Come here for everything from non-binary cabaret to alternative life drawing, as well as the competitions LIPSYNC 1000 (for queens) and Man Up (for kings), where aspiring drag stars battle for the grand prize.Īddress: The Glory, 281 Kingsland Road, Haggerston, London E2 8AS Telephone: +44 20 7684 0794 Website: The basement has ticketed shows on weekends, followed by a disco until closing.
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Owned by the drag queen Jonny Woo, The Glory puts on free drag performances in its upstairs pub most weeknights. London’s drag scene is booming, in large part thanks to one lively Haggerston boozer. Make sure to visit the loo, a curated art gallery known as the White Cubicle.Īddress: The Queen Adelaide, 483 Hackney Road, London E2 9ED Telephone: +44 20 7012 1100 Website: With trinket-filled interiors and good-value beer, the pub is popular with art-school students and creative professionals. Fortunately, it wasn’t long until the landlords announced a new venture nearby: The Queen Adelaide, in a former lap-dancing club and seafood grill. Forced to close in 2015, its departure left a big hole in the East London scene. Many great London venues have been lost to redevelopment and rent hikes in recent years, and one such loss was the George & Dragon pub in Shoreditch. Heaven is also a gig venue, familiar to everyone from Cher to Lady Gaga, and feels like a homecoming gig for the artists and icons who play here.Īddress: Heaven, The Arches, Villiers Street, Charing Cross, London WC2N 6NG Telephone: +44 20 7930 2020 Website: Thursday’s Porn Idol is an amateur strip contest judged by guest stars -mostly RuPaul’s Drag Racealumni these days. In 2008 it was taken over by G-A-Y and became much more mainstream. Established in 1979 in the arches beneath Charing Cross railway station, it’s one of the city’s legendary nightlife spots - notorious for its acid house and hardcore raves in the late 1980s-early 1990s. Hands down the biggest and most famous gay club in central London. On Fridays, Metropolis is home to Dollar Baby, a club night run by DJ Jodie Harsh.Īddress: Metropolis, 234 Cambridge Heath Road, London E2 9NN Telephone: +44 7807 291781 Website: Open until 5am, it’s the after-party of choice for East London clubbers, who come here to dance to house and disco alongside pole-dancing drag queens – though the night is sadly coming to a close in June 2019. The club is set over four lavish floors, with leopard-print carpets, neon lights and a hot tub on the roof terrace. The shop also hosts regular evening classes on everything from lesbian sex to beginners’ bondage.Īddress: Sh!, 31-35 Pitfield Street, London N1 6HB Telephone: +44 20 7613 5458 Website: Īn East End strip club from Monday to Thursday, Metropolis opens its doors every Saturday for the big queer dance party Savage, steered by long-running drag troupe Sink the Pink. And they know their stuff - founder Kathryn Hoyle is responsible for introducing the Jessica Rabbit to the world.
Staff will offer you a cup of tea or coffee as they dish out advice on their products. Run by and for women, Sh! is an erotic boutique offering a first-class selection of toys and literature in the most welcoming of environments. Don’t leave without a campy postcard - the selection has to be one of the city’s best.Īddress: Gay’s the Word, 66 Marchmont Street, London, WC1N 1AB Telephone: +44 20 7278 7654 Website: .uk It hosts events and book readings in the small shop space and its wonderful staff will be happy to give you recommendations and historical anecdotes. The choice is exhaustive, featuring classic and contemporary authors including Audre Lorde, Oscar Wilde, Alison Bechdel and James Baldwin. On Marchmont Street in Bloomsbury (a central London enclave once home to Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury set), the shop has been a landmark since 1979, stocking queer fiction, non-fiction and poetry from all over the place.
This LGBTQ+ bookshop is a much-loved London institution. See also Barberette in Hackney, which specialises in gender-neutral cuts and colouring.Īddress: Open Barbers, 4 Clunbury Street, Hoxton, London N1 6TT Telephone: +44( 0)7546 017849 Website: Open Barbers operates as a not-for-profit business, offering sharp cuts and bold colour services on a sliding scale based on what customers are able to afford - ensuring that everyone can get a great haircut, without fear of discrimination. If you’re in need of a fresh look, this fantastic and inclusive salon caters to all genders, sexualities and hair types.