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Where To Spend Your Bank Holiday Weekend
- Hinton Magazine
- 3 hours ago
- 3 min read
The August Bank Holiday weekend isn’t just a date in the calendar — it’s summer’s closing statement. Three long days where London loosens its tie, pours another drink, and decides that Monday night is as good a time as any to be out. From rooftops with a view to pubs that feel like old friends, here’s your cheat sheet to doing it right.
Brigadiers – Spice, Smoke and a Touch of Excess
Some weekends call for subtlety. This isn’t one of them. Brigadiers — the City’s Indian BBQ institution — is dialling everything up: spice, atmosphere, and the pour on your pint.
The Bank Holiday menu (£35pp) is unapologetically indulgent. A Chicken Tikka Club Sandwich lands with a side of Chaat Masala Aloos; the vegetarian Royal Thali lays out Paneer Butter Masala, Saag Makai and Aubergine Raita like a king’s ransom. Add two hours of bottomless Cobra Lager or cocktails (£25pp) and you’ve got the makings of an afternoon that slips quietly into evening. Big screens beam the sport, the terrace hums with conversation, and the grills send out smoke signals that feel like a calling card.
Available Saturday 23rd (12–5pm) and Monday 25th (12–10pm).
JOIA – The Skyline Belongs to Battersea
On the 16th floor of Battersea’s art’otel, JOIA feels like it was built for weekends like this. The rooftop is where Iberian small plates — croquetas, skewers, hot dogs with flair — collide with cocktails that arrive frozen, jewel-toned, and entirely too easy to order twice.
This Sunday (24th August), the atmosphere turns cinematic. As the sun slides behind the skyline, DJ and electric guitar duo Nøughts & Crxssxs soundtrack the golden hour from 4–8pm. It’s the kind of sunset session where the drinks drip condensation, the crowd drifts towards the edge of the terrace, and suddenly London feels Mediterranean.
The Cadogan Arms, The George & The Hound – Cocktails, Pubs and Bank Holiday Stories
Bank Holidays and pubs go together like lime and tequila, and three of London’s best are making sure you celebrate properly. The Cadogan Arms on King’s Road, Fitzrovia’s The George, and Chiswick’s The Hound are serving summer cocktails in partnership with Casamigos — the kind that are almost too smooth for their own good.
There’s a Spicy Clementine Margarita that bites back, and a Hibiscus Paloma that tastes like August in a glass. Food is the kind of comfort you don’t overthink: Fried Chicken Burgers, Cobb Salads, Chilli Cheese Toasties that will undo the best of your weekday discipline.
The Hound’s terrace is West London sunshine bottled; The Cadogan Arms spills onto King’s Road with alfresco tables made for people-watching; and The George throws in a pub quiz on Monday at 7pm. All three will keep the lights on until 10:30pm, screening the football and stretching Sunday vibes deep into the week.
Madison Lates – House Beats Over St Paul’s
Sunday night belongs to Madison. One of London’s most iconic rooftops is turning the volume up for Madison Lates, a one-off night where the skyline becomes a dancefloor.
Headlining is Sandy Rivera — the man behind Kings of Tomorrow and the track Finally, a song that has lived a dozen lives on dancefloors worldwide. Expect deep, soulful house cut with disco, funk and techno, played against a view that makes even locals stop and stare. Joining him, Abigail Bailey brings the kind of vocals that can turn a good night into something unforgettable. From golden hour to the early hours, this is the Bank Holiday crescendo.
100 Wardour St – Rhythm, Brunch and a Little Bit of Chaos
Why save Saturday for the wild ones? 100 Wardour St has a different philosophy: Sunday is for brunch, music, and maybe a few questionable dance moves before sundown.
The Rhythm N Brunch special edition (24th August, 12–5pm) is three courses for £35pp, with an optional bottomless Prosecco add-on (£25pp) that needs little persuasion. The Vibe Suppliers — Complexion & Nana — take over the decks, spinning 90s and 00s R&B that makes it impossible to sit still once the plates are cleared. Think Destiny’s Child, Usher, Missy Elliott, served with scrambled eggs and a side of pure nostalgia.
The last Bank Holiday of the summer is a balancing act: lazy afternoons, rooftop sunsets, nights that end later than they should. London knows how to play host, and this weekend it’s laying out options for every mood. Just one rule applies: don’t waste it.
