Westminster City Council has faced significant backlash this week after it was revealed that a new draft licensing policy recommended that pubs should seek to reduce “vertical drinking”. The town hall, which has jurisdiction over some of the capital’s busiest nightlife districts, denied that it is banning standing in pubs across the West End and Soho.
But under draft proposals, establishments in the area that offer table service could be prioritised for new licences over more traditional bars. Pubs, clubs, restaurants and cafes have complained they face strict conditions and unfounded police concerns about crime and disorder. Managers can be hauled before a licensing review panel if a single resident complains about noise or disturbances.
Giggling drinkers at The Globe
An 18th Century pub off Baker Street was hauled before a licensing review panel for a third time earlier this year after a single neighbour complained about “giggling” by drinkers. A resident who lives near The Globe reported customers “loitering” on the street outside the bar and making noise after midnight on weekends.
The pub, owned by Greene King, had previously been the subject of a licensing review called by Michael Zelouf in 2022 and then again in November 2024. Westminster Council told managers they must make their phone numbers publicly available to residents and supervise patrons drinking outside. It also had to produce a management plan for its outside area and a dispersal policy to ensure people leave the premises “quickly and quietly” as part of six restrictions added to its licence. The venue dodged any further restrictions at the latest hearing in March when councillors dismissed the complaint.
Sausage roll fears at Greggs
In 2023 Greggs threatened Westminster City Council with legal action over a ban on selling late night sausage rolls and bacon baps at its flagship Leicester Square store. The bakery chain was refused permission to trade hot food 24 hours a day when police argued that the extended opening times could lead to a wave of “crime and disorder”.
The majority of the food sold available at Greggs, including its famous pasties, is made at industrial bakeries and then re-heated so the company does not need a licence to sell them because they are not kept hot in store. However other cooked products, such as bacon baps, sausage breakfast rolls and potato wedges, as well as tea and coffee, need special permission from the local authority to be sold between 11pm and 5am.
Metropolitan Police officers, Environmental Health, three local Westminster councillors and one resident had complained about the company’s plans. Greggs offered to employ security guards wearing body cameras at the Leicester Square location to ensure safety, but the request was still refused. The day before a court fight was set to start, the bakery and Westminster town hall came to a compromise where sandwiches and sweet treats could be sold late into the night.
Chopping and washing up at Naroon
One central London’s most popular restaurants faced its opening hours being slashed after complaints from neighbours about noise, including “chef chopping” and “washing up dishes”. Persian restaurant Naroon, in Fitzrovia, is one of the most booked restaurants on TheFork website and app, and expanded in 2024 to include three sites.
But its eatery in New Cavendish Street had its licence reviewed by Westminster Council after an alleged “long series of public nuisances caused to the residential neighbourhood”. Neighbours were said to have been “strongly affected” by the restaurant after it emptied its glass recycling at 11pm, council documents showed. Council officers said they believed a “strong limitation of outdoor activity… should be imposed, especially over the weekend given the close residential neighbourhood”.
Rowdy customers at Walker’s of Whitehall
Walker’s of Whitehall, which is just minutes from Downing Street, Parliament and Trafalgar Square, faced a licence review last year following grumbles from neighbours dating back “many, many years”. Residents complained about rowdy and “intimidating” customers at the pub popular with politicians and Number 10 staff.
A group living in nearby Craig's Court had written to the town hall calling for it to impose restrictions on the bar over it allowing dozens of drinkers to stand on the pavement outside. Morgan McSweeney, Sir Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff, held his leaving drinks at venue in early March 2026 following his resignation, while police were called to the building in 2018 when a fight broke out during a meeting of young Tories.
