Scarfes Bar at Rosewood London

The latest addition to London’s hotel bar scene, the bar at Rosewood London feel welcoming, homely and utterly stylish.

With an open fire and book shelves as walls, it’s a bar that you could return to night after night.

Take a seat in one of the wing-back chairs, on the seats in front of the fire or on the rocking chair and enjoy a great cocktail list while listening to a live music performance that creates an enchanting evening.

The Zetter Townhouse

The venue is designed around ‘Aunt Wilhelmina’, a crazy old aunt whose trinkets and artefacts from her global travels make the Zetter the most unusual venue I’ve been to in a long time.

The cocktail menu is short but perfectly formed.

Each cocktail is the result of a specific concept, and is the product of multiple experiments a lab to get the final libation just right.

Expect unusual ingredients, and the influence of many different techniques and fields, making The Zetter Townhouse a contender for one of the best cocktail bars in London.

Smokey Kudu

Smokey Kudu is an intimate cocktail bar housed under the arches at Queens Road station in Peckham.

It is the first standalone bar from couple Amy Corbin and Patrick Williams and a short walk away from their excellent restaurant Kudu.

The 37-cover cocktail bar features a central horseshoe shaped bar topped with pink marble and a giant glass chandelier.

Smokey Kudu is open in the evenings only Wednesday to Friday and all day Saturday and Sunday.

The Hawksmoor Bar

The new Hawksmoor Bar in the basement of the original Hawksmoor Spitalfields on Commercial Street is a very fashionable and glamorous affair. A strip club was first turned into a fruit store and this spring has been reborn as a beautiful 60-cover bar.

The bar is dark, mysterious and funky with an excellent food offering to match, as you’d expect from one of London’s best steakhouses.

Bar Termini, Soho

Based on the Italian cafés and Roma Termini in the fifties, Bar Termini is an intimate all-day cocktail and coffee bar on Old Compton Street in Soho.

Pop by for a quick espresso at the bar or settle down and make your way through the list of apertivo cocktails such as the signature house Classico Negroni – accompany this with a selection of Italian charcuterie and cheeses.

Bar Termini was opened by drinks industry legend, Tony Conigliaro in 2014, along with friends Marco Arrigo (also head of UK quality at Illy coffee) and tattoo artist Mo Coppolletta.

Lyaness

Lyaness is the ground floor cocktail bar at the Sea Containers hotel on the South Bank.

Lyaness takes its cocktails very seriously in a sumptuously designed room. Add in the Thames-side location and views of St Paul’s and you have something pretty impressive.

Callooh Callay

Callooh Callay has an imaginative cocktail menu featuring old favourites and classics in an eclectic space that is as quirky and nonsensical as the Lewis Carroll poem from which it takes its name.

Through a Narnia-esque wardrobe, you are taken to the Jubjub bar, an intimate little room that’s perfect for an intimate party at one of the best cocktail bars in London.

69 Colebrooke Row

The classy and bijou 69 Colebrooke Row has caused quite a stir on London’s cocktail scene over the last year.

The owner, Tony Conigliaro, who perfected his craft at the Shochu Lounge at Roka, is described as a molecular mixologist, and nobody can argue with his take on the classic cocktail, which are well priced at one of the best cocktail bars in London.

The Connaught Hotel

The Connaught hotel features two of London’s best cocktail bars that are ideal for very different occasions.

The warmth and intimacy of the Coburg Bar make it a wonderful place to relax after a day at the office or shopping and certainly one of our best cocktail bars in London.

The design and the cocktails at the Connaught Bar, with its marble, dark leather and metal Art Deco detailing, are perfect for an upbeat glamorous evening with friends.

We highly recommend one of their signature Martinis.

LPM Restaurant and Bar

Chic Mayfair restaurant, LPM, has just launched an experiential cocktail menu in celebration of the life of French artist, writer, and bon vivant, Jean Cocteau.

Available in the main restaurant but best enjoyed in their hidden bar, the cocktail menu is eclectic and goes in to so much detail you really do get swept up in the story telling as you make your way through the 12 cocktails.

Try the Lettre à Coco, representing the special friendship between Jean and Coco Chanel, a vodka-based cocktail made with Ketel One, Champagne cordial, jasmine, bergamot & rose.

Click here for further details.

Downstairs at Morito

Downstairs at Morito, is a new bar underneath Morito  on Hackney Road.

This warm and welcoming spot serves the same Southern Spanish, North African and Easten Mediterranean dishes as in the restaurant upstairs, but with a casual late-night bar atmosphere and an added focus on cocktails.

It’s open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, with ticketed Morito Music nights running every Tuesday.

The Donovan Bar

The Donovan Bar at Brown’s Hotel in Mayfair is cool, stylish and buzzy.

The walls are adorned with Terence Donovan’s iconic black and white prints, which add a contemporary twist to the history of the surroundings.

Le Magritte

Sleek, sultry, Le Magritte opened in Mayfair’s The Beaumont hotel in August 2021.

The 1920s New York-inspired bar has Antonino Lo Iacono (previously of Rules, Dukes, and Mark’s Club in Mayfair) at the helm. Expect classic cocktails, American whiskies and bourbons, alongside snacks including corn dogs, oysters, and caviar

Artesian Bar at The Langham

Situated in the beautifully revamped Langham hotel, the David Collins designed bar is sleek, sexy and dramatic.

With its 50 types of rum, Artesian is ideally placed for a post shopping cocktail or a refined haven from the frenzy of nearby Soho at one of the best cocktail bars in London.

Rules

Widely regarded as London’s oldest restaurant, Rules still thrives in the heart of Covent Garden, thankfully not succumbing to the tourist trap.

The upstairs bar is dark and cosy, with a gentlemen’s club feel to it, offering a historical take on the best cocktail bars in London.

The Bassoon Bar at The Corinthia

The Corinthia Hotel is one of London’s newest luxury hotels, situated close to Trafalgar Square and the Houses of Parliament in an old Ministry of Defence building.

The hotel’s gorgeous bar, The Bassoon Bar, was designed by David Collins, where the centrepiece is the piano – not only do they have regular live music but the piano is built into the bar!

The bar is stylish, relaxed and has an excellent cocktail list and feels warm and welcoming in the winter.

Nightjar

Nightjar is a beautiful bar hidden away in a basement in Old Street – the perfect place to escape the hustle and bustle of London.

The bartenders at Nightjar take a lot of care and attention when it comes to making their cocktails. They’re executed with flair and are garnished with some of the most beautiful garnishes.

Nightjar is a great place to relax with a drink alongside laid back jazz and brilliant live music.

Sweeties

Sweeties is a cocktail bar on the 10th floor of The Standard.

Serving a menu of naturally mood-boosting cocktails, the bar plays host to an evolving line-up of international DJs against the backdrop of the London skyline.

Viajante87

Viajante87 is Notting Hill’s latest cocktail bar hotspot, from the team behind Mexican / Japanese fusion restaurant, Los Mochis.

The space at Viajante87 is dark and sexy with velvet stools and banquettes, live DJs and a 2am licence.

Try the Smoked Earth (Los Siete Misterios Doba-Yej Mezcal, Lacto Fermented Veggies, Pink Salt) or The Traveler’s Martini (Altos Tequila Reposado, The Lost Explorer Salmiana Mezcal, Tropical Fruits Honey, Matcha Tea).

The American Bar at The Stafford

The American Bar at The Stafford belongs to the great tradition of the American cocktail bars that became renowned in London and Paris during the 1920s and 30s, and remains one of the longest surviving American bars in London.

Serving classics and signature cocktails, The American Bar is overseen by Bar Director, Benoit Provost and Director of Mixology, Salvatore Megna, whose creations, new and vintage, are a reference for cocktail lovers all over the world.

The Malt Lounge and Bar

Located in the Prince Akatoki London, The Malt Lounge and Bar is an uplifting lounge space by day and an intimate and sophisticated bar by night.

The Malt menu focuses on premium Japanese and international whiskies and offers signature cocktails infused with in-house syrups and a stock variety of Japanese homegrown sake.

The Best Cocktail Bars in London

If you liked this top 10 feature, why not read our guide to the best hotel bars? Read our other London bar guides including the best rooftop bars and the best beer gardens and terraces.

The information was correct at the time of writing.

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