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Independent, London 465 guides to London Nobody pays to appear Every price checked at the source We take no bookings Est. 2026

Journal

Every guide we publish, newest first. London restaurants, bars, pubs, hotels, afternoon tea, spas and nightlife, each one checked against the venue's own published information rather than against other guides.

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We take no bookings, sell nothing, and accept no payment for inclusion. Where a price or a rule appears here, it came from the venue.

Stalls under the roof of a covered market hall
Restaurants

Seven Dials Market: The Terrace Closes an Hour Before the Market

Uncovered, unbookable and cleared at 10pm. Why a table for four can be reserved and a table for three cannot, and the two-hour gap between Monday and midweek.

7 min read
A prawn curry in a bowl, the Shoreditch branch's signature dish
Restaurants

Dishoom Shoreditch: The Only One That Takes Dogs

Dogs on the verandah, ten more guests bookable online than King's Cross, and the two dishes you can only get on Boundary Street.

6 min read
A biryani served with papadum, the dish Dishoom King's Cross makes with lamb shank
Restaurants

Dishoom King’s Cross: Two of You Cannot Book After Six

After 6pm Dishoom only takes bookings for six or more, which is why everyone else queues. Breakfast is the loophole, and this branch takes 16 online where Shoreditch takes 26.

7 min read
The ornate interior of a theatre, with balconies and red curtains
Things to Do

Cheap Theatre Tickets in London: The Codes, the Times and the Catches

5 pound tickets at the Almeida with a promo code, 15 pound standing at the Donmar released a week ahead, and a 10 pound pass across four Sadler's Wells venues. Every scheme and what it takes away.

15 min read
Glowing marquee lights on a cinema frontage at twilight
Things to Do

Odeon Leicester Square: One Ticket Costs More Than a Month of Unlimited

20 pounds a seat against 19.99 for the pass that covers the whole chain. Why the cheaper Limitless tier does not fully work here, and the three cheaper Odeons a few streets away.

7 min read
Empty leather armchairs in a cinema auditorium, the Electric's seating style
Things to Do

Electric Cinema Portobello: The Bar Closes When the Film Starts

Twenty minutes to buy your drinks, and no admission fifteen minutes in. The full price grid, and why the two-person beds cost less per head than an armchair.

8 min read
The lit facade of a city centre cinema at night
Things to Do

Picturehouse Central: Two of the Three Memberships Do Not Work Here

Light and Classic are both excluded from the flagship. The self-service refund nobody else offers, the per-ticket booking fee, and the 5.99 pound unemployed ticket.

11 min read
An audience watching a film from behind, in a cinema with a large screen
Things to Do

Curzon London: Student Tickets Are Gone, and Under 25 Is Free

The free Under 25 membership that replaced student tickets, the 285 pound tier that buys seven films a week, the one screen with five minutes of trailers, and why a VPN blocks the booking.

11 min read
A dimly lit cinema with a blank screen, the half hour before the feature
Things to Do

Everyman Cinema London: Thirty Minutes of Adverts, Published by Them

Their own figure, and up to 40 for special events. The 90 minute rule that stops members booking a double bill, the two ways out of the booking fee, and all thirteen London branches.

15 min read
The facade of an IMAX cinema seen from below against the sky
Things to Do

BFI IMAX: The Same Membership Costs 44 Pounds or 60

The 16 pound gap buys a posted booklet and nothing else. Why membership will not get you a first-run ticket early, what Member Row actually is, and the four-ticket discount.

9 min read

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Questions we get asked

How often is the guide updated?

Continuously, and each page records the month it was last checked rather than only the date it was first written. Opening hours and prices in London change often enough that an unchecked guide is worse than none.

How do you decide what goes in?

Every entry is verified against the venue's own published information, not against other guides. Nothing is included in exchange for payment, and nothing is excluded for refusing it.