London's coolest co-working spaces

Best for a stellar lunch: The Tramshed Project

In a year that’s seen many of us reluctantly leave behind the buzz of the office to work instead from the more isolated confines of our homes, the prospect of a communal workplace has serious appeal now we’re allowed to be a little more mobile again. Luckily for us, Street Feast founder Dominic Cools-Lartigue has turned his attention to co-working spaces, launching The Tramshed Project: a cultural venue, workspace and restaurant in the heart of Shoreditch.

Taking over the Grade II-listed warehouse space of Mark Hix’s now-closed Tramshed restaurant (itself a casualty of the pandemic), the multi-purpose venue is a membership-free destination that hopes to offer a safe, socially distanced space for co-working, eating and coming together as a community during these times of uncertainty.

Here, you can pitch up in your own personal booth, take a seat at a laptop bar or book a larger space for the entire team. The space is kitted out with screens, business support services and offers optional catering (remember those starry chefs we mentioned?), and there are workshops and mentoring programmes to make the most of, too.

Best for an immersive environment: Uncommon

Uncommon founder Tania Adir believes that our ability to focus and work productively is strongly affected by smells, sounds and light levels. And while this alone isn’t revolutionary, Adir’s approach to creating coworking spaces that prioritise all of the above certainly is. Each of Uncommon’s foliage-adorned sites boasts scented rooms, specially curated playlists to focus the mind, bright (but not too bright) lighting, and standing desks for when your legs need a stretch but your mind is not ready to take a break.

There are heaps of added benefits across the four spaces too, including meditation pods, roof terraces, Peloton bikes and artisan coffee stations. And if you’re worried about contracting Covid while working there? Don’t be: Uncommon now has thermal cameras installed which are designed to identify anyone with a higher-than-normal body temperature.

Best for growing your network: Huckletree

Huckletree is a co-working space on a mission to connect professionals with others in their industry. As such, each of its locations – which include several offices in London and others in Manchester and Dublin – are geared towards different industries. Workspace West, for example, caters primarily for corporate professionals in the fashion and design industries, while the Soho site is about bringing together brands and innovation teams. Sporting the company’s signature garish branding, each location offers hot-desking, break-out spaces, and stages for speaker events.

In a bid to help its members towards professional betterment, Huckletree also offers a digital programme of masterclasses and workshops; a 12-week Alpha programme to ‘supercharge’ start-ups; and a Renegade Academy offering intensive evening classes for anyone looking to turn an idea into a business.

Best for helping that start-up flourish: Google Campus, Shoreditch

Putting an inspiring community of like-minded individuals in one space, as well as providing plenty of mentorship opportunities, entrepreneurial talks and hands-on classes (the workshops tackle topics like how to get up to speed with Google Analytics, or how mindfulness can be an essential life-management tool for entrepreneurs), is just part of why Google's London Campus is the most coveted workspace for any startup or tech-inclined freelancer to join. Past initiatives like Google Campus for Mums offered a family-friendly atmosphere where parents could step away from their seat in a Startup School class on how to get seed funding or how to market their business to change their baby's nappy or feed. The newly appointed head of Google for Startups, Marta Krupinska, is focusing on social impact technology and how machine learning can change the world for good.

Best for makers: Makerversity, Westminster

Located in the basement of Somerset House, Makerversity is a co-making space with desks which gives its creative members access to the machinery and tools they need for their businesses, whether they're working in wood or developing a new biodegradable material from waste. Community atmosphere is also at the heart of this co-making space: the hub of over 350 creative minds hosts programmes to inspire the next generation of makers, offering a rolling desk set-up with three months of free membership for under-25s to develop their businesses. Roaming memberships start at £240 a month for 60 hours of hot-desk space. Now, if only we had some practical skills, so we could apply…

Best for all the little touches: WeWork Wilson Street, Finsbury Square

One of the pioneers of the co-working movement, WeWork knows the recipe for an inspiring, productive co-working space: a great location, top-notch amenities (from soundproofing to on-site showers), and the little details, like being able to cuddle your pooch at your desk, bike to work (there's on-site storage) and sit outside to make a call. Hot desks start at £450 a month. This is also the workspace to join for wellness fans: from Pilates to meditation, there's always something going on to help mind and body function in harmony. If this location doesn't suit your commute, don't fret: WeWork has over 40 locations in London alone.

Best for the chill factor: Fora Soho

With locations around London, Fora offices are known for their pleasant vibe of chic boutique hotel meets co-working space (down to little touches like concierges trained at L’École Hôtelière de Lausanne and tiles handmade in Marrakech). The newest outpost, in Soho, has everything a small team or individual needs – and then some, including comfy beanbag chairs and podcast rooms. Some Fora locations have added extras: Clerkenwell Central St. boasts chef Stevie Parle's Italian restaurant, Palatino, while Fora's Borough location has a rooftop lounge, gym and personal trainers. Tech is central to Fora's ethos, and there's an integrated Fora app which allows members to book meeting rooms, order team coffees from concierges ahead of presentations or find out about networking events happening in any Fora location.

Best for the endless options: Soho Works, Shoreditch

The Soho House aesthetic seamlessly merges aesthetics with ease, and the co-working space doesn't disappoint, offering members everything from brand-building workshops to mindfulness to hands-on sessions, where you can upcycle your pillowcase or make your own energy balls. Situated in London's iconic Tea Building, the vast 16,000-square-foot space is open 24/7 and features numerous membership options, from day and night hot-desking, to guaranteed desks, to spaces that can accommodate teams of 10 (Soho House members get a discount on rates). There are plenty of on-site amenities that members can't get enough of, including a roof terrace, workshop with crafts and tools, screening room, photo studio, café and bar, library and reading room, 3D printer, showers and lockers, 200 pages of free printing a month and private phone booths. Did we mention the access to Shoreditch House? Look out for a new location opening in White City soon.

Best for connecting with nature: Second Home, London Fields

Design and nature are at the heart of Second Home's ethos, and the latest outpost in London Fields, designed by Madrid-based firm CanoLasso, acts as a landmark for the creatives in the neighbourhood. Not only is the space a riot of colour and light, but it's also biophilia at its best, with hanging gardens, live moss, and unusual materials like hanging Portuguese cork for soundproofing. There are different membership levels (hot-desking roamers pay from £250 per month), although non-members can hang out in the ground-floor café and use the wi-fi. It's no surprise that creatives from all industries, as well as NGOs, have already set up shop here. Second Home London Fields is all about integrating the surrounding community as well, with yoga sessions from Hackney's Stretch London and a stunning nursery space, with rooftop terrace for the kiddos, running in collaboration with NFamily Club. Members also get access to Second Home's other workspaces (Spitalfields, Holland Park, Clerkenwell Green, as well as locations in Lisbon and LA), talks from the likes of Ottolenghi's Sami Tamimi and London mayor Sadiq Khan, and skill-sharing, business-boosting workshops, courtesy of its Breakthrough programme. Yes, Second Home London Fields is flexible working-meets-family-life at its best, but there may be one problem: you won't ever want to leave the office…

Best for putting family first: Cuckooz Nest, Clerkenwell

While a working space with a fabulous daycare facility on-site shouldn't be revolutionary, co-working spaces with crèches are still few and far between, and many working parents are still parking themselves at Starbucks and plying their two-year-old with croissants in the hopes of sounding professional during a morning conference call. The co-working spaces with childcare that do exist, such as Cuckooz Nest, are amazing, because they're designed to meet the needs of working parents. At Cuckooz Nest, this translates to affordable on-site childcare, a breastfeeding-friendly atmosphere and total flexibility – you can book in on a Pay-As-You-Go basis for as little as an hour or two a day. The crèche, created with childcare specialists Manny & Me, has Ofsted-registered childcare providers and includes climbing, soft play, crafts, dressing up, a reading corner, a darkened naptime area, buggy storage and its own kitchen.

Best for creatives: De Beauvoir Block, Hackney

If your workplace is a reflection of who you are, then we all want to be De Beauvoir Block: architects Henley Halebrown transformed these Victorian warehouses into modern industrial blocks with exposed bricks, steel accents, timber floors and large windows that encourage the light to flood in. It's a creative haven, with brand and content agencies, architecture firms and production companies working side by side. Another bonus? You can sign up to a Casual Membership, which gives access to the café, communal area, outside courtyard and meeting room, for just £100 (plus VAT) monthly.

Best for the techie crew: Plexal, Olympic Park

Plexal takes the concept of the co-working space to the next level. More than a series of desks and community spaces, it's a mini-city with an indoor park, high street and room reserved for prototyping and making. Taking the idea that innovation comes from diversity as its starting point, the space is designed with private rooms as well as ample opportunities for cross-collaborations between the tech businesses and start-ups on-site. The events space with bleacher seating accommodates over 300 people, so is an obvious choice for hackathons, conferences and inspiring speaker talks. Hot desking starts at £220 a month, and gives you a chance to join in with member events like the weekly Plexal football club, 80s-themed aerobics classes, funding consultations and women in tech lunches.