The best bars in London
From classic cocktail haunts to sequestered speakeasies, these are the London watering holes worth knowing
- Words by: Aobh O'Brien-Moody
London’s thriving bar scene is renowned the world over, its bartenders and mixologists rightfully lauded for their innovative use of ingredients and exceptional technical skill. Whether you’re looking to enjoy an alfresco aperitivo, sip an expertly poured martini or sample a glass of funky natural wine amongst Salomon-clad Dalstonites, the capital has you covered…
The Connaught Bar
Any cocktail connoisseur worth their salt will be well acquainted with The Connaught Bar, a bastion of old school elegance in the heart of Mayfair. Master of mixology Agostino Perrone’s signature Connaught Martini (served from a martini trolley with bespoke bitters) is simply unparalleled.
Tayēr + Elementary
Shoreditch’s Tayēr + Elementary offers two bars for the price of one. Take your pick from Elementary, a relaxed all-day walk-in only environment with classic cocktails on tap, or Tayēr, a more experimental bar that uses its own house-made liqueurs to create complex flavours that will keep your tastebuds guessing.
Gambit Bar
Barely a few weeks old, Gambit Bar on Newman Street is already making waves on the London bar scene, pairing impeccable Art Deco interiors with an equally impressive cocktail offering crafted by Eder Neto. Entering through a mirrored walkway, you are met with understated glamour and a sense of Scandinavian chic. The space oozes seductiveness, and one instantly feels drawn to a green booth tucked into a dimly lit corner, ready to linger late into the night as live music serenades. As beautiful as the surroundings are, the bar’s real pull lies in its inclusivity, catering to every kind of drinker by offering all signature cocktails in alcohol-free form, ensuring no one is left high and dry. It is this perfect balance of atmosphere and thoughtful bar craft that captures everything a great bar should be: the ideal setting to enjoy the perfect drink for you.
Viajante87
One of the more recent additions to Notting Hill’s vibrant bar and restaurant scene is Viajante87, a sexy subterranean bar with creative cocktails inspired by the team’s travels through Latin America. It’s open until 2:30am on the weekends with resident DJs playing a mix of Latin-inspired tunes, disco, house and funk.
Bar Termini
Tony Cogigliaro, the genius behind Dalston’s Untitled and Islington’s 69 Colebrook Row, has captured the essence of aperitivo hour with the Italian-inspired Bar Termini. The tiny Soho spot serves as the perfect pre-dinner pit-stop for a negroni or two: choose from the super-smooth Classico, pink-peppercorn-infused Superiore, rose-petal Rosato or elegantly aged Robusto.
Three Sheets
Brothers Max and Noel Venning have taken the London bar scene by storm, with a host of openings in recent years – from Little Mercies in Crouch End to a recently-opened second Soho branch of Three Sheets. However, it’s the duo’s original Haggerston spot, minimalist and marble-barred, that remains an essential visit.
SOVA
Tucked away in a quiet corner of Notting Hill, newly opened wine bar SOVA brings a taste of Eastern and Central Europe to the neighbourhood, with the aim of broadening the wine horizons of even the most established connoisseurs. Translated as 'owl' in several Slavic languages, the name pays homage to the nocturnal and inquisitive creature, reflecting the bar's emphasis on long evenings and stepping beyond familiar comforts through a carefully curated selection of low-intervention and skin-contact wines from countries including Georgia, Armenia and Ukraine. The cosy space centres around countertop dining that spills out onto the surrounding street, where dishes such as beef tartare on Borodinsky bread with horseradish mayonnaise and a selection of Slavic cheeses provide the perfect accompaniment to an evening of grape exploration. As vinyl spins softly in the background, you'll find it difficult to tear yourself away for the journey home.
Sager + Wilde Hackney Road
Sager + Wilde is an intimate, Parisian-style neighbourhood wine bar where the staff really know their stuff – and aren’t precious about it. Pop in for a casual glass of wine or linger into the evening over a bottle or two and some charcuterie: it’s an ideal date spot.
The Painter’s Room
In an Art Deco corner of London institution Claridge’s, you will find a break from the typical monochrome corridors, one that instead captures the shifting shades of Southern Europe. The Painter’s Room welcomes you into a parlour of splendour, where a pared-back palette and respect for the hotel’s golden-age aesthetic invite you to dance around colour in cocktail form. The bar is a canvas for creative cocktail combinations, with a focus on fresh flavours from small-batch labels and, of course, a curated wine list featuring both familiar favourites and new ventures by the glass. The Flamingo and Celadon offer two contrasting takes on the colour spectrum, while the Painter’s Negroni presents a more familiar classic. Perhaps it is a stop-off before heading to Dante for a long dinner, or perhaps you take your seat for the long haul, indulging in a selection of sharing plates. Either way, The Painter’s Room promises to add a little colour to your evening.
Scarfes Bar
Named in honour of the British political cartoonist Gerald Scarfe, whose designs line the walls and feature on the menu, this bar is as playful as its namesake’s caricatures. Tucked away in Covent Garden’s Rosewood Hotel, it bills itself as “an homage to the classic gentleman’s clubs of yore,” but it certainly doesn’t take itself as seriously. Score a spot by the open fire, order a drink and settle in for a night of jazz.
Dover Yard, 1 Hotel Mayfair
At 1 Hotel Mayfair, Dover Yard is the sort of bar that quietly rewards a closer look. Its latest cocktail menu, Radical: A Story Told From Underground, explores the overlooked potential of roots, drawing on British soil and the cycles of nature to create drinks that are as thoughtful as they are drinkable. Split across three chapters, Extraction, Rebirth and Transformation, the menu moves from ancient preservation techniques to more progressive methods, finding new life for ingredients that might otherwise be discarded. There’s Golden Peel, a bright, turmeric-laced Paloma built around clementine, and Woodland Core, a deeper combination of Hibiki, walnut and dry mushroom. While Midnight Seed gives the picante a black-cherry makeover. The hotel’s wider kitchen also feeds into the bar, with repurposed elements from Dovetale finding their way into the drinks. Add a popcorn ice cream sandwich or peanut butter parfait, and Dover Yard’s ‘give new life’ philosophy starts to make perfect sense.
The Bar Below at Hide
At the bottom of London's most impressive staircase, in the belly of Michelin-starred HIDE, lies the dark and moody Bar Below, where curiosity and flavour are paramount. Long favoured by cocktail aficionados and industry insiders, it has quietly built a reputation for inventive serves and meticulous technique. Now, there is another reason to descend beneath Mayfair with the arrival of Cocktail Hour, available daily from 5pm to 7pm. A seasonally rotating menu of £10 cocktails showcases the team's latest creations, from the pale pink Cobra, to Escape, Birdie and Orchard, each experimenting with unexpected flavour pairings and emerging spirits. Naturally, the drinks are best accompanied by home-cured charcuterie, a short-rib beef fried sandwich, Maldon oysters or caviar. It is a reminder that some of London's most exciting drinking destinations are hidden in plain sight, and well worth seeking out.
Bar Flor
Above Wildflowers in Newson’s Yard sits Bar Flor, though you could easily mistake it for a neighbourhood pintxos and cicchetti bar. This intimate wine spot is the playful sibling to the restaurant below, built around a dynamic, ever-changing wine list that champions independent producers, alongside vermouths, Basque ciders and a concise cocktail offering. Drinks are best paired with a calamari sandwich, a gilda or four, Cantabrian anchovies, and, of course, ‘bravas’. The terrace is a quiet triumph, draped with curtains and overlooking the covered yard, full of natural light yet sheltered from the elements, a hidden haven. The energy of a traditional Basque bar has been neatly bottled and dropped into Chelsea, and it shows. This is one for those in the know. Picture yourself on the balcony with a Peschiole Martini and chocolate cremosa with olive oil, and you will understand the appeal.
Eagle Bar, The Chancery Rosewood
Perched on the seventh floor of The Chancery Rosewood, Eagle Bar offers a little slice of New York in our humble city of London. Serving golden-hour views and inventive takes on classic cocktails since its opening last year, it has now opened the doors to its second terrace bar, sitting on the opposite side of the central six-storey atrium. Upper West promises views across Hyde Park, while Upper East sits high above Grosvenor Square, two bars for two distinct moods, but both rooted in the elevated hospitality of the hotel. Upper West joins the skyline as a refined aperitif destination with a lively social atmosphere, where one might indulge in a glass of Billecart-Salmon from the magnum making its rounds, or a cocktail from its sparkling and still offerings, including favourites such as the Paloma or the Magnolia Bakery Banana Punch, a nod to the infamous Upper West Side insitution. Over in Upper East, there is a real respect for the heritage of American bars, honouring timeless classics and the cultural circles that have shaped them. Settle into one or make your way between the two; either way, there is a promise of a stiff drink and some good times spent high above the city.
The Black Duke
Hidden beneath the antique-filled grandeur of Brunswick House, you will find The Black Duke, a historic cellar bar bringing new life to the 300-year-old foundations of Jackson Boxer’s Vauxhall mansion. Reopening alongside the return of Jazz in the Cellars, the intimate space invites you underground for an evening of cocktails, wine and live music, with internationally renowned jazz label Banger Factory Records taking over the vaulted stone cellars every Tuesday. Settle in beside the wood-burning stove as the evenings draw colder, order a glass of Pol Roger Brut NV, or work your way through signature cocktails and a drinks-friendly menu of salami with Gorgonzola and pickles, and Brunswick House classics including Devilled Egg with Trout Roe. With two free jazz sets each Tuesday and dinner available upstairs before or after the show, this feels like the sort of hidden corner of London where one drink can very easily turn into an entire evening.
Dukes Bar
Come cocktail hour, martini enthusiasts in the know make a beeline for Dukes. The lush St James’s parlour was once a favourite of Ian Fleming, who – legend goes – came up with Bond’s iconic ‘shaken not stirred’ martini order. Alessandro Palazzi, head bartender at Dukes since 2007, is revered amongst cocktail enthusiasts the world over for his creative genius.
Vagabond Soho
The art of a great pour is something we all take seriously. There is something undeniably satisfying about choosing your own glass, even if it simply involves pressing a button. Now, everyone's favourite, Vagabond Wines, has opened a new Soho outpost on Ganton Street, bringing more than 140 wines by the glass to the heart of the West End. It is the brand's largest wine selection yet and a brilliant way to discover something new. Taste at your own pace, with knowledgeable guidance on hand but without any of the intimidation or hierarchy that can often accompany the world of wine. Simply find what you enjoy and pour another.
