Your Guide to Office Space in South Bank

Highlights and hidden gems

No one expects the pub at Shakespeare’s Globe to be any good – tourists will always drink there anyway. But the Swan at the Globe is secretly a great place to become a regular. Take clients from out-of-town to the restaurant upstairs to woo them with the views, or have your brainstorms at the long benches in the downstairs pub. Or, there are private meeting rooms for more formal meetings, and the staff are as helpful with tech as they are with snacks. Right by Borough Market, The Market Porter is a brilliant green-and-brick London boozer – a good one for spilling out on to the pavement when the sun shines.

We’ll grab a Caravan coffee pretty much whenever we see (and sniff) one, but Caravan Bankside is a particularly good spot to know. Just behind the main South Bank drag, the space has high ceilings and natural light and you’ll eat way better here than you will at most of the chains on the river. If you’ve got a big, motley team to feed with all different dietary requirements, this covers all bases. There are lots of great spots on Bermondsey Street, too (tapas at Jose, rice bowls at Omoide, steak and roast potatoes at Casse-Croûte), but we find nothing hits the spot for a working lunch like Franco Manca. The pizzas are fantastic and the prices are unbeatable – it’s a team lunch crowdpleaser.

Coworkers will tell you about the rainforest showers and shiny copper lockers (and probably post them on Instagram) but 1Rebel is definitely not style over substance. You can book classes online with trainers at the top of their game (some of whom are Insta-famous themselves). Classes come in three shapes: Reshape (high-intensity classes across treadmills and benches), Rumble (boxing fitness) and Ride (spinning), with plenty of pre and post-workday options. Or, if you fancy something floatier, 3Tribes Borough offers hot yoga, barre and floatation therapy.