It’s not yet 5 pm on a Thursday in late November, and the skies have fully darkened over the City of London’s Leadenhall Market. It’s the coldest day in recent memory, a harbinger of the looming winter, but no matter.
Here in London, it’s time for a pint.
After-work pints have been a sacred tradition of British workers for centuries. For years, Leadenhall Market has been the go-to spot for bankers, insurance brokers, and financial advisors who work in the City, the financial center of London.
But reports of waning nightlife due to a post-pandemic hangover and Gen Z’s growing disinterest in drinking have worried pub-goers and publicans alike.
Over a quarter – 26% – of people in the UK, 16 to 24-year-olds reported themselves as not having an alcoholic drink in a year, according to the most recent Health Survey for England conducted by the National Health Service in 2022. That’s the highest percentage of any age group.
This December, research group IWSR said that Brits are drinking less than ever before, with the average person in the UK having just over 10 drinks a week, down almost 30% from previous highs.
Given these fears, the Mayor of London has even assembled a task force to help “protect, retain and grow nightlife” in the nation’s capital.
Wrapped up in my warmest scarf and gloves, I paid a visit to this mecca of City nightlife to find out firsthand whether these reports of dampened spirits were true.
Where New York has Stone Street, London has Leadenhall Market
Kasia Kovacs/Business Insider
Non-locals might not expect a sea of finance bros in this historic covered market, fitting of the Harry Potter universe — probably because it is a scene from that universe. In 2001, Leadenhall Market was used as the exterior of the Leaky Cauldron in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
The pathways are lined with cobblestones, and the red columns and arched ceilings have been decorated with ornaments. In the center of the market, a Christmas tree towered over tourists with selfie sticks.
But if you work in the City — the financial center of London — you know that the real attraction of Leadenhall Market is Thursday evening pints.
When I arrived just before the clock struck happy hour, the market’s alleys were already lively. Men and women dressed almost exclusively in black and brown coats were packed into the barriers outside the pubs, despite the bitter cold.
“You get used to it,” Callum, a 26-year-old working as a recruiter in financial services, said with a shrug. “A beer jacket is a great thing to have.”
Admittedly, these crowds aren’t quite what I was expecting.
The data indicate that London hasn’t quite recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, with the city losing a fifth of its late-night venues since 2020, according to a report published in August from the Nighttime Industries Association.
Not everyone’s mourning this loss. Some embrace it.
Outside The Swan, I chat with a group of young men who are out for a birthday celebration.
“He’s 26,” said Joy, who works in insurance, pointing to his friend. “Pushing 30.”
I asked Joy’s age.
“24,” he said.
Joy, solidly a member of Gen Z, said he doesn’t hang around Leadenhall Market too much.
“Previous generations, it would just be this, just drinking,” he says of after-work corporate culture. “But we do a lot more stuff as well, like sports. We play football or padel.”
Drinking is expensive, for one, and the inflation rate for alcohol leapt after the pandemic. The cost of living is a factor, as is the desire to be healthy and develop meaningful friendships.
“It’s about trying to find a way to connect to others,” added Michael, also a 24-year-old insurance worker. “And it helps you drink less than previous generations.”
Joy and Michael aren’t cutting out alcohol entirely. They’re out tonight for a special celebration, and Michael mentions that after volleyball practice, he and his fellow players go out for a pint or two. But it’s a more moderate approach than their older colleagues, they agreed.
An elegy for London nightlife may be unwarranted — especially here at Leadenhall Market
Kasia Kovacs/Business Insider
Caroline, a bartender who has worked at Leadenhall Market for 13 years, says that things didn’t take too long to return to normal.
“The City of London is sort of different from other sites. People spend money in this area,” Caroline said.
Still, things look a little different. Not as many Gen Z-ers buy rounds, Caroline told me, although she’s noticed the younger generations are taking more shots than they once did.
But the biggest difference is the Thursday-ification of after-work drinking culture.
Friday used to be the big night out, but things have changed largely due to the hybrid working culture now present in much of the corporate world.
“On Friday, most people aren’t working in the City,” Alex, who works in software, told me outside a traditional pub called New Moon. “There are less people around on Fridays, but the pubs are always busy on a Thursday night.”
It’s a trend that Caroline has noticed, along with bartender Paolo, who’s worked in Leadenhall Market for the past seven years.
“It’s more of a Tuesday to Thursday culture,” Paolo said, in comparison to the glory days of five nights a week of City workers out for a drink.
By the time it gets to 8:30pm, the crowd at Leadenhall Market hasn’t gotten any smaller, and the temperature is only getting frostier. My toes have gone numb.
If Leadenhall Market is any bellwether of London as a whole, it would be premature to say nightlife is marching toward its own death. But, thanks in part to Gen Z and changing work habits overall, it does seem to be transforming.
The sacred London after-work pint is safe, for now.
