6 speakeasies in London our editors have drunk at, sorted by score. All London nightlife.

Nightjar ★ 4.7

£££Shoreditch

The basement on City Road behind an unmarked door is the standard against which every London speakeasy is measured, with nightly live jazz and a cocktail menu that takes the prohibition era seriously.

TipBookings only, walk-ins are turned away after 19:00. The 22:30 second set is when the band loosens up.

Happiness Forgets ★ 4.8

££Shoreditch

The Hoxton Square basement run by Alastair Burgess pairs a tight rotating cocktail list with a no-nonsense room policy that has kept it on the World's 50 Best Bars list more or less continuously since 2014.

TipBookings open one week ahead at 12:00 sharp, set a reminder. Walk-ins get the bar if anything.

The Connaught Bar ★ 4.9

££££Mayfair

Agostino Perrone's bar inside the Connaught in Mayfair has won World's Best Bar more than once and runs the table-side martini trolley service that the rest of the industry copies.

TipOrder the martini trolley, the choice of vermouth and bitters at the table is the experience. Reservations open one month ahead.

Lyaness ★ 4.7

£££Covent Garden

Ryan Chetiyawardana's ingredient-led bar at Sea Containers is built around the seven Pinnacle Guide ingredients that change every year, and the menu reads like a chef's tasting more than a drinks list.

TipSit at the bar, the conversation with the bartenders is the menu's commentary track. Saturday afternoons are the quietest slot.

American Bar at The Savoy ★ 4.7

££££Covent Garden

The 1893 cocktail bar inside the Savoy is the oldest surviving American-style cocktail room in London, with the legacy of Harry Craddock's Savoy Cocktail Book still on every back-bar shelf.

TipListen for the live piano from 18:30, the room transforms. The age limit is 14 plus accompanied, dress code is enforced.

Discount Suit Company ★ 4.6

££Shoreditch Spitalfields

The Wentworth Street basement opened in 2014 in a former tailor's stockroom, with a Northern Soul and rock and roll soundtrack and a price list that undercuts the rest of the central speakeasy scene.

TipWalk in early, the room is small and they do not take bookings past 19:00. Cash and card both work.

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