Dylan Jones: Here’s Why London Loves Private Members’ Clubs

A few years ago, I was finding it hard to sleep, and so instead of counting sheep, I did what any self-respecting boulevardier would do: I started counting private members’ clubs (PMCs) in London, from The Garrick and Annabel’s to 5 Hertford Street. I got to 50 before I started surreptitiously looking at my phone to try and complete the job. I had just commissioned someone to write a piece on the proliferation of PMCs in town, and the idea was preying on my mind. But that night, having got to 70, I slipped off to the land of nod – thinking that The Land of Nod might be a very reasonable name for my own club, should I ever get around to opening one. Which I probably will do eventually.

Not only does London have a greater density of PMCs than any other city in the world, but with very few exceptions (AllBright, the women-only club, didn’t make it, and neither did Bungalow 8, the celebrity-heavy club inside the St Martins Lane hotel), they all become successful, often immediately.

Cocktail bars, a roof terrace, a speakeasy and secret gigs has given The House of KOKO new cachet. (© Lesley Lau)

I still remember the first time I went to The Groucho Club, back in 1985. I was meeting the iconic music journalist Jon Savage, as I wanted him to leave The Face and join me at i-D. Throughout our conversation, Jon kept his eyes on the door as new members walked in. ‘Hate her,’ he said under his breath. ‘Really hate him,’ he then said, a little louder this time, as another newbie walked in. Christ, I thought to myself, this is the place to be.

And it was. I was soon on nodding terms with everyone else in the club, whether they were an enemy of Jon Savage or not. I wanted in. And the only way to get in was to become a member. In the 40 years since then, a new PMC has opened every month – or at least, it feels that way.

Recently there has been a little griping about the way in which Soho House has expanded its brand, but because it listens to its members, the problems have been addressed (being slightly more circumspect with new members and hugely improving the food). Plus, it opened Soho Mews House just off Bond Street, which immediately became the hottest ticket in town; the only snag is, you have to be a Soho House member of 20 years’ standing to get in. Along with Soho Mews House, the latest clubs that have startled the capital are Maison Estelle, The House of KOKO, and the rebooted and resuited Roof Gardens in Kensington (which even Mick Jagger joined before Christmas).

The Roof Gardens in Kensington, where Mick Jagger recently became a member, has brought some glamour back to the area. (© Romain Laprade)

But if this sector has a problem, it’s the fact that there are so many great places to go in London right now. And it never ends. Ex-Soho House boss Nick Jones is opening the St Clement Hotel, a new 90-room property just behind 180 The Strand, and in March, Jeremy King is finally reopening Simpson’s in the Strand, which will probably be the most important restaurant launch of 2026 with a vibe that will have ‘private members’ club’ written all over it. This year will also see the launch of the mammoth Pembroke Club in Belgravia’s Grosvenor Place, as well as 16 Charles Street, a Mayfair townhouse operated by the French group behind Loulou Paris.

And it’s not just London; Oxfordshire continues to act like the capital’s older, slightly more feral big sister. Next year, The Ned is opening right next to Soho Farmhouse, and then, in something of a bold move, Long Lane will become the UK’s first fully alcohol-free members’ club. They’re calling it the ‘Soho House for the sober generation’, although the last time I looked, it was perfectly possible to order a virgin mojito in the Farmhouse. Tucked away in the West Sussex countryside and opening next summer, it already has a waitlist for membership.

Long Lane in Oxfordshire is set to be the UK’s first teetotal private members’ club.

As always, there is a new kid on the block – somewhere that promises to revitalise the King’s Cross area and cater for all the music and tech heads surrounding Coal Drops Yard. Occupying 60,000sq/ft within the historic Camden Town Hall, Town Hall by Bottaccio is a new space where art, ideas, innovation and humanity converge. Its interiors have been fancified by Tom Dixon; its stewardship comes courtesy of Bottaccio, the international hospitality group founded by Elio D’Anna; and of course it has a PMC component, Town Hall Society, run by the wonderful Romy Westwood who previously headed Blacks in Soho.

In the club’s own words, it will deliver a ‘membership community rooted in connection, curiosity and creativity’. No, this isn’t quite what The Garrick Club was promising when it opened in 1831 as a space for ‘actors and men of refinement to meet on equal terms’, but in essence it’s not so far away.

While Londoners like to proclaim their adherence to tolerance, community and inclusivity, there does seem to be a lot of us who get rather excited when someone brings out a velvet rope. I went to visit the Town Hall Society space a few months ago, and it’s sensational – like walking into a New York loft in the 1980s, complete with grand windows and hyper-urban views (in this case, Euston Road). Because I like anything new and particular, I will undoubtedly join up and enjoy sipping negronis as I look over at the Google building and wonder what it is those people do all day.

But, like every other member, I will be enjoying the fact that a lot of other people can’t get in.

Dylan Jones’s Favourite Private Members’ Clubs

• The Chelsea Arts Club: Established in 1890; in its Old Church Street home since 1902. chelseaartsclub.com
• Soho Mews House: The most difficult Soho House to get into (it’s in Mayfair, if you can find it), and consequently the most exclusive. sohohouse.com
• 5 Hertford Street: You don’t need your own hedge fund to become a member, but it certainly helps. 5hertfordstreet.com
• The Groucho Club: In terms of the ‘new’ breed, The Groucho is the original, and occasionally still the best. thegrouchoclub.com
• Little House: The Soho House cubby-hole for those media barons who want a little peace and quiet. sohohouse.com
• The House of Koko: Restaurants, a roof terrace, a couple of cocktail bars, a speakeasy and secret gigs. thehouseofkoko.com
• The Arts Club: Nestled in Dover Street, with its satellite partner Lanserhof across the road. theartsclub.co.uk
• The Roof Gardens: Made Kensington cool again. Too exclusive to have a public website.
• Home House: This grand former private home has one of the best gyms in the capital. homehouse.co.uk
• The Hurlingham Club: Don’t bother applying – the waitlist is closed forever. hurlinghamclub.org.uk