The 243 Bus: Your All-Night Bar-Hopping Ride Through London 🚌🍻

Bar Lotus London

The 243, running 24/7, is my lifeline for getting back from Dalston to Waterloo after midnight. Downing rounds until closing time… Every ride past bars where I’ve drunk with different friends floods me with memories, turning each night into a happier ending. Let’s mentally bar-hop from north to south and revisit my favorite spots along this route.

Dalston 🎨

1. Three Sheets – Ranked in the 2019 World’s 50 Best Bars. Fresh, fruity cocktails—no wrong choices here. They also have a Soho branch.

2. Bar Lotus – You know the vibes 🥲 Their chicken wings are unreal (secret chili oil!), and the rum-taro-white-chocolate cocktail was a masterpiece. Inventive and refined menu.

3. A Bar with Shapes for a Name ⚠️🟥🔵 – Lab-themed cocktails rooted in scientific principles. World’s 50 Best Bars two years running.

4. Mikkeller Bar – Cozy taproom by the Danish beer brand. Quieter and warmer than their Exmouth Market pub. Love the minimalist design.

5. The Umbrella Workshop – A tiny, 5.0-rated cocktail bar 🗺️ I’ve yet to visit (but dying to!). Serves wine and bottled cocktails too.

Shoreditch 🦢

6. Waltz – New spot by Gento Torigata (ex-kwānt). Packed since opening. Photos show Tokyo-style hidden-bar vibes—ready for a teleportation experience.

7. Nightjar – My ethereal favorite ✨. Their Yorkshire Punch used to blew my mind in the time, and weekend jazz nights seal the deal.

8. Tayēr + Elementary – Perennial World’s 50 Best Bars No.2 🥈. My take: “Cocktails that taste like they’ve been fermented.” Redefines the category.

9. BrewDog Clerkenwell – My happy home base 🏡.

Holborn 🏘️ (Mostly hotel lounges—pricey but vibey)

10. Scarfes Bar – Rosewood Hotel’s glamorous lounge.

11. Fitz’s Bar – Fun gimmick: cocktail flavor notes are hidden and revealed under UV light.

Final Stop

12. BrewDog Waterloo – Where the night (or early morning) winds down