Is the reopened Black Cap now the most gorgeous gay bar in London?
A historic gay bar in London has reopened after being closed for over ten years.
Mark
A historic gay bar in London has just reopened after being closed for over ten years.
The Black Cap in Camden has been operating as a tavern since the mid-1700s. Nobody’s entirely sure when it turned gay, but in the 1950s, it began to earn a name for itself as somewhere to enjoy drag cabaret.
When it was closed with little notice in 2015, London’s queer community was shocked.
New owners had taken over the venue and wanted to transform it into apartments. However, they faced immediate resistance from the local LGBTQ community. A campaign group was formed. It began to hold a weekly vigil each Saturday outside the closed North London bar. These vigils continued for over a decade!
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The battle to save The Black Cap
The campaign group also successfully applied to the local council to have the venue designated as ‘An Asset of Community Value’. This means anyone owning it must respect its history and place within the community.
The owners, thwarted in their plan to turn the building into apartments, decided to sell.
It now has new owners, who have spent over $2.6million restoring it, and it is operated by LT Management.
General manager Rafa Motycki gave GayCities a tour of the premises over the weekend.
The long and narrow, first-story Lily’s Bar, with its all-important stage, now features banquette seating down both sides. There’s a beautiful marble-top bar and brass fixtures and fittings. Murals and framed pictures pay tribute to famous drag faces from yesteryear that graced the stage.
The floor is named after the iconic Scouse drag queen Lily Savage, who passed away in 2023. Her widower, Andre Portasio, has lent the venue some of her artifacts from her career to display.
The upstairs, which is open from noon each day, is the Shufflewick Bar, named after Mrs Shufflewick, a popular drag queen from the 1960s and 70s.
The refurbishment of the bar truly is sumptuous. Do check out the restrooms in Lily’s Bar, behind the stage. One of the cubicles is decked out in mirrored mosaic tiles and has a big red emergency button. Press it for a ten-second blast of disco music and lighting. Regulars have already nicknamed it the George Michael toilet, after the late star’s iconic “Outside” video.
The revamped restrooms at the Black Cap in Camden, London, complete with an emergency disco button!
[image or embed]— davidhudson-uk.bsky.social (@davidhudson-uk.bsky.social) March 30, 2026 at 3:53 PM
The upstairs bar also offers an outdoor area— the Regina Fong Terrace—although it’s still awaiting furniture. You can expect it to be open for the summer.
“Incredible”
Alex Green from the #WeAreTheBlackCap campaign group told the BBC: “To see the respect the owners have given us and the community is incredible.
“These guys have really listened to what we want.”
Jean-Charles Sibille from LT Management said in a statement: “There has been huge interest in the reopening of The Black Cap. We have been very mindful of the venue’s history and have worked hard to preserve its character while giving it a new lease of life.
“The refurbishment includes a state-of-the-art sound and lighting system inspired by leading Ibiza venues, and the building will feature vibrant external lighting designed to make it a landmark once again on Camden High Street.
“Most importantly, the reopening will create 36 new jobs, and we are proud to be welcoming a diverse team of staff to run this historic venue.”
Accommodation also available
In addition to the bars—and of particular interest to anyone visiting from outside London—the Black Cap also has seven rooms of accommodation on its private, upper levels. These have also had money lavished on them to create luxurious and rather camp interiors. Prices for rooms start from £200 ($265).
The new pub is open from noon each day, with the downstairs cabaret bar open in the evenings.
Related
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