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.
Food program: 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.
Address: 152 Old Street, London EC1V 9BW
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.
