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Best Cinemas in London

Repertory screens, art deco palaces and cosy independents: the best places to watch a film in London.

Starting order is based on how often each place appears in London's major guides. Your upvotes move places up.

  1. 1Leicester Square · 7 Leicester Place, WC2H 7BYThe West End's beloved independent, packing two screens with cult classics, all-night marathons and sing-alongs championed by Tarantino and Nolan.
  2. 2Marylebone · 307 Regent Street, W1B 2HWThe birthplace of British cinema, where the Lumière brothers' films first screened in 1896, now a beautifully restored repertory house.
  3. 3Dalston · 107 Kingsland High Street, E8 2PBA two-screen community favourite in a listed 1915 building, known for its neon sign, festivals, LGBTQ+ nights and classic matinees.
  4. 4Notting Hill · 191 Portobello Road, W11 2EDOne of Britain's oldest working cinemas, where you sink into leather armchairs or front-row double beds with drinks and snacks.
  5. 5Homerton · 64-66 Brooksby's Walk, E9 6DAA 1913 picture palace crowdfunded back to life, with plush armchairs, an art deco bar and bargain Monday screenings.
  6. 6Whitechapel · 93-95 Mile End Road, E1 4UJA former music-hall theatre turned five-screen independent, loved for cheap tickets, a buzzing café-bar and live events.
  7. 7East Finchley · 52 High Road, N2 9PJRun as a charitable trust and open since 1912, it is among London's oldest continuously operating cinemas, with gorgeous period interiors.
  8. 8Shoreditch · 97 Sclater Street, E1 6HRA 40-seat arthouse screening room off Brick Lane that still projects 35mm and 16mm, plus a vast film library and café-bar.
  9. 9Peckham · 95a Rye Lane, SE15 4STA much-loved six-screen local showing the latest blockbusters at some of London's cheapest prices, any time of day.
  10. 10South Bank · Belvedere Road, SE1 8XTThe British Film Institute's riverside home, screening thousands of titles a year with curated seasons, a mediatheque and the London Film Festival.

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