Best nail salons in London: where to get the best manicure in the capital

Getting your nails done is one of life's little luxuries, spending 45 minutes to an hour relaxing whilst someone tends to your cuticles and your cracked, dry heels is one of the easiest ways to invest in self-care. There is just something about a newly painted nail that can make you feel so confident and polished.

But it's not always easy to find a nail salon that keeps their tools sanitised and won't cut your cuticles. So we done all the hard work (if it can be called that) to find the six best nail salons in London. So with that in mind, you need to know where the best nail salons in London are.

Need some nail inspiration? Check out the biggest nail trends of 2023, or TikTok's red nail theory is always a fun one to try. 

Ama

South London has been crying out for a luxury nail bar and one has finally landed in Brixton - hello Ama. Founded by firm favourite amongst beauty journos, Ama Quashie, the salon offers premium traditional manicure and pedicure treatments, but also has a ‘free from’ menu featuring products that are up to 90% natural, vegan and cruelty free. Walls are lined with an eclectic mix of cultural photographs and framed posters – think Nelson Mandela’s visit to Brixton, the famous exterior of the Ritzy cinema on the day of Prince’s death and an abundance of empowering female quotes. Suitably, my manicurist was wearing a slogan tee that said “sassy = sassi. Definition: she got this and she owning it”. And she really was, whilst perfecting the natural nail look with nostalgic sounds of Destiny’s Child and Madonna in the background. You need to book in advance, but check their Instagram for last minute availability and nail art inspiration.

340 Coldharbour Lane, Brixton, London SW9 8QH or 38 Leicester Square, London WC2H 7DX (amathesalon.com) 

Townhouse

"Once you go to Townhouse you never go back," I tell everyone. In our opinion, Townhouse - a firm favourite of the UK's Beauty Editors - is the best nail salon on the list. As soon as you walk in you're offered the menu (on an iPad) with every nail shade you could think of and that month's nail art specials. If you want to go for a bespoke nail design, the team at Townhouse will nail it and you'll be complimented on them for weeks. It's the most thorough manicure you'll ever have and the gel manicures last for three weeks, with no chips. Honestly. Each new location is just as gorgeous as the next, it's impossible to chose a favourite. From Covent Garden to King's Road, if there is a Townhouse near you it's the one to go to. 

88 Great Portland Street, W1W, 261 King’s Road, SW3 5EL, 129 Victoria Street, SW1E 6RD and many more. (www.mytownhouse.co.uk)

Still

This place is still by name, still by nature. It's a calming presence on one of East London's busiest streets. A relatively new opening for 2019, the nail salon-come-day-spa-come-crystal-shop uses non-toxic, cruelty free and vegan products. However, this doesn't mean that the quality of your treatment is diminished. Quite the contrary, it has the best nail colour selection we've seen in long while, the nail art on offer is out-of-this-world creative and the Icelandic hand cream was some of the nicest we've ever tried. A great find if you live east.

450 Kingsland Road, E8 (still-london.com)

Shoreditch Nails

The Shoreditch Nails nail salon is tiny. And when we say tiny, we meany dinky. It's tucked away off one of East London's busiest streets, in a super cute one-roomed workshop. It has three stations for manis and three cute wicker chairs for pedis. It's very much a boutique salon, but it has everything you could want. Friendly staff who chat to you about what you're doing that weekend or the best TV shows to watch, the most incredible intricate nail art and beautiful long-lasting manis. Book in once, become a regular for life.

13 Cleve Workshops, Boundary Street, E2 (www.shoreditchnails.com)

DryBy

Walk into DryBy and you'll instantly get your phone out to take pictures. The decor of this place is serious #interiorgoals. It'd not just the colour palette of blush pink, muted greys and rose gold that make this salon a winner, it's the incredible manis and pedis that are done down in the basement. You can get a simple file and paint, a Shellac or if you're feeling adventurous, nail art. But this isn't crazy nail art, this is the chic nail art that looks like jewellery.

74 Mortimer Street, W1W (dryby.co.uk)

London Grace

There are eight London Grace salons to choose from in the city and each one decorated so beautifully you'll happily spend hours there. There are three things that make these salons so great - they prefer dry pedicures, as they say it helps prevent the spread of infections and it helps them stay green by saving water; they display their polishes in a super smart way (see below) and the Happy Hours that happen in every salon on Monday through Wednesday, between 11am and 3pm - 15% off all treatments.

All over London (londongrace.co.uk)

So if you find yourself in London and in need of a mani, you'll know exactly where to go.