Mayfair, London
Reserve via the Connaught website. Walk-in queue often forms at 17:00.
London's Most Famous Cocktail Bar
The Connaught Bar in Mayfair has been ranked in the World's 50 Best Bars top five for over a decade. Agostino Perrone has run the cocktail programme since 2008. The room is David Collins designed: leather banquettes, silver leaf walls, and a long polished bar that the bartenders work behind in formal jackets.
The Connaught Martini Trolley is the bar's signature ritual. The bartender brings a silver trolley table-side, mixes your Martini in front of you with your choice of bitters from a curated rotation, and explains each ingredient. It takes ten minutes and costs £25. It is worth it.
The cocktails beyond the Martini are equally precise. The seasonal menu runs to twenty drinks rotating four times yearly. Pair with The American Bar for a London heritage cocktail evening.
