Cool party venues

Words like ‘escape’ and ‘haven’ are often used when describing this Drake & Morgan venue near Cannon Street and Bank stations, thanks to its resemblance to a botanical retreat. It’s surprisingly easy to lose track of time among the foliage while sipping quirky cocktails, which we reckon makes it a pretty cool place for a party.

This hip City hangout has a number of spaces for partying, but our favourite has to be the Secret Garden. Hailed as ‘Miami off Moorgate’, South Place Hotel’s tropical garden is an outside bar equipped with heaters, blankets and a retractable roof to help maintain paradise climates whatever the weather. The Angler Terrace on the seventh floor is pretty cool too.

This striking building is a hidden jewel in the City of London that anyone interested in history will think is a very cool place for an event. The museum contains a number of stunning rooms dating from the twelfth and sixteenth centuries, along with some sleek modern spaces which come together to create an extraordinarily special event space.

As the venue in which the Rolling Stones performed their first London gig, we’d say 100 Wardour St is pretty darn cool. Beyond the light-filled atrium lies a cavernous main space dominated by an island bar and two private dining rooms – one a cosy space featuring a bespoke billiards table that converts into a dining table, the other located in the glamorous Restaurant and Club.

These historic vaulted cellars beneath the Grade II-listed Ivory House at St Katharine Docks exude charm and individuality, providing the perfect place for a party to remember. Nestled between the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, the 10,000 sq ft venue is devised of nine intimate vaulted private dining areas interlinked by a vast open passageway that can be hired for a themed event or as a dry hire option.

Built by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of London, this historic building is now a popular location for events, with a series of spaces to hire in the church, courthouse and crypt. Each space is stunning in its own right, but our favourite is the hidden underground crypt, which dates back to Roman times.

For more than a century the secret mail railway located beneath The Postal Museum was hidden from view, but now you have the chance to experience the secret space for yourself. The blank-canvas venue boasts vaulted arches and a clandestine feel, making it ideal for dinners and parties. Trips on miniature trains around the original network and platforms make for memorable and unique add-ons to events.

Striking and full of character, the London Transport Museum offers an impressive backdrop for evening receptions, dinners and glitzy parties. Blending old and new interiors with displays of iconic transport posters and original artwork, the space is a feast for the eyes and a gift to your guests’ Instagram accounts. It also partners with a number of great caterers so you can be sure of good food while you party.

With its iconic sweeping roof, fastest track on the planet and the place where Team GB won seven gold medals in the 2012 Olympics, this special venue is sure to inspire and impress. It does lend itself more to conferences, exhibitions and meetings more than rockin’ parties, but we definitely consider it cool enough to feature here.

The former home of Victorian painter Lord Leighton is a truly stunning venue in which to hold an event. All sorts of filming has taken place here over the years, from Poirot to the Stranglers’ single ‘Golden Brown’, but it’s the house’s lavish interiors that make it a covetable spot for an event more than these claims to fame. The opulent Arab Hall – the museum’s centrepiece, designed to house the artist’s priceless collection of 16th- and 17th-century Islamic tiles is striking.

A bastion and refuge for arts, literature and media folk in the bohemian heart of Soho, The Groucho Club is a very cool place for a party. Though it’s a private members’ club, you don’t actually have to be a Groucho member to hire one of its famous private event spaces, which can be used for anything from an intimate private dinner to a roaring party for three hundred guests.

If the thought of dining within ancient stone walls that have witnessed almost 1,000 years of siege, ceremony, triumphs, and bloodshed is exciting to you, then you need to find any excuse to hire the historic Tower of London. This World Heritage Site offers a magnificent backdrop for large or unusual events and includes the option to add on extras such as a Yeoman Warder tour or a private view of the Crown Jewels.

Situated within Kensington Gardens, the Serpentine Gallery and Serpentine Sackler Gallery (and The Magazine restaurant) combines the sense of occasion that comes with being in historic Grade II and Grade II- listed buildings with the coolness of a contemporary art space. These are two unique venues for beautiful events.

As well as its 150-plus arcade games, Namco Funscape also has bowling lanes available for private hire. For parties of up to 500 the Subscape area offers six lanes, a DJ and dancefloor, private bar, access to the American-style pool hall, an escape room and use of the video games. And the best part? The bowling alley has a special floor so you don’t need to ruin your outfit with a pair of gross bowling shoes.