Our selection of the 10 best Kings Cross bars

Spiritland is a cocktail lounge and cafe in Granary Square that does low-key well, and it’s not just the kitschy lamps or the soft orange lighting creating that atmosphere. With an offering of nightly DJ performances on a top-tier sound system, this is a bar for the record-lovers.

Spiritland’s coolness is in its heavy-duty sound system speakers, plush green chairs, shelves lined with vinyl records, and all the people there for the same reason: good music.

Everything about Spiritland revolves around music, so while you’re appreciating the funk, house, disco, or electronic, enjoy a couple of their well-crafted cocktails and small plates. Come for the drinks, stay for the music.

Originally an inn, the Scottish Stores has a history that dates back to 1901, and its name comes from the visiting Scots traders who sold venison. Now? It's a pub that sells a wide selection of beers from all over the world, Scottish gins, and – surprise! – whisky.

The pub houses three small wood-panelled bars within its Grade II listed building. It’s a little piece of Edwardian London in modern Kings Cross, with a spacious second-floor beer garden.

The Scottish Stores is an all-rounder pub, great if you’re after a spot to enjoy a couple of beers or maybe even a pint of Tennent’s – the Scottish lager that Scots dislike but will proudly order when they’re in a pub outside their homeland. On that note, you will likely find a resident Scot or two in this pub, impress them by buying them a Tennent's.

Tucked away under the Victorian arches of Coal Drops Yard you’ll find the Drop Wine Bar. We won’t blame you if you accidentally miss your train at St Pancras or Kings Cross because you’re eating cheese and baps and washing it all down with that sweet, sweet grape juice.

With its unassuming entrance, the wine bar invites walk-ins only into an art deco-influenced realm of wine, beer, and baps. The arched interior and bare brick walls surround a space filled with cozy wooden tables, and the outdoor seating is a lovely festoon-lit terrace.

The Drop Wine Bar is worth a mad (drunken) dash to the train with its low-key ambiance, palate-pleasing libations, and baps. A place to savour great wine with even greater company.

Babel Beerhouse is a Kings Cross microbrewery offering co-working space they’ve cleverly named Hop Desk. At £10 per person, you can secure a table, have stable WiFi, have unlimited coffee and tea, and enjoy a beer of your choice at the end of your workday.

The microbrewery at Babel Beerhouse serves up a range of craft beers, and you can also find on tap some other London brews like Four Pure Brewing Co. Babel Beerhouse: where you don’t have to shift seats when you shift gears from workday to pub night.

Double Standard, the bar and terrace at The Standard hotel, loves playing with words as much as we do, from the bar name to their offering of Another Bloody Brunch with its build-your-own-Bloody-Marys.

Double Standard has appreciable offerings for your hangover: chicken and waffles, burgers, and short rib mac ‘n’ cheese – rightly so, as they are just as likely to be the cause of your hangover with their cocktails and slushy spritzes.

The Standard, and by extension, its bar Double Standard, is renowned for its retro ‘70s-inspired decor and ambiance, DJ sets, boozy brunches, and celebrity-sighting, all of which can be experienced within the bar or its terrace or rooftop.

The Lighterman is a contemporary gastropub in a slick modern building located canalside in Kings Cross. It offers a relaxed ambiance and picturesque views of Granary Square, which looks pretty good these days.

The gastropub is sleek and minimalist in its three-storey brick design with wrap-around terraces overlooking Regent’s Canal. Date for two or hosting a private event, the Lighterman offers understated elegance.

We rate their equally minimalist menu with seasonal and locally sourced British ingredients. In short, we like the Lighterman for keeping it simple and doing simple well: food, drink, and views.

St Pancras Brasserie and Champagne Bar by Searcys, situated in St Pancras railway station, highlights its Victorian surroundings with marble-topped tables, blue velvet booths, and vintage-inspired lighting.

We don’t actually know who’s drinking champagne before catching a train, but we like their style (and wish we could afford it). The Brasserie is worth a visit, if not for the champagne, then for its unique setting in the station – we like its old station clocks and the bar under the arched station roof.

Whether you go for the champagne, the (pinkies up!) afternoon tea, or you’re just indulging in the respectable and honourable British pastime of drinks before travel, St Pancras Brasserie and Champagne Bar is a great little spot if you’re feeling swish.

Rubbing elbows with St Pancras and Kings Cross stations is the stylish and ultra-modern ground floor hotel bar and kitchen GA KingsX.

Enjoy a couple of double G&Ts – the bar has an impressive collection of fifty gins. Or sip signature cocktail, Milky Way, under astrolabe-like lamps. In fact, if there’s any reason to visit beyond the gin collection, it’s their pretty cool cosmic-like lampshades and all that mood lighting.

From its chic lampshades, plush velvet and leather bar stools, ‘60s-ish sofas, GA KingsX is the Kings Cross bar for when you’re feeling a little swanky.

Step into the Skinners Arms, a pub housed in a historic building with roots dating back to the 19th century. The bar has a timeless charm with its dado wood panelling, green patterned wallpaper, and a fireplace to relax in front of.

You find the usual suspects on the drinks menu: craft beers, wines, and cocktails. As for the food, it’s what you want from a pub with a fireplace: hearty. The chef here definitely has a crush on Mexican flavours, and you won’t hear us complaining about that.

This is a spot to unwind after a hectic day; the cozy atmosphere makes for a relaxing evening. Whether you need a post-work pint or you’re after a lazy afternoon, the Skinner Arms has got you covered.

You’ve got a big group outing or maybe a party to organise, and everybody is on different budgets; you're after decent-ish drinks that won’t break the bank, DJs to keep everybody dancing, and, a rooftop bar wouldn’t hurt.

The Big Chill has made it onto our list by virtue of its ample event space across three floors, and its rooftop terrace. We could do without the constant bombardment of “the music, the people, the good times” signage, but with the disco/funk DJ set we’re not gonna complain.

One Sunday every month, Big Chill hosts a Neon Naked Life Drawing class; if your head isn’t pounding with a hangover, it may be worth checking out if you're more artistically inclined.