We’ve ranked the spots making the finest drinks in town
Edited by Leonie Cooper
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What’s the best co*cktail you’ve had in London? And where did you drink it? In the capital you can find co*cktails for every taste, but knowing where to look can be daunting, as there’s so much choice. This is where our extremely helpful list of London’s best co*cktail bars comes in handy. Here you’ll find everything from fancy hotel spots to down and dirty speakeasies, party palaces to secret basem*nts. What they all have in common is mixed drinks that will tingle your taste buds.
Some of these joints stick loyally to the classics – visit Dukes for a Martini you’ll never forget or Bar Termini for a Negroni as good as they come – while others experiment to create the most wildly original co*cktails around. You’re guaranteed top-notch tipples whichever bar you choose from our curated list of London’s best places to drink co*cktails.
Want something a little less swanky? Here are the best pubs in London.
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Top London co*cktail bars
- Bars and pubs
- co*cktail bars
- Old Street
price 2 of 4
What’s the vibe? Two star bartenders and theirglobally-renownedtwo-part bar. Elementary is in the front, a laidback daytime hangout serving pre-batched party drinks. Tayēr is in the back and is like a very cool house party but with elevated tipples.
When to visit When you don't quite know what you want – this is two bars in one.
What’s on the menu? It’s hard to pin down since it’s a constant evolution, particularly in Tayēr. But don’t miss the frozen co*cktail in Elementary, which changes on a regular basis, or the One-Sip Martini, a riff on an iconic co*cktail.
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- Bars and pubs
- co*cktail bars
- Crouch End
price 2 of 4
What’s the vibe? Undeniably cool yet unpretentious hangout along the Crouch End Broadway.
When to visit Visit when you’re in need of a fancy drink fix but could do without the pace of central and east London.
What’s on the menu?One of the best Bellinis innorth London.
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- Bars and pubs
- co*cktail bars
- South Bank
price 3 of 4
What’s the vibe? From the team who brought you White Lyan, Super Lyan and Dandelyan, here comes Lyaness. Mr Lyan’s latest bar occupies the same spot as Dandelyan but has a radical new approach to co*cktails.
When to visit When you want drinking to be a nerd-out experience.
What’s on the menu? The whizz kids behind the bar have created seven new ingredients (‘infinite banana’ and ‘ultra raspberry’ among them) that form the pillars of a wildly inventive co*cktail menu. The White Sbagliato is among our faves.
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- Bars and pubs
- co*cktail bars
- Bethnal Green
price 2 of 4
What’s the vibe? Upmarket mixed drinks in a down-to-earth and devilishly cool location.
When to visit Thursday night; the weekend starts early here.
What’s on the menu? Some of the best co*cktails to be found in Bethnal Green’s burgeoning booze scene.
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- Bars and pubs
- co*cktail bars
- King’s Cross
price 2 of 4
What’s the vibe? A tasteful, boujee, and most importantly: vibey spot at the top of the Standard hotel in King's Cross.
When to visit It's open late – until 2.30am Thursday to Saturday – so make this your final spot of the night.
What’s on the menu? Kiss Me; made with gin, sour cherry cordial and lime,isa zingycitrus-tinged mouth storm.
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- Bars and pubs
- co*cktail bars
- Dalston
price 2 of 4
What’s the vibe? Diminutive Dalston bar and café run by bybrothers Max and Noel Venning and filled with friends. There's also now a Soho branch.
When to visit When you fancy co*cktails on a laidback, neighbourhood level and lit by candlelight.
What’s on the menu? Seasonal drinks with cute little tweaks, like a perfect, pre-batched French 75 poured from a champagne bottle at your table.
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- Bars and pubs
- co*cktail bars
- Soho
price 2 of 4
What’s the vibe? Seriously laid back, and lively without being overbearingly noisy.
When to visit When you want to chill with a proper West End co*cktail – but without paying Belgravia prices.
What’s on the menu? Flawless classics that don’t try to improve on what’s already perfect.
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- Bars and pubs
- co*cktail bars
- Soho
price 2 of 4
What’s the vibe? Lively and always busy, but quiet because of its size.
When to visit Early evenings are perfect for a co*cktail before dinner in Soho.
What’s on the menu? Italian classics, short and strong. The Spritz never tasted so good.
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- Bars and pubs
- co*cktail bars
- Soho
price 2 of 4
What’s the vibe? Upstairs is a light-filled aperitif bar, downstairs is a brooding basem*nt with a whisky library. Both are brought to you by a world-class drinks team.
When to visit It’s great for a first date. If it’s going well, you can take it downstairs. Wink, wink.
What’s on the menu? The Sgroppino is a prosecco co*cktail filled with lemon sorbet. Unmissable.
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- Bars and pubs
- Hotel bars
- Mayfair
price 4 of 4
What’s the vibe? People-watching with the 1 percent.
When to visitAs close to late night as possible – at least you can pretend you’ve got a room upstairs…
What’s on the menu? Make your first stop the martini menu. A trolley is wheeled to your table and the drink’s made right before you.
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- Bars and pubs
- co*cktail bars
- Bethnal Green
price 2 of 4
What’s the vibe? Edgy Bethnal Green setting with chic French influence and a gold-coin-covered bar.
When to visitMonday and Wednesday nights, when live piano music ispaired with your co*cktails.
What’s on the menu? The Champagne Piña Colada is the stuff of local legend. But drinks made with calvados (French apple brandy) are worth seeking out, too.
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- Bars and pubs
- co*cktail bars
- Bloomsbury
price 3 of 4
What’s the vibe? If Rick James and Jay Gatsby got together to throw a bash, it would probably look like this hotel bar.
When to visit Head here to kick off an evening on the tiles.
What’s on the menu? The Vesca Negroni is an instant London classic.
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- Bars and pubs
- co*cktail bars
- King’s Cross
price 2 of 4
What’s the vibe? The London outpost for the Standardalso has a downstairs bar,which is rather cool despite its incredibly retro, TfL-inspired look.
When to visit The post-work King’s Cross crowd files in, but you should also time a trip to coincide with one of the lobby’s brilliant events – including live jazz and slamming DJ sets.
What’s on the menu?Rum punch on tap, a Bergamot Spritz and the Last Word, with gin, chartreuse, maraschino and lime.
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- Bars and pubs
- co*cktail bars
- Marylebone
price 2 of 4
What’s the vibe? A home away from home with chummy staff, a wall of vinyl to be treated as your own hipster jukebox and a ‘fam’ photo wall.
When to visit When you’re seeking neighbourhood vibes in the centre of town.
What’s on the menu? TheFAM margarita, which is made with white grapefruit and agave.
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- Bars and pubs
- co*cktail bars
- Bloomsbury
price 3 of 4
What’s the vibe? Unstuffy hotel bar with an English-gents-club-meets-library look, the cabinets filled with booze rather than books.
When to visit Early evening when a jazz duo twangs away by the door – pull up a stoolat the bar for drinks with a view.
What’s on the menu? Drinks inspired byTarot cards from 1910, which were designed by the bohemian occultist Pamela ‘Pixie’ Colman Smith. Magic.
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- Bars and pubs
- co*cktail bars
- King’s Cross
price 2 of 4
What’s the vibe? A veritable disco lounge with a stonking sound system courtesy of the musos behind Spiritland.
When to visit When you feel like getting into the groove as well as the booze, head on down on Wednesday to Saturday, 5.30pm to 7pm, for the capital’s most fun happy hour aka 'Aperitivo Hour'.
What’s on the menu? The co*cktails here are either vermouth-heavy or a revamped take on one of the classics.
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- Bars and pubs
- co*cktail bars
- Peckham
price 2 of 4
What’s the vibe? A neighbourhood bar in Peckham with as much emphasis on big tunes as there is on big drinks.
When to visit Warm up for the weekend with a Thursday night trip. There’s no way of leaving without at least a light buzz from all that funk.
What’s on the menu? co*cktails help you get funked up, too – from a Fela Kuti-inspired sour to a Holy Negroni.
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- Bars and pubs
- co*cktail bars
- Portobello Road
price 2 of 4
What’s the vibe? Casual, sunny and funny – and always vibey at weekends.
When to visit Weekdays are chill-days, but this is Notting Hill and a party is never far away.
What’s on the menu? Cheeky tiki drinks with a massive measure of fun.
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- Bars and pubs
- St James’s
price 3 of 4
What’s the vibe? Ultimate self-indulgent luxury in three tiny, cosseting rooms.
When to visit A great place for a hot but quiet date.
What’s on the menu? All the classics, but it has to be a Martini. Just the one.
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- Bars and pubs
- co*cktail bars
- Chinatown
price 2 of 4
What’s the vibe? A sweet and stylish co*cktail boudoir owned by the team behind top restaurants The Palomar and The Barbary.
When to visit For cosseted drinking in among chic details and French-accented staff.
What’s on the menu? Achingly on trend tipples, from mezcal- and bourbon-based co*cktails to rum and vermouth numbers.
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- Bars and pubs
- co*cktail bars
- Hoxton
price 2 of 4
What’s the vibe? Big chill: laughing locals quaffing classy co*cktails .
When to visit On an East End night out that needs something a bit classy.
What’s on the menu? No-messing-about twisted classics, all done perfectly.
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- Bars and pubs
- co*cktail bars
- Soho
price 2 of 4
What’s the vibe? Prohibition chic with a tasteful infusion of twenty-first-century cool.
When to visit When you’ve got someone special to impress.
What’s on the menu? Bold drinks with a cheeky, anything-goes approach to ingredients.
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- Bars and pubs
- Hotel bars
- Strand
What’s the vibe? Money without snootiness. It's pricey but not pretentious.
When to visit Earlier in the evening to get a table without a long wait. Later in the day for people watching.
What’s on the menu? It pushes the envelope with some brave experimentation, but these eagle-eyed bartenders never miss the bullseye.
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- Bars and pubs
- Mezcalerias
- Dalston
price 2 of 4
What’s the vibe? East London ‘agaveria’ Hacha channels a bit of authentic Mexico via its knowledgable owner, tequila ambassador Deano Moncrieffe.
When to visit When you want a laid-back education on mezcal and its saucy siblings.
What’s on the menu? The bar’s hot line-up of agave-based spirits is weaved into magical co*cktails, including the dazzling Mirror Margarita – a see-through take on the classic.
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- Bars and pubs
- co*cktail bars
- West Hampstead
price 2 of 4
What’s the vibe? A bar of two halves in West Hampstead: upstairs is a shiny spot serving low-abv bevvies, while the basem*nt is a darkened whisky den.
When to visit This bar works for any mood, whether you’re playing the part of designated driver or party animal.
What’s on the menu?On our last visit we enjoyed The Everlong, an effervescent alcohol-free joy,and the Diamond in the Rough which contains three different whiskies.
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- Bars and pubs
- co*cktail bars
- Islington
price 2 of 4
What’s the vibe? A tiki paradise on Upper Street.
When to visit When you can no longer handle London’s grey skies.
What’s on the menu? Rum – and lots of it. Order in a punchy co*cktail by using a buzzer at your table (told you it was paradise!).
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- Bars and pubs
- co*cktail bars
- Islington
price 2 of 4
What’s the vibe? Irish-run Homeboy is a packed and party-ready barthat serves sharp co*cktails alongside pints ofGuinness.
When to visit Bringyour group of six – there’s plenty of room for a session on the craic.
What’s on the menu? Irish whiskey-based drinks, from an Irish Coffee to a Wogan.
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- Bars and pubs
- co*cktail bars
- Shoreditch
price 2 of 4
What’s the vibe? A quirky but classy hideout serving some of the best co*cktails in east London.
When to visit: If you want to avoid the masses when out on a big one (or as big as it can get right now!) in the 'Ditch.
What’s on the menu?Flavours from all around the world.
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- Bars and pubs
- co*cktail bars
- London Bridge
price 2 of 4
What’s the vibe? London Bridge’s very own tropical basem*nt hideaway.
When to visit After dark when the disco-lounge soundtrack truly hits the spot.
What’s on the menu? co*cktails with a conscience – this bar operates a zero waste policy – and with a kick.
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- Bars and pubs
- co*cktail bars
- Hoxton
price 2 of 4
What’s the vibe? A subterranean hideout metres from the Old Street roundabout.
When to visit If you don’t want live music (and a cover charge), early evening’s best.
What’s on the menu? Some of the most madcap/inventive co*cktails in London, which hark back to various drinking eras; Pre-Prohibition, Prohibition and Post-War.
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