Best Meeting Spots in London
The Doers guide to the best meetings spots in London, ends the “where would you like to meet?” dilemma once and for all.
It’s the age old problem. You arrange a meeting with someone; decide on the day and time and then the question “where would you like to meet? “ gets thrown into the mix. If you’re anything like us, this is where panic sets in. And despite hours of Google scrambling and a burning desire to try somewhere new, we always end up falling back on the same places each time.
Laura and I have worked in London for cumulatively almost thirty years. Back in our agency days, meetings tended to be at the latest “it” restaurant. The likes of Nopi, Sketch, The Wolseley, The Ledbury, Dinner and Dishoom all became regulars for press breakfasts, client meetings and “networking” opportunities. These days we’re much fonder of an independently owned, laid back vibe and, since starting The Doers, we’ve managed to find some absolute crackers.
What criteria makes for the perfect venue? This is our check list:
Criteria for the perfect meeting spot:
1. Good WiFi
2. Strong service
3. Has some sort of talking point about it (great bathrooms, cool decor, outstanding coffee for example)
4. Can reliably get a table
5. Quiet enough to be able to hear each other.
The Doers List of the Best Meeting Spots in London
Ham Yard Hotel
Good for:
Design enthusiasts - Kit Kemp designed the space and it’s glorious!
Great tea selection
Fast service
Central location
Venue to impress
This has been a firm favourite for years now. If you can, book a table in the conservatory. It’s a bright and airy space that lends itself perfectly to a productive meeting. If it’s a boozy kind of meeting, the cocktails and craftsmanship behind the bar is exquisite!
TimberYard
Good for:
Affordable meeting rooms
A spot of lunch
Great coffee
Location
We love using TimberYard when we need a meeting room space that doesn’t need to be fancy. They’ve got 2 bookable rooms downstairs that offer an affordable and private space. The service is super friendly and they offer a good selection of salads and sandwiches for lunches. This is a great option for a location that doesn’t break the bank.
The Ned
Good for:
Old school glamour
Venue to impress
Choice of food/drink
Great people watching
Out-of-towners
Imagine old-school glamour but surrounded by the up and comings of London. Although a members-only venue, there are over 10 restaurants and bars, so it’s very much open to everyone! There are tons of places to sit and have coffee and the service is exemplary.
Charlotte St Hotel
Great for:
Design enthusiasts
Excellent drinks
Location
Service
People watching
Another Kit Kemp special. We promise we’re not obsessed or anything! This is a great spot for a coffee but be warned, it gets quite busy and the tables are quite close together so if you’re discussing anything private, it’s probably not the best place for you!
Southbank Centre
Good for:
Space - lots of places to sit throughout the building
A sunny day
Fast and FREE wifi
Scenic views
The Southbank Centre is our favourite secret spot in London, especially in summer. The wifi is always reliable and the building is really spacious giving you plenty of room to tuck yourself away if you need to or spread out a bit. Lots of coffee/drink options and the views are wonderful from the balcony on a clear day. There’s something very calming about The Southbank Centre.
Granger & Co (Kings Cross)
Good for:
A lunch spot
Instagram hotspot
Beautiful interiors
Fast service
Tasty food
If we have to venture towards North London, Kings Cross/Coal Drop’s Yard tends to be our go to. Granger & Co has been a firm favourite for us for a few years now. The food is great and the bar is made up of pink tiles. Need we say more?
Milk
Good for:
Neighbourhood vibes
Great food and coffee
Cool design
Laidback meetings
Disclaimer. Milk (and its Tooting sister, Milk Teeth) are local hotspots for us both. We tend to organise meetings in either of their locations when we know that person is also based in SW London. The food is always fantastic, the coffee is top notch and there’s a whole host of interesting smoothies/juices to boot. Not that we encourage judging somewhere on its Instagrammability but Milk is a great one for snaps. WiFi can be a little temperamental but we’ve been assured this is being worked on.
Riding House Cafe
Good for:
Food & drink
Location
People watching
RHC has been a staple on our meeting rota for years now. We recommend booking a table ahead of time if you can but they do keep space free for walk ins too. The food and drink is always good and the service quick and friendly. This is a cracking spot for people watching with a good mix of creative, media and advertising folks milling around.
The Hoxton (any of their locations)
Good for:
Strong WiFi
Design enthusiasts
Laid back vibe
People watching
We’re pretty public fan girls of The Hoxton’s locations. Southwark is our new favourite but they’re all equally great. Holborn does tend to get quite busy so we suggest booking a table at their Hubbard & Bell restaurant. The rooftop at Southwark is one to book in the summer for a good talking point!
Serata Hall
Good for:
Hopping distance from Old Street tube station
Wine on tap
Space and plug points
Hot desking - £10 a day and unlimited hot drinks
Strong Wifi
People watching
We stumbled across Serata Hall when a meeting in Old Street was cancelled at the last minute as we just left the tube station in the pouring rain! Luckily their well placed sign promoting £10 hot desk passes with unlimited hot drinks and rose on tap caught our eye. We lucked out as we enjoyed a trendy little spot, plug points and lots of desks to work from on the mezzanine level and lots of other freelancers working and buzzing around us. We made quick work of the unlimited hot drinks and when 4pm quickly came around the rose on tap was very much welcomed! As well as hot desking the restaurant serves up great food with lots of space, tables and booths which would make it perfect for a meeting spot.
Darby’s
Good for:
Amazing food and coffee
Stylish interiors including very instagrammable toilets
Plug points built into their tables
Great service
Laid back vibes
We were first introduced to Darby’s by our friends at AndCo and it has quickly become a firm favourite and regular host venue for our monthly ‘We Don’t Do Lonely Days’. The space is really well laid out with Wifi provided by AndCo, lots of tables designed to be worked from with plug points built in and the design is spot on with toilets that definitely encourage you to take a selfie! But the main reason we keep going back here time and time again is the amazing and friendly staff and their incredible food. Their pastries are made fresh in their on-site bakery every day and the miso and coffee glazed Kouign-amann (think deliciously light and buttery croissant-like pastry) features in our dreams regularly! If you’re an AndCo member they offer one of their incredible pastries, freshly made sandwiches and a hot drink for £10 which is a deal that is definitely worth having.
Cut The Mustard
Good for:
Off the beaten track
Brunch food
Brilliant service
Independent cafe
Local haunt
Great wifi.
Ok. We’re sharing our favourite spot with you here. Please don’t tell too many people about it because we’d like to continue to be able to get a table here whenever we want! This is a good meeting point for us as it’s right between our two houses in Tooting. Everything is made fresh and you’ve never met a more passionate, hard-working cafe owner than Jimmy (check out their Instagram stories for great behind the scenes snippets)! It’s most accessible by car really but worth a journey. We’re there at least twice a week so couldn’t resist included it in this list!
We’ll be adding to this list regularly so if you have any spots you think we should check out (or meet up at together), we’d love to hear from you! Try one of our recommendations? Let us know!
