom. The room Includes: 3 Ping Pong Tables A cocktail bar with dedicated mixologist State of the art Karaoke System UV Lighting Unlimited Ping Pong
- Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar St James
from £200025 StandingSee venueRoom is perfect for hosting your very own private dining experience, whether it be a client lunch or an intimate dinner party. It can accommodate for up to 16 people seated or 25 standing. Breathtaking views go without saying.
- Shoreditch
Bounce, the home of Ping Pong | Old Street
from £400090 StandingSee venueThe Play Room is a unique private event space at Bounce Old Street, with the ability to accommodate up to 90 standing guests. Hiring the room for up to 6 hours include 3 ping pong tables, a private bar with a dedicated mixologist, LCD screen, plug and play iPod docking station, UV lights with iridescent artwork across the entire room.
- King Charles St
Churchill War Rooms
from £110 per person120 ReceptionSee venueHarmsworth Room is packed full of history, with electric generators full of dials and switches! The room holds the atmosphere of a wartime bunker yet has all the comforts of a modern venue, making it the perfect space for an unusual drinks reception, christmas party, or a memorable intimate dinner!
- Westminster
The Royal Horseguards Hotel and One Whitehall Place
from £40070 ReceptionSee venueCentral London location, range of function and event rooms, receptions up to 70 people, intimate dinners up to 24, historic Grade I listed, unusual venue, glamour, high profile, canapes, dinner menus, private, exclusive use available, onsite catering, whisky tasting, wine tasting
- City
The Steel Yard
from £2500450 StandingSee venueOur three Arches combine to create a flexible live event space for 1000 people to move seamlessly around the venue. Arch 1 features a flexible staging solution, extensive lighting, audio and AV fixtures, powerful WIFI and a scalable LED video wall display. Arches 2 & 3 host our main bar and VIP areas which allow for a private entrance if required and our mezzanine floor can be used as a cloakroom or set-up as a professional kitchen for catered events. Our dedicated events and in-house production team will be happy to work with you to bring your event to life.
- Barbican
Ironmongers' Hall
from £80 per person230 ReceptionSee venueBanqueting Hall is ideal for conferences, meetings, and seminars. The Hall can accommodate various setups for up to a maximum of 150 delegates. A stage can be erected at the far end of the room and full AV support is available. One particularly good aspect is the Halls' acoustics which is excellent. Refreshment breaks,buffet lunches or evening receptions would usually be served in the Drawing Room.
See all Party Venues in Central London
More about Party Venues in Central London
What types of party venues can you hire in London?
London is known for being a stand-out city for a celebration, with endless fantastic venues on offer to host your special event. If you’re planning a party, the capital’s an amazing place for it: with iconic postcodes, the best variety of venues in the country, and top event entertainment at your fingertips, your event’s guaranteed to be a smash hit! But with so many on offer, it’s just knowing where to start that’s the issue…
There are many different occasions where you might host a party, and most of them have different requirements for a venue. For example, for formal events like gala dinners or charity fundraising parties, you’ll likely want a grand and impressive setting (something classic and historic like RSA House or 41 Portland Place ought to do the trick), whereas for a birthday party, or office party, you might be looking for something a little more intimate and relaxed.
Different times of year dictate what type of venue you’ll want to hire, as well. Sometimes finding a party venue with outdoor space might be a requirement for your event - for instance, if you’re planning a summer party - so you’ll need to look at outdoor function venues, venues with gardens, or even a rooftop venue like the terrace at Events@No6. Meanwhile, for events at the other end of the year, like Christmas parties, you’ll probably be set on finding an indoor party venue to keep out the cold! Luckily, in London, there’s something to fit every brief and keep your party on the right side of British weather!
Aside from the obvious concerns, not all venues offer exactly the same services, and it’s useful to think about this when you’re thinking of hiring a venue for a party. First and foremost, you can choose between dry-hire venues, where you can bring in caterers and supply your own alcohol, or venues with catering and bars in-house. You’ll need to consider which will be best for your type of party and budget; for guidance, check out our blog on wet hire vs dry hire. Here are a few venues where you can arrange your own catering to give you an idea of what a dry hire venue can offer.
Another important thing to note is that there’s a difference between private venue hire, where you’ll have exclusive use of the venue, and function room hire, where you’ll have part of the venue reserved for your party, but there may be other people using the building.
For large parties, most people opt for private party venues, which work well for events like black tie parties, receptions, and cocktail parties, as well as larger birthday parties and graduation parties. Many venues offer this, with a few of our favourites being The HAC, and One Moorgate Place. However, for after parties, office parties, or smaller birthday parties, you might be happy to hire part of the venue, like the roof terrace at The Century Club, or even the Number Group Boat at Studio 9294 for a real swanky dinner party!
How much does a party venue cost?
The cost of hiring a venue can vary massively based on the number of people attending, and the scale and scope of the event. If you’re throwing a huge party for 500 in a central London venue, you can expect to pay considerably more - roughly between £5,000 and £15,000 - than if you’re putting on a small birthday do in a pub or restaurant, where it might cost just a few hundred pounds. There are a few things you’ll need to factor in when looking for your venue, whatever your budget.
Venues work on different pricing structures, with some venues charging a flat venue hire fee, and others charging based on the number of people in attendance, or the number of spaces you’ll need to use. If the venue provides catering - ie it’s an all-inclusive or ‘wet hire’ venue - then you’ll need to make sure you factor the costs of this into your budget, as it can add a chunk on to the basic venue fee. Check out the differences between dry hire and all-inclusive hire in our blog to see what would work best for your event.
The good news is that in London you should be able to find a party venue that suits your budget, as there are so many different options to choose from! On our site, you’ll find prices on every venue we feature to make it easier to know what’s within your budget.
What is a minimum spend venue?
If you’re looking for affordable venues, the cheapest venues for parties are likely to be minimum spend venues. With this type of venue, the overall cost could be as little as £100, or as much as £10,000, depending on the place. For example, if the minimum spend is £600 and you have 30 guests, each guest will only have to spend £20 on drinks and food to make the minimum, leaving nothing for you to pay at all! Some of our favourites are Blame Gloria in Shoreditch, and Purl London in Marylebone, which both provide exclusive hire and a great atmosphere for an affordable price.
Minimum spend venues tend to be more casual, and you may not have a say in the menu or food on offer. If you choose a venue that isn’t minimum spend, you’ll have much more control, but you’ll have to factor the catering into the overall cost, and some venues will only work with their preferred caterers, which might be a drawback for certain events.
What are the best party venues in London?
The best party venue for your event will depend on the format, theme, and style of the event itself. You might be looking for the best small party venues in London, or colossal venues for hundreds of guests, so there’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to party-planning. Luckily, with thousands of venues on offer for everything from sports events to engagement parties, you’re spoilt for choice in London! Here are some of the kinds of parties you might be looking for, and a few of our favourite venues that really hit the mark for each kind of event:
The best Christmas party venues in London
Finding the perfect Christmas party venue is an absolute must - after all, it’s the celebration to wrap up the year! We’ve had plenty of experience in hunting for the top venues for a Christmas party in London, and we’ve even gone to the liberty of writing a round-up of 10 of our favourites! If that’s not enough to get you excited for Christmas at any time of year, we don’t know what will! Well, actually, maybe having a peek at The Steel Yard decked out in its festive finery, admiring the decor at Village Underground or EartH, or checking out the incredible wreathed staircase in The De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms might help!
You might have the idea of a grand and elegant backdrop in your mind for a Christmas do, but sometimes, smaller, more intimate venues can be great for bringing people together, particularly if you have a small company. Venues like Century Club provide a perfect balance between intimate and exciting, with plenty of scope for staging the Christmas party of the century. And if the idea of throwing in some entertainment appeals, there are plenty of brilliant venues which incorporate some good old competition - one of our favourites is new kid on the block, Clays, an indoor target-shooting venue with serious style!
The best office party venues in London
Hosting an office party is a great way to bring together your team, reward them for their hard work, and give them a way to bond and socialise outside of work. But to make all the components come together in the right way, you need to set your event in a venue that makes it easy to socialise. London has no shortage of fantastic bars and pubs to throw a party, as well as fun, memorable venues that’ll put a stop to any gaps in the conversation!
Our best advice for choosing an office party venue is to include entertainment of some variety, and we’ve got plenty of those on our books! Check out our top-scorer TOCA Social for a boost in team-bonding, with drinks, football-themed activities, and a private bar area. Or experience bingo in a hilarious new light, at Hijingo, the futuristic, tech-infused bingo hall that recently burst onto the scene.
The best summer party venues in London
Ah, summer - arguably the best time to throw a party, especially if it features an outdoor element. Summer has everyone feeling more cheerful and relaxed, which naturally makes it a perfect time to bond and celebrate the year’s achievements so far. There are plenty of different kinds of venues that are ideal for hosting summer parties, but a bunch of our favourites are venues with gardens or outside space - bonus points if they allow barbecues!
Some, like the roof terrace at Sea Containers provide an open-air spot to soak up the sun and enjoy a drink with friends or colleagues, while others, like The Hurlingham Club and The HAC offer gardens to play games, enjoy lunch, and escape the noise of the city for a while.
There are also loads of unique options for a summer party, not least of which being hosting your event on a boat! If the idea of bobbing along on a canal with your colleagues floats your barge, check out Barge East or the Number Boat at Studio 9294 (this venue also has a fabulous canal-side terrace to enjoy!). Or for something even more spectacular (though slightly more stationary), the Cutty Sark’s weather deck is a pretty perfect spot for a summer party if you ask us!
The best engagement party venues in London
An engagement party is a great excuse to bring together your nearest and dearest, and you’ll no doubt want the venue to be as special as the occasion. London has plenty of beautiful spots to make your event memorable: a few of the most unique are Century Club’s covered roof terrace, the quirky indoor and outdoor spaces at The Hari, and the stylish Rockwell Bar at The Trafalgar St James.
The best birthday party venues in London Planning a birthday party can be great fun, as long as you find the right venue to spark a party atmosphere. Depending on who you’re planning the party for, you might want to throw in some entertainment by hosting it at a venue that provides activities, like Puttshack, or Bounce, where you can challenge your fellow guests to some sporting competition that’s sure to break the ice!
Alternatively, opt for something classic and cool, like Dirty Martini Covent Garden or the vibrant and eclectic Meraki London. Bear in mind that most bars will operate based on a minimum spend, so do have a think about numbers before you book a private area in a bar!
How to find a party venue in London
When you’re on the hunt for a party venue, particularly in London, you should keep a few critical things in mind. Firstly, depending on the time of year you’re booking for, demand can be really high for venues in the capital, particularly around Christmas time. Don’t leave your search, or booking your venue, to the last minute as the best places really will book up faster than you can say “That’s the one!”. If you’ve got a long guest list, or something quite specific in mind, we recommend booking your party venue at least 2 months in advance, and that means starting to put out feelers earlier still.
To start your search you’ll need to decide on the area you want to host your party in. With venues all over London, from North to South, and Camden to Canary Wharf, there’s a whole host of places to choose from, and you’ll want to narrow down your area to give yourself the best chance of finding the right spot. Take a quick look at our top venues in North London, West London, and East London, or filter by areas, like Shoreditch or Central London.
You’ll also need to set your budget, and work out what you need to be included in that, from catering to drinks, to entertainment. Be prepared for certain times of year to be more expensive, and for add-ons, like a late license, to cost a bit more. If you have any special requirements, like outdoor space, a late license, or a sound system, this is also the time to make sure you’ve factored all of this in, as it can be more difficult to negotiate with venues once you’ve made your initial agreement.
How to use Hire Space to find your party venue
Hire Space is a great way to find a venue for your party, as it allows you to search the largest database of venues in the UK and Europe, and enquire with the venues directly. Using our site also takes all the hard work out of venue-finding: with over 6000 venues at your fingertips, all that’s left for you to do is set restrictions on the area, budget, capacity, and date of your event in our easy search function.
You should hear back from the venues you’ve contacted within 3 days, and our team of dedicated event experts will be on hand to chase up any requests so you can focus on planning your party. Check out our top tips for liaising with venues to make sure you get the most engagement from your enquiries, or read our venue-finding FAQs for more help.
How to plan a party
Planning a party doesn’t have to be stressful - it’s just a matter of nailing the important elements and then you can have fun with the rest! The key points are to book as early as possible (after choosing your location and deciding between dry hire and wet hire, and checking the restrictions on caterers etc). If you use hirespace.com, your turnaround between enquiring and confirming your venue is likely to be just a few days, so you can put more thought into actually planning the party itself.
You can also find lots of other elements to make your party-planning a smooth process, from catering suppliers, to entertainment, to furniture and theming, all on our website! We only list suppliers that we’ve worked with before and really trust, so you know you’re getting the best of the industry all in one place. Just like the venues, you’ll be able to enquire in just a couple of clicks and hear back from the suppliers within days, taking the stress out of going between different options.
One important thing to take into account is making sure that guests feeling safe and comfortable at your venue, and you can brush up on the key pointers for that in our post-pandemic venue-finding blog.
Ideas for planning a party in London
We’re dab-hands at party-planning at this point, and we’ve got plenty of pointers we can share with you for planning your own events. Here are some of our top tips for planning a party that makes a splash.
1. Go for an activity venue
Everyone loves activities, even adults who normally wear ties and carry briefcases. Give them a cocktail or two and they’ll be playing along with the best of them! Some of our favourite venues that offer “built-in” entertainment are TOCA Social, where football’s the talk of the table, Clays, which sets any event off with a bang, and Swingers, which serves up seriously fun mini golf.
2. Go for an unusual venue
A party doesn’t need to follow the same rules as other types of events, so you can really push the boundaries with where you host it. Hire Space features hundreds of unique, out-there venues that are sure to make your event stand out for your guests. Some of our favourites include:
ArcelorMittal Orbit: If you’re looking to take your party sky-high, ArcelorMittal Orbit is a top spot for it. At 114.5m high, the venue at the top of this incredible sculpture offers a 360 degree view of the city - plus it has an incredible slide which is sure to top off any party! The London Transport Museum: Museums make fantastic settings for parties, as they provide fascinating exhibits for attendees to explore - and who wouldn’t want to have a museum all to themselves?!
3. Go for an iconic London venue
When in London, make the most of the capital’s treasure trove of iconic venues! From the top of The Gherkin, to Tower Bridge itself, this is your opportunity to stage the event of the year in one of the city’s most historic and iconic venues.
Some more suggestions to really take advantage of the spirit of the city are: Cutty Sark: Having once sailed the seas as the fastest ship of her day, the famous Cutty Sark has found a stunning resting place in Greenwich, where her beauty is perfectly preserved for events of all kinds. The Queen’s House: Part of Royal Museums Greenwich, The Queen’s House is an incredible building steeped in history, which housed royalty centuries ago and is now a breathtaking gallery and museum which makes for a seriously impressive backdrop for parties.
4. Choose your catering
If you’ve gone for a venue with catering included, you won’t have to think about this aspect of the event. However, if you’re on the hunt for the perfect food and drink suppliers to complement your party, check out our top, tried-and-tested caterers for all types of parties. Great food can really elevate your event, especially if you match it to the theme!
5. Add entertainment
No party would be complete without a bit of entertainment to get guests enjoying themselves! Why not kick things off with a bit of live music or a magician, or if you’re going for extravagance, how about incorporating some circus or dance performances into the mix? With many of the capital’s top party entertainers on hand, we can help take your party to the next level!
About Party Venues in Central London
Looking for a rollicking, rip-roaring London party venue? London's finest collection of pubs, clubs, bars and restaurants await you. With something for all budgets, all you have to do is choose which party venue in London you want to hire. With a little help from us, of course. Take your pick from the largest, most diverse selection in the capital, and contact them directly through Hire Space to receive a tailored quote from the venue's in-house team. You can also save yourself some time and enquire at multiple venues by adding them to your cart. Need a few more choices to ensure your event lives up to expectations? Contact our own experienced Venue Experts using the 'Ask a Venue Expert' feature above. They'll listen to your requirements and put together a bespoke proposal within 24 hours and work with you to find the party space of your dreams.
Lilla Madacsi
Venue Expert
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