Cocktails, wine bars and dives: drinking in London for grown-ups.
Cocktail bars, wine bars, dive bars and gastropubs: drinking in London for grown-ups.
Agostino Perrone's hotel cocktail bar inside The Connaught in Mayfair London, opened 2008, runs the trolley-poured Connaught Martini and has topped the World's 50 Best Bars list twice.
Signature drink: Connaught Martini (trolley-poured)
Food: Hotel snacks
Tip: The trolley-Martini is the marquee order; £24 a glass. Book a fortnight ahead through the hotel; jacket required after 19:00.
Monica Berg and Alex Kratena's two-room cocktail bar on Old Street in Shoreditch London, opened 2019, runs Elementary (the front bar) and Tayer (the back), top-ranked on the world bar lists.
Signature drink: Negroni at Tayer; classic spirit-forward at Elementary
Food: Snacks only
Tip: Walk-up only at Elementary in front. Tayer in the back books a week ahead. The menu changes every season and shows the production process.
Ryan Chetiyawardana (Mr Lyan)'s cocktail bar inside the Sea Containers hotel on the South Bank in London, opened 2019, runs an ingredient-driven menu that turns over twice yearly.
Signature drink: Whatever Mr Lyan ingredient feature is on the menu
Food: Snacks and small plates
Tip: Walk-up at the bar most weeknights; weekend tables book a week ahead. Six house ingredients drive the menu each season.
Mia Johansson and Bobby Hiddleston's two-floor cocktail bar on Old Compton Street in Soho London, opened 2016, runs an upstairs Irish-coffee bar and a basement late-night cocktail room.
Signature drink: Irish coffee at the upstairs bar
Food: Snacks upstairs, late kitchen downstairs
Tip: Upstairs takes walk-ins from 17:30. The basement runs to 02:00 with a deeper whiskey list. The Borough sibling has the same kitchen.
Salvatore Calabrese's hotel cocktail bar inside Dukes London in St James's, trading since 1908, claims to have inspired Ian Fleming's James Bond Vesper Martini in the 1950s.
Signature drink: Vesper Martini (trolley-poured)
Food: Hotel snacks
Tip: The trolley-Vesper is the marquee order; £28 a glass. Three-Martini limit per guest, sensibly enforced. Closed-jacket recommended.
The Savoy hotel's American Bar on the Strand in central London, trading since 1893 and the world's oldest surviving cocktail bar of name, codified the modern cocktail through Ada Coleman.
Signature drink: White Lady (or any 1920s recipe from the Savoy Cocktail Book)
Food: Hotel snacks
Tip: Walk-up only between 11:30 and 19:00; book a week ahead for evenings. The Beaufort Bar across the lobby has the more modern programme.
Daniel Bovey's east-London cocktail bar on Cambridge Heath Road in Bethnal Green London, opened 2014, runs a daily-changing menu of classic and modern cocktails printed at 17:00.
Signature drink: The daily-changing menu (printed at 17:00)
Food: Snacks only
Tip: Walk-up only. Tuesday-Thursday from 17:00 is the easy slot. The daily menu turns over fully; favourites change weekly.
Justyna Kosinska's basement cocktail bar in a former 1900s tailor's storeroom on Wentworth Street in Spitalfields London, opened 2013, runs a focused house-mix cocktail menu.
Signature drink: House Old Fashioned
Food: Snacks only
Tip: Walk-up only. Doors open 18:00 weekdays; weekend queues run 30 minutes. Cash and card; tiny capacity below ground.
Alastair Burgess's basement cocktail bar on Hoxton Square in Shoreditch London, opened 2010, runs a small handwritten menu of cocktails ranked on the World's 50 Best Bars list since 2014.
Signature drink: Perfect Storm
Food: Snacks only
Tip: Book a fortnight ahead; the room takes 35 covers and burns through. No music, low light, conversation-first design.
Max and Noel Venning's neighbourhood cocktail bar on Kingsland Road in Dalston London, opened 2016, runs a daily-mixed-on-site cocktail menu and a small wine list.
Signature drink: Whatever house-mix of the season is
Food: Snacks only
Tip: Walk-up only Tue-Thu. Friday-Saturday books a week ahead. The brothers source ingredients to make every house spirit from scratch.
Chris Moore's French-influenced cocktail bar on Bethnal Green Road in east London, opened 2018, runs a Calvados-heavy menu and ranks regularly on the World's 50 Best Bars list.
Signature drink: Calvados-based drinks (the bar's house ingredient)
Food: Snacks only
Tip: Counter seats walk in any night. Booking a fortnight ahead through their site secures a table. The cocktail flight is the easy ask.
Matt Whiley's hyper-seasonal cocktail bar on Sclater Street in Shoreditch London, opened 2018, builds the menu around local UK ingredients and zero-waste production.
Signature drink: Hyper-seasonal house mixes
Food: Snacks only
Tip: Counter seats are walk-up. The menu turns over by season; British produce defines the drinks list throughout the year.
Inside the Pan Pacific Liverpool Street hotel in the City of London, opened 2021, Silverleaf runs tea-infused cocktails and a sleek brass-and-walnut bar room from a hotel team.
Signature drink: Tea-infused cocktails
Food: Snacks and small plates
Tip: Walk-up at the counter; book the snug for groups of four. The tea-house design pairs every drink to a specific tea leaf.
Marian Beke's cocktail bar on Old Street in Shoreditch London, opened 2014, named for the Gibson Martini and built around the pickled-onion garnish that defines the drink.
Signature drink: Gibson Martini
Food: Snacks only
Tip: Walk-up at the counter; book the back for groups. The bar runs a long menu of variations on the classic Gibson template.
Tony Conigliaro and Marco Arrigo's Italian-cafe-and-cocktail-bar on Old Compton Street in Soho London, opened 2015, runs an aperitivo menu and the city's most photographed Negroni.
Signature drink: Caffe corretto and Negroni
Food: Italian snacks
Tip: Walk-up at the counter and bar tables. Tiny room of 20 seats; the espresso bar runs all day, cocktails from 16:00.
Tony Conigliaro's hotel cocktail bar inside the Zetter Townhouse on St John's Square in Clerkenwell London, opened 2011, runs a Victorian-styled drawing room and seasonally rotating menu.
Signature drink: Flintlock cocktail (gin, tincture of gunpowder tea)
Food: Snacks only
Tip: Walk-up at counter; book a side table a week ahead. The Marylebone Zetter sibling on Seymour Street has the same kitchen.
Peak food season in London is year-round.
Local dining hours: lunch around 12:30, dinner from 19:30.
service is typically included; small extra is welcome but not expected.
Ask the next local you meet what they would order. London rewards trust.