Vauxhall · Lambeth
Royal Vauxhall Tavern
London's most iconic LGBTQ+ venue, Grade II listed for its cabaret and drag heritage
- Address372 Kennington Lane, Vauxhall, London, SE11 5HY
- Websitervt.org.uk
- OwnershipIndependent pub
About Royal Vauxhall Tavern
Built in 1863, London's best-known LGBTQ+ pub and cabaret venue, home to Lily Savage and decades of drag and club culture, Grade II listed in 2015 as the first UK listing citing LGBTQ+ heritage.
The Royal Vauxhall Tavern was built in 1863 and became, over the course of the 20th century, the single most important venue in London's LGBTQ+ cultural history: a stage for cabaret and drag acts including Paul O'Grady's Lily Savage, and later a home for club nights such as Duckie. A proposed redevelopment in the 2010s triggered the high-profile Save the RVT campaign, which succeeded in securing a Grade II listing in 2015, the first in the country to cite LGBTQ+ heritage significance explicitly as grounds for protection. It remains a working, independent venue rather than a museum piece, still hosting drag cabaret and club nights under the shadow of the railway arches at Vauxhall.
On tap
A full bar geared to a late-night club and cabaret crowd
Food
No kitchen
More pubs in Vauxhall
- Fentiman ArmsA pilastered mid-Victorian corner pub near the Oval, with a well-loved beer garden