Dukes Bar is a bar in Mayfair, London.
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.
Editorially verified May 30, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Food program: Hotel snacks
Tip: The trolley-Vesper is the marquee order; £28 a glass. The bar remains open during the hotel's 2026 refurbishment.
Address: 35 St James's Place, London SW1A 1NY
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.
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.
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.
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 in 2010, runs a small handwritten menu of cocktails consistently.
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.
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 in 2018, runs a Calvados-heavy menu and ranks regularly.
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.
