The best quirky bars in public toilets in London

The best things come in small packages – particularly when they’re micropubs. And squeezing into Tottenham’s diddy boozer The High Cross feels even more thrilling given that it used to be public bogs – the ladies and gents signs are still lit up on the outside of this 1920s toilet block. Sneak in for the two Ps – pints and pies. 

One of the grubbiest toilets in town but for all the right reasons, CellarDoor is a seditious little cabaret and cocktails club just off The Strand. The former public convenience even has a feature restroom of its own. Should you forget to lock the door behind you, the whole bar will catch a glimpse of your bathroom antics. So keep it clean.

Less taps, more tapas. What was once a toilet block just beyond Bethnal Green station is now the home of a Spanish spot with a beach bar theme. It even has its own cutesy roof terrace for cava-sipping up above east London’s comings and goings.      

They’re always shaking things up below Highgate Road in the appropriately named Ladies & Gentlemen. The signage is playful, the setting is moody and the cocktails are mostly on the money. All meaning it’s as popular as the ladies' loos in the interval for ‘Mamma Mia!’.

Not content with one dive bar in the bogs, L&G Camden is bar number two for the team behind Ladies & Gentlemen (see above). Camden Road’s old lavvies have been transformed into a 45-seater room serving twists on classic cocktails plus CBD-tinged drinks. We’re sure the space has seen similar antics across the years. 

This Victorian toilet was given a new lease of life back in 2013 as a petite place for a daytime drink. Perch up by the porcelain for an espresso or fight for a space at the urinals for brunch or lunch.

Desperate for a Pinot? Make a beeline for WC, which in this case stands for Wine & Charcuterie. There were 450 bids to redevelop this plot next to Clapham Common tube station, surely making it one of the best-loved toilets in town. The WC concept ruled out, cubicle doors were turned into tables and Victorian fixtures and fittings were employed to make the most of the theme. 

Bermondsey Arts Club helped kickstart the trend in public toilet hipster transformations when it opened its doors in spring 2014. Its groomed art deco look means it's more than bog-standard, though, all dreamed up by fashion photographer and bar director George Garnier. Head along on Wednesday night for live jazz – it’s a toilet jam that doesn’t need a plumber.