Best blues bars in London

 Add your view

Atmospheric: the Blues Kitchen

Boogie: let your hair down

Chilled: Charlotte Street Blues

Has London been engulfed by melancholy? Judging by the slew of blues bars opening during the past six months it would seem so. In reality, you're unlikely to find a man in the advanced stages of ­abject misery caterwauling on stage in these bars; ­instead they celebrate the spirit of the blues and many of the sounds that followed in its wake, including jive, rock 'n' roll, swing, R&B, rockabilly and soul. Here's our pick of the best places to wallow in your blues for a night...

THE BLUES KITCHEN
The team behind pubs Old Queen's Head, Paradise and The Westbury have overhauled Camden's Oh Bar and re-opened it as The Blues Kitchen. Distressed wood, faded posters (Elvis, John Coltrane), frayed record sleeves and a diner-like area conjure up images of Southern Americana. Mint juleps (a deep south classic made of bourbon, mint, sugar and ice, £6.50) are stiff, and the long bar stocks more than 40 bourbons. There's live music every night of the week and an open mic night on Sundays. Food plays a big part at The Blues Kitchen. Order breakfast (pancakes, £5, steak and eggs, £7.50), soul food (barbecue ribs, £12), Depression-era Po'Boy subway sarnies (£9) and milkshakes (£4).
111 Camden High Street, NW1 (020 7387 5277, theblueskitchen.com)

CHARLOTTE STREET BLUES
Tucked away at the top of Charlotte Street is Charlotte Street Blues. Music concentrates on top-end blues and forthcoming dates include The Yardbirds (20 November) and American icon Jimmy Kalb (21 November), while Sundays are all about gospel. Charlotte Street has an extensive soul food menu including burgers (£8), and moreish sweet potato fries (£3.50), and the house speciality is a refreshing mint julep served in a pewter cup (£5.50). The upstairs bar has more than 80 bourbons on offer and on Tuesdays there are swing and jive classes, while an exhibition of the work of photo-grapher John Hopkins, capturing John Lee Hooker and the Rolling Stones, adds to the ambience.
74 Charlotte Street, W1 (020 7580 0113, charlotte streetblues.com)

ROUND MIDNIGHT
Named after Thelonious Monk's jazz standard, Round Midnight Jazz & Blues Bar opened in March and brings a no-frills music experience to well-heeled Islington. It takes the back-to-basics blues bar blueprint of a dim live music den and programmes R&B, funk, jazz and rockabilly bands. The 100-capacity venue has an admirable policy of paying up-and-coming and unsigned bands to play, so there's a good chance of catching a band on their way to greatness.
13 Liverpool Road, N1 (020 7837 8758, roundmidnightbar.com)

AIN'T NOTHIN' BUT THE BLUES
Open since 1993, ANBTB can claim
to be London's spiritual blues home. Looking like a Chicago juke joint with sheet music as wallpaper, a handwritten blackboard listing each month's gigs (seven nights a week) and a house drum kit, ANBTB has a charm all of its own. Monday's Blues Jam band draws both media types and blues enthusiasts, while Jeremiah Marques & His Blues Aces (31 October) are perennial favourites and regularly raise the roof.
20 Kingly Street, W1 (020 7287 0514, aintnothinbut.co.uk)

SLIM JIM'S LIQUOR STORE
Slim Jim's focuses on no-nonsense “hard liquor and good times”. Red bar stools following the curved black bar, brickwork, candles and neon evoke a low-lit American dive bar. An extensive jukebox is the musical diversion. If you can nab a booth you're set for the night and considering there's no cover charge and it's open until 3am from Thursday through to Saturday, Slim Jim's is ideal for that elusive last drink.
112 Upper Street, N1 (020 7354 4364, slimjimsliquorstore.com)

 

What's on today   What's on tomorrow

Receive our newsletter