London’s Best Beer Gardens

Ah, the British beer garden.

Often, it’s the perfect place to kick back with a nice refreshing pint of sunscreen. And London happens to have several truly excellent examples of these tipple-filled terraces – from perfectly formed pint-sized plots, to expansive lawns, to pergola-covered retreats, they’re all here.

Now, let’s take this outside…

North London Beer Gardens

The Albion | Islington

450 square metres of wisteria-covered garden – that’s what you’ll find when you step out the back of Islington’s The Albion, a restored Georgian boozer offering up some of the best pub grub in the city. Floor-to-ceiling French windows mean that in the colder months you can sit inside and enjoy it form afar, whilst summer sees it heaving with people sunning themselves and swigging on everything from classic cocktails to locally-brewed beer. 

Details: 10 Thornhill Road, London, N1 1HW | To book yourself a table (including outside in the beer garden) visit their website here.

The Terrace At Alexandra Palace | Wood Green

At a whooping 1,500 sqm, The Terrace at Alexandra Palace takes the award for the biggest panoramic beer garden in London. It’s not open all year – just for the summer – however, when it is, you’ll find a lengthy list of everything from cocktails to craft beer, which you can enjoy whilst staring out at the city in front of you. They also do stone-oven pizzas and, on weekends, they’re joined by a number of street food traders, all of which promises a royally good time.

Details: Alexandra Palace Way, Wood Green, N22 7AY | You can find out more, and reserve your table at the website right HERE.

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The Faltering Fullback | Finsbury Park

This bushy Irish boozer, tucked away behind Finsbury Park station – on the tip of Perth and Ennis Road  – has a beer garden that makes all our unrealized, impassioned childhood dreams of a treehouse come true. (F**k you mum.) It’s a sprawling wooden wonderland where staircase upon stairs case leads to all sorts of nooks and crannies – some dotted with trinkets like books, clocks, mirrors, and bells – perfect for intimate conversations. Unsurprisingly they pour a great Guinness, whilst the kitchen dishes out some extremely reasonably priced Thai. However you’re definitely there for the beer garden, just be warned, they don’t take bookings so turn up late (especially in summer) and you’ll likely be met with a….fullback.

Details: 19 Perth Road, Finsbury Park, London, N4 3HB | You can visit their website here, however, just an FYI, they don’t take reservations.

East London Beer Gardens

People’s Park Tavern | Hackney

Part pub, part micro-brewery, People’s Park Tavern boats one of the biggest beer selections in the city. And, as it happens, it also boasts one of the biggest beer gardens for drinking it in. You’ll find it on the edge of East London’s Victoria Park. In fact, it’s sort of a park itself – a kids’ park, but for adults, with multi-coloured bunting and oodles of seating, live music, a pop-up can bar and and outdoor kitchen serving 10/10 BBQ summer through ’til winter. 

Details: 360 Victoria Park Road, London, E9 7BT | Find out more or book via their website here.

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CRATE Brewery | Hackney Wick

Like a lot of stuff in Hackney Wick, CRATE Brewery sits along the edge of the River Lea. Which means their terrace (a long concrete stretch of picnic benches) is waterside too. You can sit out and swig on a pint of lager, or a limited edition Citra Sour and watch the goings on of the water – ducks, canal boats, and occasionally the tired, thirsty faces of kayakers at the end of a Secret Adventures Tour. You’re also parked right next to the Alfred Leroy, a small, fairy-lit sailing boat that doubles up as a floating bar serving all of CRATE’s beers as well as classic cocktails and Jarr Kombucha spiked with booze.

Details: Unit 14, Queens Yard, Hackney Wick, E9 5EN | Visit their website here.

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Pub On The Park | London Fields 

You’ll find Pub on the Park, quite literally, on the park down at London Fields. Its stands out in its handsome coat of white and mint green, but also because of its terrace – a wooden, wrap-around number that’s never not busy. In the summer people spill out onto the surrounding street, and indeed into the park itself, while at night it glows under fairy lights.

Details: 19 Martello Street, London Fields, E8 3PE | Get more information or book via their website here.

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Barge East | Hackney Wick

The restaurant & bar aboard this 118-year old Dutch cargo barge have proven so popular that they’ve had to spill out onto the banks they’re moored on. And what started out as a casual picnic spot has since become a fully fledged beer garden, with shaded tables and chairs for groups, miniature plant beds growing ingredients for the kitchen, and even a vintage airstream caravan serving up pints & street food.

Details: Sweetwater Mooring, River Lee, White Post Lane, E9 5EN | Get more information or book via their website here.

40FT Brewery And Taproom ft. ACME Fire Cult | Dalston

Slip down Abbott Street in Dalston and you’ll find 40ft Brewery and Taproom, fit with a sprawling, 60-seater, heated terrace, where not only can you choose form ten different beers, freshly brewed on site, you can also feast on all sorts of delicious, fire-licked meat and veg from ACME Fire Cult. Think coal roasted leeks with pistachio and romesco or BBQ’d baguette with ancho koi and pickles, all of which is cooked live in front of you by chef heavy-weights Daniel Watkins and Andrew Clarke.  

Details: Bootyard, Abbot Street, London, E8 3DP | Get more information or book via their website here

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Big Penny Social | Walthamstow

Truman’s is literally the largest beer hall in the UK. In fact, the inside space almost feels more spacious than the outside space. And while it’s all lovely, boasting plenty of street food, 20 beers on tap, and regular large-scale events, the one thing that they can’t fit inside that vast hall… is the sunshine. And if you’re really making a day of it? Make it stop 1 along the Blackhorse Beer Mile…

Details: 1 Priestley Way, E17 6AL | Get more information or book via their website here.
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South London Beer Gardens

Bermondsey Bar & Kitchen | London Bridge

It’s an old car park turned bar and kitchen, located along buzzy Bermondsey Street. It’s actually more garden than venue, starting at the front and wrapping around to the back where it opens up in to a massive light-strung space, loaded with picnic tables. You can sit out with a beer, or a cocktail (also available in pitchers). Otherwise they also do stone-baked pizzas and a mean Sunday roast. Other highlights include the sport screens. There are a couple, including a massive one outside, where they play all the biggest games. 

Details: 40 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3UD | Get more information or book via their website here.

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The Ship | Wandsworth

Wandsworth’s sea-worthy pub has a sprawling terrace overlooking the river, and everyone in Wandsworth knows about it. In fact, the garden space is so close to the river that it has its own dock, and you can literally access it by boat. They’ve also added some riverside cabins, and a nice little pergola too, just for good measure.

Details: 41 Jews Road, Wandsworth, SW18 1TB | Get more information or book via their website here.

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Hope & Anchor | Brixton

You know you’re in London when the pub has its own private Tiki huts. Set on the Clapham – Brixton border, Hope & Anchor is a blur of fairy lights, open mic nights and general party vibes. It’s also probably the only place where you’ll find a vibrantly coloured disused vehicle alongside a romantic, floral-framed pergola and 20+ TV screens all within a few steps…

Details: 123 Acre Ln, Brixton Hill, SW2 5UA | Get more information or book via their website here.

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The Duke of Edinburgh | Brixton

The Duke claims to be South London’s biggest beer garden, which in itself doesn’t automatically make it one of the best. But it helps. As do the lovely trellised pergola seating, the festoon lighting, and the excellent kitchen residency from White Men Can’t Jerk.

Details: 204 Ferndale Rd, SW9 8AG | Get more information or book via their website here (min booking for outside is 4).

West London Beer Gardens

The Prince | Earls Court 

It’s was an old boozer and four buildings all with gardens. It’s now a new boozer and four restaurants, all with one big garden. Think Gen-Z woodland fantasy, with an incredibly handy retractable roof for summer and heaters for winter. You can stop by for a drink – a chilli mango margarita or a craft beer. Otherwise they also have street food from Filth & Co (burgers), Nonna Madonna (pizza) and Tamaki Bros (Japanese bites).

Details: 14 Lillie Road, London, SW6 1TT | Get more information or book via their website here.

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The Hawk’s Nest | Shepherd’s Bush

The Hawk’s Nest in Shepherd’s Bush is basically just a beer garden with a small bar attached to it. In fact, technically there is no indoor seating, during the winter months they just cover the place and stuff it with heaters. And in the summer, it comes into its own with beautiful greenery and atmospheric lighting…

Details: Goldhawk Rd, Shepherd’s Bush Market, W12 8DF | Get more information or book via their website here.

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The Aeronaut | Acton

Inside, the Aeronaut is part pub, part circus. There are singing waiters, comedy nights, cabaret and circus performances in a big top tent, and – crucially – two year-round gardens. One of them is a good ol’ traditional beer garden (available for private hire, and sporting its own bar and firepit), and the other is a slightly less traditional beer garden lined with fairground stalls, which on closer inspection turn out to be heated, private booths ready to host you and your friends.

Details: 264 High Street, W3 9BH  | Get more information or book via their website here.

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The King’s Arms | Wandsworth

Want to be outside, but sill want to shield yourself from the scorching sun and/or ill-timed rain? Well, the King’s Arms lets you have your cake and eat it too, thanks to a collection of (bookable) huts surrounding their already pretty lovely beer garden. And just FYI they have brownies too, if all that cake talk got you excited.

Details: 94-96 Wandsworth High Street, SW18 4LB | Get more information or book a hut via their website here.

Main image: The Prince

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