London Classic

Your weekend, day by day

1. 1

   Day 1

   

   Cocktail making class

   From about 15:00 · 1.5 hours

   Arrival day. Travel in and check in, then the cocktail class: each person makes two or three drinks behind the bar with a bartender and drinks what they make, usually finishing with a competition for the best one.

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   London's group classes cluster in the City around Liverpool Street, Bishopsgate and St Mary Axe, in Shoreditch and Soho, and at King's Cross and Canary Wharf, so pick the one nearest your evening. Most run 90 minutes to two hours, longer with a meal, and cover two or three cocktails each. Many ask the whole group to make the same two drinks. Smart casual applies at several bars, with no sportswear, hoodies or hats. Arrive 15 minutes early with photo ID. Some City bars only run classes in the daytime, Monday to Saturday.

   You stand behind a bar with your own kit and a bartender takes the group through two or three drinks, explaining the spirits, the shake and the balance. You make each one yourself and drink it. Most classes finish with a competition for the best drink.

   Sessions usually run around ninety minutes and include everything you make, with the option to stay on in the bar afterwards.

   No dress code beyond the venue's. It gets sticky, so nothing you are precious about.

   

   Club entry, VIP & booths

   From about 23:00 · 2.5 hours

   The first night finishes with guest-list club entry, past the queue. London door policies are stricter than elsewhere in the UK. Dress codes are enforced on stag groups: no sportswear and no matching shirts.

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   For London groups, the reliable format is a reserved area with guestlist entry rather than turning up at a door. Packages in Covent Garden and Shoreditch give the group a set area for about two hours, with a welcome drink, two or three cocktails each and a round of shots, and VIP club packages hold a table for the night. Smart casual or better is expected, and six is a common minimum. Book the area for the time you will actually arrive, as reserved areas are held for a set window.

   Standard entry gets the group past the queue on a guest list, which matters because large male groups are the first ones a door turns away. A booth adds a reserved table, a set number of bottles with mixers and a host who looks after the table.

   Booths are sold on a minimum spend rather than a flat fee at many clubs, so the bottles you order count towards it. Ask what the minimum is and what it includes before you agree to anything.

   Dress code is enforced hard on stag groups. No sportswear, no trainers at some doors, no matching shirts, and nobody visibly drunk gets in regardless of the booking.

2. 2

   Day 2

   

   Karaoke

   From about 20:00 · 1.5 hours

   A free day, then the karaoke room in the evening: a private room booked for one to two hours, often with a welcome drink, and more drinks ordered to the room. Some booths hold only about six, so a big group may share a reserved area.

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   London has private karaoke rooms in Soho, Covent Garden, Shoreditch, Victoria, Fitzrovia and Battersea, so you can book one near wherever the group is drinking. Sessions are 60 minutes to two hours, and packages often include a welcome drink plus two or three drinks each, with more ordered to the room. Some booths only hold about six, so a big group gets a reserved area and rotates through. Late slots run until about 1.30am at some venues, and weekend afternoons are available. ID for 18+ is checked.

   A private booth means your group and nobody else, with a touchscreen catalogue, microphones and drinks brought to the room. Sessions are booked by the hour and you can usually extend on the night if the room is free.

   The alternative is a bar with an open stage, which is cheaper but means queuing behind strangers and singing to a room. Private rooms are the better bet for a group that wants to be loud.

   Nothing special to wear. Order the drinks in a round when the staff come, because the door stays shut most of the time.

3. 3

   Day 3

   

   Guided bar crawl

   From about 20:30 · 4 hours

   The guided bar crawl: meet the guide at a fixed point and work through a run of bars, finishing with club entry, with the guide handling the doors. Eat first so the group makes the start time, and dress for the last venue: no trainers and no sportswear.

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   Guided crawls in London run in the West End, Shoreditch, Camden and Clapham, mostly on Friday and Saturday nights from about 7.30pm. Allow four to five hours, with free entry or a shot at each bar and a club at the end. Pick the area first, as the routes do not cross town. Bring a passport or driving licence, because screenshots of ID are refused. Smart casual is the safe standard: several routes refuse tracksuits, shorts, vests and flip-flops, and one bans fancy dress. Self-led passes from 9pm are an alternative, with the route sent a week ahead.

   You meet the guide at a fixed point and move through a run of bars across the evening, usually four or five, finishing at a club. The guide knows the doors, so you skip the queue and the group is not turned away for being too large.

   Most crawls include a welcome drink or a shot at each stop, and entry to the final venue. The rest is on you. Groups from several bookings are often merged, which some stags like and some do not, so ask whether yours is private.

   Dress code is the club's, not the guide's. No trainers and no sportswear at the last venue, and matching shirts get refused at some doors.