Allegra

Should You Book Allegra?

Getting a table at Allegra is easier than you might expect for a hotel bar with this kind of address. Perched atop The Stratford in East London's E20 postcode, it sits above the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and pulls a crowd that skews local and curious rather than tourist-heavy. Booking is direct, walk-ins are generally possible, and the lack of a velvet-rope mentality is part of the appeal. The question is whether the experience justifies a trip out to Stratford from central London — and for the right diner, it does.

What Allegra Gets Right

The location alone sets a tone that most central London bars cannot replicate. The Olympic Park surroundings give Allegra an open, unhurried energy that contrasts sharply with the compressed noise of Soho or Shoreditch venues. If atmosphere and sound matter to your decision, this is a bar that does not shout at you. The mood runs closer to calm confidence than to the high-decibel posturing common in destination cocktail bars.

For value-seekers comparing what East London hotel bars deliver at this tier, the pitch is a drinks program that takes its cues from serious cocktail culture without demanding the pilgrimage premium of a Nightjar or the neighbourhood-insider knowledge required to find Happiness Forgets. The setting does work that pure neighbourhood bars cannot — there is a designed intentionality to the room that lifts the overall experience. Cocktail ambition here reads as considered rather than showy, which suits the quieter energy of the space.

Comparisons to 69 Colebrooke Row or A Bar with Shapes for a Name are instructive: those venues lead with technical cocktail programs as their primary draw. Allegra's drinks are the supporting act to a fuller hospitality proposition , room, view, service, food. If you are travelling specifically to drink, the dedicated cocktail bars listed in our full London bars guide will serve you better. If you want a complete evening in a room that rewards the trip east, Allegra earns its place.

The crowd tends toward people who know East London or are staying in the hotel, which keeps the energy grounded. You are unlikely to fight for space or wait long for service. For dates, corporate drinks, or a low-pressure evening with someone you want to actually talk to, the noise level and pacing work in your favour.

Also worth knowing: if bars are your focus in this city, compare notes with Amaro and Academy for other London options in a similar register, or look further afield at Bramble in Edinburgh and Bar Leather Apron in Honolulu for what a hotel-adjacent serious drinks program can look like at its ceiling. Our London restaurants guide, London hotels guide, London wineries guide, and London experiences guide cover the wider picture if you are planning a full itinerary around Stratford.

Quick reference: Easy to book, hotel bar at The Stratford (E20), calm atmosphere, suited to dates and conversation-first evenings.