№1
The Hippodrome Casino
📍 Leicester Square, London
- Three Gaming Floors
- Heliot Steak House
- Cabaret Theatre
- Open 24 Hours
Gaming Three gaming floors are stacked around the old theatre’s central well, so roulette, blackjack and the machine banks each get their own level rather than competing for the same room. Doors stay open twenty-four hours, which changes the character of the place considerably after midnight.
Hotel Amenities There are no bedrooms here — the Hippodrome is a night out, not a stay. Leicester Square and Covent Garden put dozens of hotels within a five-minute walk, from the grand Strand addresses to smaller Soho rooms, and you can pick almost any price bracket.
Dining Heliot Steak House sits on the old circle balcony, looking straight down over the tables, which is a better view than most West End restaurants can offer. Several bars run across the floors, and the cabaret theatre programme means dinner and a show under one roof.
Atmosphere It still reads as a theatre first and a casino second — gilt, deep red, tiered balconies, sightlines built for spectacle rather than for cards. The crowd is a proper West End mix of tourists, theatre-goers and regulars, and it is louder than anywhere else on this list.


