The Dean Street basement opened by Peter Boizot in 1969 sits under a working pizzeria and runs a quietly serious nightly programme that has hosted Diana Krall, Norah Jones and Kurt Elling at room scale.
Tip: The pizza is fine, the room is the point, ask for a table on the front banquettes for sightlines to the piano.
Address: 10 Dean Street, Soho, London W1D 3RW
The Ashwin Street room programmed by Hamish Dunbar and Keiko Yamamoto is the central venue in Europe for experimental and improvised music, and the calendar is the single best test of what is current.
Tip: Members get advance ticket access, the Eddie Prevost and Arto Lindsay weeks sell out fast.
The 1929 art deco theatre on Stockwell Road reopened in April 2024 with 77 new safety conditions after the December 2022 crush, and it remains the most resonant mid-size touring room in the country.
Tip: The raked floor gives sightlines from anywhere, but front-of-stage on a sold-out night is a serious push, take a balcony seat for comfort.
The Victorian railway engine shed converted in 1964 is Camden's circular theatre with a programme that runs from Glen Hansard and Rilo Kiley to the Roundhouse Comedy Festival in August.
Tip: The standing pit is the only place to be for a guitar band, the upper circle has obstructed views from the back rows.
The 1900 Camden Hippodrome reopened in 2022 after a fire and a top-to-bottom rebuild, and is now a five-floor venue with a theatre, a members club and a domed roof terrace.
Tip: The Saturday DISKOKO electronic night is the way to see the rebuilt room without paying touring-show prices.
The Oxford Street basement that hosted the 1976 Punk Festival is the longest continuously running music venue in London and still books across genres from punk through Northern Soul.
Tip: There are no bad sightlines, the stage is at floor level. Get a drink before the headline, the bar queues 12 deep on a sold-out night.
The 10th-floor multi-storey carpark bar built by Practice Architecture for Bold Tendencies in 2009 is the summer fixture, with a Negroni view across south London and zero pretense to anything more.
Tip: Card only, no advance bookings, no table service. Get there before 18:00 on a Friday or you queue down the ramp.