The John
Underground cocktail bar
A cocktail bar in a renovated Victorian public toilet under the top of Burgate, with a hidden entrance, good music and late nights.
📍 Burgate, Canterbury CT1 2HG
Hidden and late-night bars: 6 bars
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The Pound
Cocktail bar and restaurant
A bar in Canterbury's old city jail by the Westgate Towers, where you can drink in a former prison cell. Signature cocktails, food and a riverside terrace on the Stour in summer.
📍 1 Pound Ln, Canterbury CT1 2BZ
The Ballroom
Hidden cocktail bar
A hidden upstairs bar in a former ballroom on Orange Street, decorated in a mix of Baroque, bohemian and Victorian styles.
📍 15 Orange St, Canterbury CT1 2JA
Alberrys
Cocktail and rum bar
A long-running cocktail bar on St Margaret's Street with a fun rum list and platters. It stays open late.
📍 38 St Margaret's St, Canterbury CT1 2TY
The Cuban
Latin cocktail bar
A Latin cocktail bar and party venue on the High Street with DJs and late hours.
📍 43 High St, Canterbury CT1 2RY
The Penny Theatre
Late-night pub and cocktail bar
A Canterbury institution on Northgate for decades, open from lunch into the early hours.
📍 30-31 Northgate, Canterbury CT1 1BL
Map: hidden and late-night bars
Tap a pin for the bar. Numbers match the list.
Your questions
Where are the best hidden and late-night bars in Canterbury?
Start with The John, The Pound, The Ballroom, Alberrys and The Cuban. Our full list has 6 bars.
More Canterbury bar guides
- Date nightRomantic cocktail bars in Canterbury for a night for two: The Fig, The Falstaff Cocktail B
- Fun bars for groupsLively Canterbury bars for birthdays, hen and stag dos and nights out: The John, The Pound
- Gin, rum, whisky and tequilaThe best Canterbury bars for gin, rum, whisky and agave: Pegasus Tap Room, Alberrys, Citi
- Cocktail trailsReady-made Canterbury cocktail trails on foot, The old city, Orange Street to the High Str
Who wrote this guide
This guide is written by the team at M.AD Agency. We run Cocktail Week, the ten-day cocktail festival held town by town across the UK and Ireland. Since 2022 we have taken it to more than 20 towns and cities and worked with hundreds of bars. We love Canterbury's bars, so we put this guide together from our own research and trusted local guides.
No bar paid to be included and nobody can buy a place. We check the guide regularly as bars open, change and close.
Our nearest cocktail festivals to Canterbury
Want your bar in this guide?
Run a cocktail bar in Canterbury that should be here? Get in touch at hello@cocktail-week.com and tell us about it.