Cocktails, clubs, nights out in central london and money saving!!

liz-paul

Hi folks,

I am having a girls weekend in London in March and looking for some tips. We are staying near Westminster/London eye. There will be six of us aged 28 - 42 (we're celebrating my 30th birthday). We are all settled with husbands/partners/kids except one so we are not looking to pull! None of us are big into clubbing (any more) but we've suggested going to a club on the sat night but I'm not sure how to find one that would suit us?

We're all keen on a few cocktails but a lot of the places I'm finding online are priced at around £9-£11 per cocktail which will eat into our budget too quickly. Any tips on how to find happy hours or other deals? I am not too proud to book in advance/take vouchers/head for less popular areas (most of us are londoners even if we don't live there any more so we don't really need to tourist stuff) etc but I would like to go somewhere that is a step up from wetherspoons....

I've been thinking of heading towards Covent garden on the sat night in order to go for dinner and then onto a (cocktail?) bar and or club. Does this sound like a good idea.....

Any ideas for a good night out (or 2) in London on the (sort of) cheap? Please me to clarify if I haven't given enough info on anything.... :beer:

DomRavioli

£9 a cocktail is the going rate for London unfortunately. I'd even say it was on the cheap side.

What kind of bar/club are you looking for? Cheesy TOWIE inspired fake club, rock club, pop, gay, drag etc?

I wouldn't head for "less popular areas" unless you are familiar with them. They can be terrible! You might want to search the Daily Deals websites such as living social, groupon etc for deals in London - they do have some good ones.

Does your hotel have a bar? It may be that they have a residents only bar with special offers - can be confirmed by calling them/emailing.

Might also be worth taking one of the dinner and show packages if you're looking to do it, as eating out can be pretty expensive in the evenings. Failing that, ask the locals where they go - I found a lovely lebanese restaurant just off Leicester Square which was cheap and amazingly good food.

liz-paul

Thank you for your help!

I really don't know what type of club - I would have gone to fairly cheesy sorts of places, in greater rather than central london when I was in my teens. I guess I don't want: anything too 'serious clubber', TOWIE or packed out. I guess an old persons club Or possibly what I'm looking for is a bar with music/DJ? Somewhere we can sit down, have a few drinks but get up for a boogie if we want and that doesn't send us home at 11pm....

Our hotel has a bar but it looks fairly pricey....
I am keeping an eye on groupon every day and googling around for restaurants. Found Smolenskys on the Strand has cocktail happy hour 6-8pm so we could squeeze in a few that way

Thanks again :beer:

vodkashot

I would check out some of the 'late night London' places. They tend to have happy hours, restaurants and club section all rolled into one. They do some pretty good deals if you are in a group and you might be able to get a few free drinks or a decent set menu which will help with the costs. There's places like Grace, Sway or the Loop.

Dirty Martini is a great place for cocktails and their happy hour is pretty decent. Half price cocktails although I'm not sure what time it finishes on a weekend and in March. Currently on a Saturday it's 9pm. You should reserve an area though as it gets busy.

liz-paul

Thank you - that late night london website is great. I can keep an eye on it for offers closer to the time!

Saver88

The ice bar just off regent street I think is worth a visit. I believe it's a 40 minute eperience with a free cocktail included and you all get to wear snazzy blue outfits to keep you warm. Book online to save some pennies hths x

Brightspark

Check out Adventure Bar in Covent Garden. I love this small bar, the staff are good fun, they make the best cocktails. On the weekends happy hour runs until 8pm and be sure to reserve a table before hand.