The best bars for a Sunday afternoon in London are not the loudest or the most Instagrammable. They are the places that have figured out the particular rhythm of a Sunday — slower, more deliberate, and rewarding if you let the afternoon stretch. We have been through every corner of the city to find the bars that do Sunday properly: good natural light, food worth eating alongside the drinks, and a staff that does not make you feel like you should wrap up and leave.
The Best Sunday Afternoon Bars in East London
East London owns the Sunday afternoon format. From Hackney to Dalston to Bethnal Green, the combination of late-opening pubs, strong coffee-to-cocktail transitions, and neighbourhood energy makes this the best part of the city for a Sunday session that starts at noon and finishes when it finishes.
01
The Marksman
Hackney
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Gastropub / Sunday Roast
The Marksman on Mare Street does Sunday roast and Sunday drinking with equal conviction. The ground floor pub is traditional without being dated; the upstairs dining room does a roast that is consistently among the best in East London. Come for the food at noon, stay for the afternoon pints in the pub section. The beer programme focuses on British breweries and rotates regularly. Tables for the dining room book out weeks in advance on Sunday — the bar section does not require a reservation.
Order: A pint of whatever British ale is on cask that week — ask the barman what arrived most recently
02
Oval Space Beer Garden
Bethnal Green
$$
Outdoor / Craft Beer / Relaxed
The outdoor terrace at Oval Space in Bethnal Green is the best Sunday afternoon outdoor drinking spot in East London when the weather holds. The craft beer selection spans 30 rotating taps, the food programme runs to wood-fired flatbreads and shared plates, and the crowd is the right mix of people who want to sit in the sun for a few hours without anything in particular happening. Opens at noon on Sunday; the terrace fills by 2pm in warm weather.
Order: Cloudwater Pale Ale on draught — or whatever their rotating guest keg is running that week
03
Frank's Café
Peckham
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Rooftop / Views / Seasonal
Frank's Café on the multi-storey car park roof in Peckham is a London institution that has maintained its quality through a decade of imitation. The Peckham skyline view — with Canary Wharf visible on a clear day — makes Sunday afternoon here feel genuinely different from anywhere else in the city. Open seasonally (May through October); the bar runs natural wine, craft beer, and a short cocktail menu. Come before 3pm to get a table on the top level.
Order: Negroni on ice — they do it simply and correctly
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Sunday Afternoon Bars in Central and West London
Central London can be difficult on Sundays — the tourist traffic, the early last orders in some areas, and the sense that many venues are just going through the motions until Monday. The picks below are the exceptions: places that treat Sunday as an opportunity rather than an obligation.
04
The Churchill Arms
Notting Hill
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Traditional Pub / Flower-Covered
The Churchill Arms on Kensington Church Street is one of London's most photographed pubs for good reason: the exterior flower display is extraordinary from April through October, and the interior — covered floor-to-ceiling in Churchill memorabilia — is the genuine article. Sunday afternoons here are busy but never chaotic. The Thai kitchen running from the conservatory at the back makes this the only pub in London where you can have a genuinely excellent pad thai alongside a pint of Fuller's.
Order: Fuller's London Pride on cask — the pub's house beer, and exactly the right thing for a Sunday afternoon
05
The Spread Eagle
Homerton
$$
Plant-Based / Natural Wine
The Spread Eagle in Homerton is a fully plant-based pub — an unusual claim, and one that does not come at the expense of the drinks or the atmosphere. The natural wine list is one of the most interesting in East London, the Sunday menu is worth making the trip for, and the Victorian pub interior has been preserved in a way that feels authentic rather than curated. A Sunday afternoon here tends to run longer than planned.
Order: Pét-nat from the rotating natural wine list — ask which producer they opened most recently
06
Lore of the Land
Fitzrovia
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Craft Beer / Central London
Guy Ritchie's Fitzrovia pub is better than its celebrity association suggests — the craft beer programme is genuinely good, the food is pub cooking done with real technique, and the Sunday afternoon atmosphere in this part of central London is exactly the right pace. The beer garden in the back works well in warmer months; the front bar is a proper destination when it is not. Within walking distance of the British Museum, which makes it an obvious Sunday afternoon anchor point for that part of the city.
Order: Whatever is on the guest cask that week — the selection changes every few days
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Sunday Afternoon Cocktail Bars Worth Knowing
Not every Sunday calls for a pub. For the Sundays that start later and run on cocktails rather than pints, these are the bars that have the right programme and the right attitude for a longer, quieter afternoon session.
07
Tayer + Elementary (Elementary)
Old Street
$$$
Walk-in Cocktails / Sunday
The Elementary side of Tayer accepts walk-ins and operates a slightly more accessible programme than its sister bar. Sunday afternoons here are calm compared to Thursday through Saturday, the bartenders have more time to talk through the menu, and the quality of the drinks programme does not change with the day. For a cocktail-forward Sunday afternoon in East London, this is the pick — especially if the goal is to slow the afternoon down and drink thoughtfully rather than volume.
Order: Whatever they are making from the current seasonal menu — the programme is built around provenance and changes quarterly
08
The Wigmore
Marylebone
$$$
Classic Bar / Grand Hotel
The Wigmore at The Langham is Sunday afternoon in its most civilised London form. The high-ceilinged Victorian bar, the Sunday jazz programme, and a cocktail menu built around classic formats with careful modern execution make this one of the best Sunday afternoon bar experiences in the city. The food programme — including excellent sharing boards — means the afternoon can extend naturally into early evening without anyone needing to make a decision about where to eat. Book a table or arrive early; it fills by 3pm on Sundays.
Order: The Wigmore Martini — house-blend gin, fino sherry, dash of celery bitters, lemon twist
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Our Verdict on Sunday Afternoon Bars in London
The best Sunday afternoon bars in London reward patience. The city's Sunday drinking culture is at its best when you find a venue that has the right food, the right drinks, and the right amount of space to let an afternoon unfold without pressure. The picks above all have that quality — and they are spread across enough of the city that wherever you are on a Sunday, at least two of them are within reasonable distance.
Arrive early for outdoor venues — the best terraces in London fill by early afternoon on good weather days. For pub-format venues, Sunday afternoons are actually best from 2pm to 5pm, when the post-roast crowd has settled in and the evening crowd has not yet arrived. That two-to-three hour window is the best version of a London Sunday afternoon bar.
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