La Monocle: South London's Lesbian & FLINTA Bar

Aim

La Monocle are raising funds through affordable pop-ups, residencies, film clubs, and more. And now, we're taking the next step....

Quote from La Monocle's Founder:

"I started La Monocle in November 2024 to build the space I couldn’t find, and to make sure it stayed standing.

La Monocle is moving toward its permanent home: a bar in South London with an essential beer garden, on a street where anyone can walk safely, unhurried and unafraid. We are shaping a space that feels open and grounded, a place people can return to, like a familiar light in the evening.

Working-class owned from the start, we have built this project through affordable pop-ups. We have raised funds slowly, but we have also kept the doors open for our community in the present moment. Now, as we enter our investment phase, the momentum is unmistakable. Each pop-up is not a rehearsal, but a living piece of the future we are already building.

Our first event in March saw over 350 FLINTA babes collect at the Peckham Pelican within two hours of opening doors. Since then, during our residency in Elephant and Castle, 170-person venues have sold out time and time again. Whatever venue we pick, South London has shown that it trusts us to be the team to build this community bar.

The permanent bar is not about scaling up. It is about staying open, staying affordable, and staying accountable to the people who built it. Accessibility, safety, and fair pay are non-negotiable in how La Monocle operates, from staffing and pricing to who gets to feel at home in the room. Beyond nightlife, the space will host workshops, conversations, and collaborations that extend the life of the community beyond the bar.

We have found a potential location already in Camberwell, and are hoping to create a hybrid bar/cafe/pub, mixed with a community space, that will 

La Monocle is not emerging. It is already here. The permanent space is simply catching up."

La Monocle began with a pop up organised at the Peckham Pelican in March 2025. Within two hours of opening doors on a Friday night, over 350 members of the lesbian and FLINTA community turned up. The response made clear the scale of demand for dedicated, welcoming spaces for lesbians and FLINTA people in South London. Since then, La Monocle has grown into a programme of regular events, including 170-capacity nights that sell out every time, regular speed dating events, community film club screenings, and most recently, a dedicated residency that allows La Monocle to open for three nights a month! Since that first night in March, La Monocle has been built by a very small and underfunded team of volunteers, dedicating time and energy to ensuring this space can exist for everyone who needs it. It's built with passion for its existence.

La Monocle now operates as a regular programme of events in South London, hosting two nightlife events each month alongside two additional community focused events. Together, these create dedicated spaces for lesbians and FLINTA people to meet, drink, dance, and connect. Across all events, La Monocle combines cocktails, wine, and music with an intentionally relaxed atmosphere that encourages conversation, connection, and a sense of belonging.

Across press coverage and Instagram, La Monocle shows it is a community-led project rooted in Queer inclusive values. It is described as a hub for lesbians, FLINTA and queer people in South London, with a clear long term aim of raising funds toward opening a permanent lesbian and FLINTA bar. Events are shared publicly through ticketing platforms, while social media documents the nights through photography, short films, and reflections from attendees.

The project draws inspiration from Parisian queer history and early twentieth century nightlife (Check out Le Monocle!), translating this influence into a contemporary South London setting. Earlier themed evenings reference places such as Montmartre, while centring today’s artists, poets, musicians, DJs, and independent makers. Press coverage has highlighted La Monocle’s ability to combine historical influence with a strong focus on emerging creative communities.

 La Monocle is a South London–based Lesbian & FLINTA* pop-up bar inspired by the historic Le Monocle of 1920s Paris. Rooted in queer history and community-building, La Monocle exists to create joyful, affirming, and culturally rich spaces for the Lesbian and FLINTA community in South London.

La Monocle is entirely volunteer-run, with our team dedicating their time, labour, and skills to building La Monocle into a permanent venue. Our mission for now is to take over non-queer venues and transform them into spaces for us: creating temporary havens of Lesbian & FLINTA nightlife across South London. Each pop-up reclaims space, builds visibility, and directly funds a permanent community café by day and bar by night.

All profits from our events are reinvested into securing this permanent home, a dedicated space where people can gather, work, host events, create, and socialise within a FLINTA-centred environment.

You can support La Monocle by attending events, donating via our ticket pages, contributing through our Ko-fi on our Linktree, or privately requesting larger donation amounts or investment opportunities by emailing [email protected]. 

From March, La Monocle will also launch print-on-demand merchandise to reduce waste while allowing you to customise almost anything suitable for screen printing, with all profits going directly toward securing our permanent space.

By supporting La Monocle, you are helping to build a lasting, community-rooted venue for Lesbian & FLINTA people in South London.

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 17th August 2026 at 3:19pm