Hangouts aren’t simply hangouts for the queer community worldwide: they are platforms for creativity, self-expression, and dialogue designed to make everyone feel welcome, inclusive spaces meant to feel safe and spark conversation. And while that’s tangible year-round, this is especially evident during Pride Month.
“There aren’t many places for LGBTQ+ people and their peers to gather other than pubs,” Domhnall Nolan, senior designer at Soho House, lamented when we spoke to him about the otherworldly Roses of Elagabalus, one of the queer-owned-and-operated London businesses spotlighted in this Pride Month roundup. On that occasion, he referred to the nightlife destination as a place its visitors could cultivate a sense of belonging in — “something different, hopefully encouraging people to start thinking differently about how and where we decide to meet up.”
The same is true of the other addresses gathered in this edit of queer platforms to hit up for Pride Month (aka June) and beyond, whether you’re after an imaginatively crafted coffee shop to start a new day at, great drinks and better vibes, or sophisticated hotspots to carry on celebrating into the night.
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1. For a Great Morning Start — TOAD Bakery
South East London’s favorite coffee spot, TOAD Bakery, is opening a second outpost in the area this year, and Pride Month is the perfect moment to give the platform the support it deserves.
(Image credit: Caitilin Isola)
44 Peckham Rd, London SE5 8PX
Whether it’s Pride Month or an ordinary day in the life of a Londoner, caffeine and some freshly baked goods are always high priority.Rebecca Spaven and Oliver Costello’s Camberwell spot on Peckham Road, TOAD Bakery, has carved itself a reputation among coffee lovers and viennoiserie connoisseurs for their unique pastries, long-fermented sourdough, and rotating seasonal menu. Design-wise, the coffee shop’s open-plan layout lets the ferment of its kitchen spills out onto the crowd, making for a social, bubbly atmosphere, as do the pop, colorful stools that dot its outdoors. Staples include the Everything Bagel Croissant, ideal for those who, like me, can’t say no to a savory treat, a Saffron and Vanilla Teacake for a sweeter, bite-size alternative, and the spicy Yuzu Orange Jaffa Cake. Plus, TOAD Bakery 2.0 is set to land on Deptford Hight Street later in June, making Pride Month in London even more exciting for fellow SE residents. Craving more? Discover how many of our favorite cafes in London you know, or explore wider with our fresher edit of the most beautiful coffee shops in the world.
Learn more about TOAD Bakery.
2. For an Irreverent Hair Trim — FRUITTII London
A beloved institution for the LGBTQIA community, Deptford’s FRUITTI London brings a touch of color and playfulness into your hair rituals.
(Image credit: FRUITTI London)
Unit A, Norfolk House, Brookmill Rd, Deptford SE8 4HL
Having lived near Deptford for the past six years, I must admit I feel a sense of pride in knowing that some of the coolest queer spaces in London call South East London their home. Located in a glassy building on Brookmill Road, hair sculptors Tutti Fruitti and Toni Tits’ salon and social lab is one to know for people looking to have a little fun and go bolder, more sculpted, and eccentric with their style. A LGBTQIA+ affirming studio known for its daring hair transformations, FRUITTI London’s interiors are as vibrant as its cuts. A “living canvas”, the space is covered in rainbow-tinted forms and quirky furniture, serving as a perfect reflections of its values of self-expression, individuality, and its gender-neutral identity. From time to time, they host artist takeovers and, for the undecided, are ‘hair roulettes’ letting chance decide your next look.
Learn more about FRUITTI London.
3. For an Art-Infused Catchup — BOYS! BOYS! BOYS!
A platform for gay photography, BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! will get you covered, whether you’re looking for fresh inspiration or standout drinks.
(Image credit: Boys! Boys! Boys! Design: Alison Henry Design Studio)
30C Warren St, London W1T 5NF
Multifunctional spaces blending retail and interactive cultural experiences are trending in London, as shown by its lively concept stores, so why have a gallery when you can instead open a queer café, bar, bookshop, and gallery, all in one, and right in the heart of London? The answer seems obvious, but the rationale behind BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! stretches further than that. Launched in October 2024 by Ghislain Pascal and Tamara Beckwith Veroni of leading photography platform The Little Black Gallery as a physical extension to their editorial concept of the same name, Fitzrovia’s BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! puts the spotlight onto queer and gay fine art photography. The work of Alison Henry Design Studio, the interior falls somewhere between a sleek, sexy bar, with marble countertops and velvety stools, an old-style bistro with art-clad gallery walls, and a high-end coffee shop. They serve their namesake French wine (all kinds for all palates), beer, and organic coffee from Colombia, sell plenty of printed matter releases and bespoke merch, and, yes, even host a MEETS programme of thought-provoking conversations featuring photographers, artists, and interior designers.
Learn more about BOYS! BOYS! BOYS.
4. For Atmospheric Pre-Drinks — La Camionera
A recent addition to London’s queer hospitality scene, La Camionera reinterprets Spanish style through a distinctively East London edge.
(Image credit: Rachel Ferriman. Design: Studio Popelo and Wet Studio)
243 Well St, London E9 6RG
It lesbian bar La Camionera has quickly become one of London’s most beloved queer-friendly gathering spots since the opening of its first permanent outpost in May 2024 following a pop-up residency on Broadway Market, and it doesn’t take more than a look at its interior to know why it’s high on the list of all design-driven socialites. A must-know for people looking to celebrate Pride Month in London in style, this Hackney cantina by co-founders Alex Loveless and Clara Solis infuses the warmth, conviviality, and familial feel of Spanish café culture into the East End. Chocolatey details, chrome furniture, and moody artworks on the walls make La Camionera, a sanctuary for the FLINTA* community, look both futuristic and worldly inspired, with glass pendants thrown into the mix as a sentimental touch.
Dreamed up by Wet Studio and Studio Popelo, the bar’s long, narrow layout maximizes space and utilizes custom, hand-painted tiles. A play on Picasso’s Minotaur paintings, nodding to Greek gods disguising themselves as bulls to seduce women, these crafty accents hold a subtle wink to the term “bulldyke”. It is the sort of place where a drink stretches into several, where pintxos (patatas bravas, Gildas, cornichons, and anchovies, alongside other tapas) come aplenty, and the crowd — gloriously mixed, refreshingly unbothered — reminds you that inclusivity, at its best, doesn’t announce itself.
Learn more about La Camionera.
5. For an Electrifying Meal — Bistrotheque
Queer-owned-and-operated restaurant and cabaret venue Bistrotheque has been on my mind for a while now, and Pride Month might well be the moment I tick restaurateurs David Waddington and Pablo Flack’s eatery off my hot list.
(Image credit: Carmody Groarke)
23-27 Wadeson St, London E2 9DR
Opened by David Waddington and Pablo Flack in 2004, East London’s Bistrotheque has, for the better part of two decades, occupied a rather singular position in the city’s cultural geography — part restaurant, part cabaret stage, part queer institution, all tucked inside a converted Bethnal Green warehouse whose industrial bones have been softened, over the years, into something genuinely inviting. During Pride Month, its dual identity feels especially resonant: a place where a beautifully executed French-inflected menu and a sequinned cabaret act can coexist on the same evening without either feeling like an afterthought. It is, in the truest sense, a room that has always made space for everyone without ever needing a month on the calendar to prove it. Grab a reservation this Pride Month in London for a chance to spot Croco Studio’s essentially striking floral arrangements IRL.
Learn more about Bistrotheque.
6. For a Transportative Night Out — Roses of Elagabalus
“There aren’t many places for LGBTQ+ people to gather. Roses of Elagabalus offers something different, hopefully encouraging people to start thinking differently about how and where we decide to meet up.” — Domhnall Nolan
(Image credit: Ollie Tomlinson. Design: Domhnall Nolan)
Ground floor, 578 Kingsland Rd, London E8 4AH
As Pride Month unfolds across London and beyond, few destinations encapsulate its spirit and urgency quite like Roses of Elagabalus. Dalston’s golden-hued, labyrinthine queer clubhouse isn’t merely a beautifully designed night out, but a direct response to the absence of many places where the LGBTQ+ community gets to unwind, connect, and thrive from evening to night. It is in that gap that Roses of Elagabalus plants something far more deliberate and nourishing: a home. A space where the erotic library, the mirrored powder room, the curtain-shrouded booths of The Counter, and the clandestine hush of the Subrosa cocktail room collectively say, in no uncertain terms, that queer life deserves more than a corner of a pub — it deserves drama, elegance, and a little bit of camp. That regulars are already giving friends guided tours of its rooms, Nolan observes, speaks to something deeper than design appreciation; it is pride in the most literal, embodied sense of the word. In a month that so often risks becoming spectacle over substance, Roses of Elagabalus quietly, gloriously, insists on both.
Learn more about Roses of Elagabalus.
After more suggestions to welcome Pride Month in London? From the city’s coolest ice cream parlour, The Dreamery, to the bars rewriting the rules of contemporary hospitality, there is something for everyone.
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