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Barbican Centre

Free space

Barbican

The great free office of London. Foyers on three levels, sockets along the walls, a lakeside terrace and a library upstairs.

It’s free, open until 11pm, has sockets everywhere and looks out on a lake. Afternoons fill up. On weekday mornings you can have a whole balcony to yourself.

No purchase needed. Level G foyer by the lake is the classic spot.

Address

Silk Street, London EC2Y 8DS

Hours

Mon–Sat 9–23, Sun 11–23

Directions ↗ Website → Spot something wrong?

How it scores

Essentials
Plugs: plenty
Wifi: untested, open
Noise: moderate
Laptops: welcome, weekends fine

Space
Room: large room, mixed tables
Light: decent
Has: toilets, outdoor seating
Busy am · noon · pm: quiet · moderate · packed

Calls
Video calls: quiet corner
Meet someone: yes

Cost
Price: £3.60 flat white, free to sit
Expected spend: None
Coffee: ●●●○○
Food: full menu

Bermondsey Locke

Free space

Bermondsey

Locke aparthotel near Bermondsey Street with a big ground-floor café and lobby set up for laptop work.

Locke builds its ground floors as cafés for locals as well as guests, so you won’t feel like you’re sneaking into a hotel. Handy for Bermondsey Street and a short walk from London Bridge.

Buy something from the café.

Address

157 Tower Bridge Road, London SE1 3LW

Hours

Lobby café daily, roughly 7–18

Directions ↗ Website → Spot something wrong?

How it scores

Essentials
Plugs: some
Wifi: untested, open
Noise: moderate
Laptops: welcome, weekends fine

Space
Room: large room, mixed tables
Light: bright
Has: toilets
Busy am · noon · pm: quiet · moderate · moderate

Calls
Video calls: quiet corner
Meet someone: yes

Cost
Price: — flat white
Expected spend: A drink is polite
Coffee: —
Food: full menu

British Library

Free space

King's Cross

The piazza, the entrance hall and the café terraces are free to anyone. The reading rooms need a free pass.

The public areas fill by 11am with everyone who did not get a reading room desk. If you do get one, it is the best free desk in London.

Get a Reader Pass (free, bring ID) for the reading rooms: desks, lamps, silence.

Address

96 Euston Road, London NW1 2DB

Hours

Mon–Thu 9:30–20, Fri 9:30–18, Sat 9:30–17, Sun 11–17

Directions ↗ Website → Spot something wrong?

How it scores

Essentials
Plugs: some
Wifi: untested, sign-in page
Noise: quiet
Laptops: welcome, weekends fine

Space
Room: large room, big tables
Light: bright
Has: toilets, outdoor seating
Busy am · noon · pm: moderate · packed · packed

Calls
Video calls: no
Meet someone: yes

Cost
Price: £3.50 flat white, free to sit
Expected spend: None
Coffee: ●●●○○
Food: full menu

Canada Water Library

Free space

Canada Water

The inverted-pyramid library on the dock. Desks around the edge, water on three sides, a café on the ground floor.

Worth the Jubilee line. Top-floor desks with sockets and a view over the dock. Silence is the norm.

Address

21 Surrey Quays Road, London SE16 7AR

Hours

Mon–Fri 9–19, Sat 9–17, Sun 12–16

Directions ↗ Website → Spot something wrong?

How it scores

Essentials
Plugs: plenty
Wifi: untested, sign-in page
Noise: quiet
Laptops: welcome, weekends fine

Space
Room: large room, big tables
Light: bright
Has: toilets, outdoor seating
Busy am · noon · pm: quiet · moderate · moderate

Calls
Video calls: no
Meet someone: no

Cost
Price: £3 flat white, free to sit
Expected spend: None
Coffee: ●●●○○
Food: snacks and pastries

Idea Store Whitechapel

Free space

Whitechapel

Tower Hamlets' flagship library: five floors, a top-floor café with a view, long hours, and no spend expected.

Proper desks, proper sockets, open late. The after-school hours are lively; mornings are silent.

Address

321 Whitechapel Road, London E1 1BU

Hours

Mon–Thu 9–21, Fri 9–18, Sat–Sun 10–17

Directions ↗ Website → Spot something wrong?

How it scores

Essentials
Plugs: plenty
Wifi: untested, sign-in page
Noise: quiet
Laptops: welcome, weekends fine

Space
Room: large room, big tables
Light: bright
Has: toilets
Busy am · noon · pm: quiet · moderate · packed

Calls
Video calls: no
Meet someone: no

Cost
Price: £2.50 flat white, free to sit
Expected spend: None
Coffee: ●●○○○
Food: snacks and pastries

Prufrock Coffee

Café

Clerkenwell

Specialty-coffee landmark on Leather Lane with a big communal room and a steady laptop crowd off-peak.

One of the original London specialty cafés and still one of the best cups in the city. The big communal table at the back is where the laptops cluster. Plugs are scarce, so arrive charged.

Laptops are fine on weekdays outside the lunch rush. No laptops at weekends.

Address

23–25 Leather Lane, London EC1N 7TE

Hours

Mon–Fri 8–17, Sat–Sun 10–17

Directions ↗ Website → Spot something wrong?

How it scores

Essentials
Plugs: a few
Wifi: untested, ask for password
Noise: moderate
Laptops: off-peak only, not at weekends

Space
Room: large room, mixed tables
Light: bright
Has: toilets
Busy am · noon · pm: moderate · packed · moderate

Calls
Video calls: no
Meet someone: yes

Cost
Price: £3.80 flat white
Expected spend: A drink every couple of hours
Coffee: ●●●●●
Food: snacks and pastries

Royal Festival Hall

Free space

South Bank

Free, open foyers on six levels by the river, with a paid members' room above.

Head up. Each floor is emptier than the one below and the view improves. Sockets are on the pillars and along the walls.

Free. Level 5 and the riverside terrace tables are the quiet ones.

Address

Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX

Hours

Daily 10–23

Directions ↗ Website → Spot something wrong?

How it scores

Essentials
Plugs: some
Wifi: untested, open
Noise: moderate
Laptops: welcome, weekends fine

Space
Room: large room, mixed tables
Light: bright
Has: toilets, outdoor seating
Busy am · noon · pm: quiet · moderate · packed

Calls
Video calls: quiet corner
Meet someone: yes

Cost
Price: £3.60 flat white, free to sit
Expected spend: None
Coffee: ●●●○○
Food: full menu

TimberYard Seven Dials

Café

Covent Garden

A café built for laptop work: two floors, plugs at most tables, fast wifi, and nobody minds if you stay all day.

Expect to share a bench with half of Covent Garden’s freelancers by 11am. The basement is calmer and has more sockets.

Address

7 Upper St Martin's Lane, London WC2H 9DL

Hours

Mon–Fri 7:30–19, Sat–Sun 9–19

Directions ↗ Website → Spot something wrong?

How it scores

Essentials
Plugs: plenty
Wifi: untested, ask for password
Noise: moderate
Laptops: welcome, weekends fine

Space
Room: large room, mixed tables
Light: decent
Has: toilets
Busy am · noon · pm: moderate · packed · packed

Calls
Video calls: quiet corner
Meet someone: yes

Cost
Price: £3.90 flat white
Expected spend: A drink every couple of hours
Coffee: ●●●●○
Food: full menu

Wellcome Collection

Free space

Euston

Free museum with a reading room upstairs, a big café, and a library on the second floor that welcomes laptops.

The Reading Room is one of the nicest free rooms in London. Quiet is enforced by social pressure rather than signs.

Closed Mondays. The Reading Room has sofas and a mezzanine; the Library needs free registration.

Address

183 Euston Road, London NW1 2BE

Hours

Tue–Sun 10–18, Thu until 20

Directions ↗ Website → Spot something wrong?

How it scores

Essentials
Plugs: some
Wifi: untested, open
Noise: quiet
Laptops: welcome, weekends fine

Space
Room: large room, mixed tables
Light: decent
Has: toilets
Busy am · noon · pm: quiet · moderate · moderate

Calls
Video calls: no
Meet someone: no

Cost
Price: £3.50 flat white, free to sit
Expected spend: None
Coffee: ●●●○○
Food: full menu

9 places