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Here at QX, we don’t have an issue with straight people going to gay pubs, as long as they’re nice about it. Now, it’s really important that we all go to King William IV, because it’s one of those gay pubs that nobody realizes is a gay pub, and so fills up with straight people. Perfect for dates, or if you want to show an unusual gay bar to straight mates. If Cath Kidston, Björk and Misty from Pokemon all got together to design a bar, it’d probably look a bit like this. Goldfish swim confusedly around a bowl, in a bar festooned with fake foliage, prone Barbies, and all sorts of other kitchy nonsense. Going inside is a bit like going underwater. That alleyway just next to Anne Summers at the end of Old Compton Street. Secret Gay Bars: The Grapes ¨After hundreds of different landlords, THE Grapes is now joint-owned by none other than Sir Ian McKellen!¨įriendly Society is on what is affectionately known to locals (Lady Lloyd) as “ sex alley”. After hundreds of different landlords, it’s now joint-owned by none other than Sir Ian McKellen! The Grapes’ interior and general atmosphere are steeped in history, and Ian’s lent a wonderful queer slant to proceedings. Catherine of Aragon sipping a blue WKD, bobbing her head along to a bit of Madonna. It’s old enough, that Henry V’s wives could have gone there. That’s older than Maisie Trollette! Just. The current building dates back to the 1720s, and it’s on the site of a pub built in 1583. Clinging determinedly onto the end of a row of terraces in Limehouse, The Grapes is one of the oldest pubs in London.