South London stopped being the alternative option a long time ago. Brixton runs late and loud, Peckham owns the rooftop-and-warehouse end, Clapham handles the big weekend crowd and Bermondsey turned a railway arch problem into a beer mile.
Each has its own crowd and its own hours. Realtime shows live activity from venues across all of them, so you can see which one has something on tonight.
A selection of venues on the Realtime map. Open the app to see which are busy tonight.
Bar
We're a small, yet mighty (or at least we like to believe so), neighbourhood cocktail bar in the heart of Balham. We've been here for over a decade now, and it's needless to say that we love it here.
10 Bedford Hill, Wandsworth, London, SW12 9RG, United Kingdom
Pub
Craft beer selection and street food menus in a pub with mismatched furniture and stripped floors.
100 Clapham Park Road, Lambeth, London, SW4 7BZ, United Kingdom
Restaurant
A small family-run Portuguese Restaurant & Tapas Bar with a small all-day Cafe. Serving traditional Portuguese cuisine from Bacalhau to Pasteis de nata and an extensive Tapas menu.
111-115 South Lambeth Road, Lambeth, London, SW8 1UZ, United Kingdom
Bar
Sexy spot with wholesome all day dining, coffees to wake you up & cocktails to wind you down. Perfect for hot desking by day & celebrating life by night
44-48 Clapham High St, London SW4 7UR
Brixton is the busiest and the latest. Coldharbour Lane, Atlantic Road and the market arcades carry a night that goes from food to bars to properly late music venues without a break, and the Victoria line means you can get home from it.
Peckham built its scene upwards — rooftops, car parks and converted spaces around Rye Lane — and it has the best summer evening in south London as a result. It is busiest Thursday to Saturday and it fills early when the weather is good.
Clapham High Street is the big, uncomplicated south London night out: a long strip of bars and late venues that gets very busy on a Saturday. Clapham Old Town, five minutes away, is the calmer, pub-led version.
Battersea and Nine Elms have added a newer, glossier layer along the river, and the Power Station development pulls a steady early-evening crowd.
The Bermondsey Beer Mile — a run of taprooms under the railway arches — is a Saturday afternoon institution, and most of it closes early enough that you can still go somewhere else afterwards.
Along the river towards Borough and London Bridge, the pubs are older and busier and the market end of it does the best pre-drinks food in south London.
Pub
12 Balham Station Road, Wandsworth, London, SW12 9SG, United Kingdom
Bar
195c Balham High Road, Wandsworth, London, SW12 9BE, United Kingdom
Night Club
40 Acre Lane, Lambeth, London, SW2 5SP, United Kingdom
Bar
4 Clapham Common South Side, Lambeth, London, SW4 9DW, United Kingdom
Pub
2 The Polygon, Lambeth, London, SW4 0JG, United Kingdom
Bar
182-184 Clapham High St, London SW4 7UG
Pub
69 Dulwich Road, Lambeth, London, SE24 0NJ, United Kingdom
Pub
40 Kemerton Road, Lambeth, London, SE5 9AR, United Kingdom
Bar
247 Lavender Hill, Wandsworth, London, SW11 1JW, United Kingdom
Bar
5 Clapham High Street, Clapham North, SW4 7TS
Pub
45 Trinity Gardens, Lambeth, London, SW9 8DR, United Kingdom
Bar
SW4 0BD, London, Greater London, England, United Kingdom
Brixton for late nights and music, Peckham for rooftops and a younger crowd, Clapham for a big and busy weekend strip, and Bermondsey for taprooms and beer.
Brixton has some of the latest licences in south London, with venues around Coldharbour Lane and Atlantic Road running into the early hours. The Victoria line Night Tube runs on Friday and Saturday nights.
Realtime maps live activity from venues across Brixton, Peckham, Clapham and Bermondsey so you can see where people are before you travel. It is free on iOS and Android.
