Up All Night

It's 11pm, your date has been a massive success and it's just not time to go home yet. But there's a problem. London seems incapable of dragging its cobbled old streets into the 21st century. Let's be honest, the phrase "24 hour city" was not coined for London. Everything is shut, everyone is trying to make you go home. Even the tube eventually gives up the fight for survival.

You don't want to go to a club; any fool can do that. What you want is to sit down with a bottle of wine or a cup of coffee and talk all night long discussing life, love and the universe. What you need is a guide to London's best 24 hour restuarants. What we have is a list right here!

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PRINCI
Open until midnight, so not strictly 24 hours, this is a stylish Italian artisan bakery set up by a man known as the "Armani of Bread"! Located on Wardour Street it is the perfect place to go after a trip to the theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue. It's at the more glamourous end of the late night scale!
135 Wardour Street London W1F 0UF
020 7478 8888
Mon-Sat 10am-midnight
Sun 10am-11pm

BRICK LANE BEIGEL BAKE
An old favourite on the 24-hour scene this place has been going for years. The bagels are delicious and amazingly good value, and with roughly 7000 bagels being produced every night you're not going to find they've run out when you tip out of your desperately cool east London bar with your date on your arm! By the way, the salt beef bagel comes very highly recommended.
159 Brick Lane London E1 6SB
020 7729 0616
Open 24hrs daily - no credit cards.

CAFE BOHEME
Another offering from Nick Jones and the Soho House group, cafe Boheme has already become something of an institution on the late night scene. It serves classic French brasserie food until 3am, and with its central Soho location its perfect for post theatre/gallery/club late night romance - ooh la la!
13 Old Compton Street London W1D 5GQ
020 7734 0623
Monday to Friday 8am-3am
Sat 9am-3am
Sun 9am -Midnight

VINGT QUATRE
Sticking with the French theme, Vingnt Quatre is one of smartest all night venues and the perfect place to take someone on a date that you just don't want to end! How about following a trip to the cinema with a VQ full English breakfast complete with a quarter of a bottle of champagne? They don't take bookings and it does get outrageously busy once the beautiful and the damned of the Fulham nightclubs get tipped out, so you'll just have to consider queuing up to be part of the fun!
325 Fulham Road London SW10 9QL
020 7376 6224
Open 24hrs daily

BAR ITALIA
Crossing the border to Italy and we've got another icon on the 24 hour scene; Bar Italia, which has been around since 1949. Serving "proper" Italian coffee this place has been frequented by local Italians to pop stars and film stars since the first day it opened. It is a Soho institution which makes the perfect end to any date, just make sure that Italy aren't playing football if you are hoping for a romantic evening!
"There's nothing better than sitting outside the Italia early morning, creamy cappuccino to hand, watching Soho wash away its sins from the night before and waiting excitedly for the whole world to pass by your table." Paolo Hewitt
22 Frith Street London W1D 4RP
020 7437 4520
Open 24hrs daily

TINSELTOWN
The Hollywood diner in London! Tinseltown is a brilliant place to go to if you want a fun and relaxed end to your night. You’ll sometimes find it gets mixed reviews, but like any late night venue there are going to be people on the wrong side of 8 pints wanting a bit of food, you’ve just got to be prepared! It's probably not the place to go for a four-course meal but if you want an amazing retro shake then they've got over 60 to chose from!
44-46 St John Street London EC1M 4DF
020 7689 2424
Mon-Thur 11am-5am (from 4.30-5.00am take-away only)
Fri-Sat 11am-4am (from 3.30-4.00am take-away only)
Sun 11am-3am

1997
You guessed it - another 24-hour venue in Soho - have you spotted a theme? Again, not somewhere to go for a glamorous location and an intimate meal, but a perfect place to grab a bite to eat after a night out in Soho. It’s named after the British handover of Hong Kong and serves inexpensive Chinese food all night long. A great place to go after the Comedy Store.
19 Wardour Street London W1D 6PF
0871 332 8294
Open 24hrs daily

comments

great! I'm a regular at Vingt Quatre but the bagel places sounds brilliant - will definitely check it out - thanks!

Josh 17:42 30/07/2009