The bar takes walk ins through the week and fills up Thursday through Saturday, so book ahead for a group or a prime weekend slot. Drinks run a single flat price whether on the menu or off it.
The Cocktail Trading Co. sits on Bethnal Green Road at the eastern edge of Shoreditch, a short walk from Shoreditch High Street station. It is the work of three career bartenders who built the bar around one idea, that a serious drink does not have to take itself seriously. The room treats craft and comedy as the same job.
This is the place for anyone who finds high end cocktail bars stiff. Every drink costs the same flat price, on the menu or off it, which removes the usual menu maths. If you want a hushed, reverent temple to the martini, look elsewhere. If you want precise drinks served with a wink, this is one of the most-recommended rooms in east London.
The bar reads as a small, warm room dressed with brass, dark wood and a magpie collection of props that turn up inside the drinks. The team keep the mood loose, and guests are greeted more like regulars than customers. Top 50 Cocktail Bars lists it among the country's leading cocktail rooms, a rare nod for a bar this unpretentious.
The Bethnal Green Road position puts it on the quieter eastern flank of Shoreditch, away from the Curtain Road crush. That makes it a calmer first or second stop on a night that can roll west toward Old Street later.
The signature move is the flat price. Every cocktail, whether an elaborate menu creation or a classic you name yourself, lands at the same cost, which the bar confirms on its own site. The menu drinks lean theatrical, built around a concept or a gag, but the balance underneath is the real point. Ask the team for a classic if the menu feels too playful and they will pour it properly.
The crowd is a Shoreditch mix of industry regulars, couples and small groups out for a proper drink rather than a club night. Reviewers describe a welcome that feels personal, with staff steering nervous first timers as happily as cocktail nerds. The room is busiest Thursday through Saturday and calmer earlier in the week.
Early on a Thursday or Friday evening, before the weekend crowd fills the small room.
What to order
- 01
A current menu cocktail
- 02
A flat priced classic
- 03
Bartender's choice
- 04
A second round off menu
