Lyaness
formerly Dandelyan — World's No.1 Bar 2018

In 2019, Ryan Chetiyawardana closed Dandelyan — the bar that had been voted World's Best Bar in 2018 — and replaced it with Lyaness. The broader cocktail world spent several months quietly confused about why. They stopped being confused when they tried the new cocktail menu. Lyaness runs on the same principles as Dandelyan: ingredient-led, seasonally changing, technically brilliant, conceptually interesting. The implementation is entirely its own thing.

The bar sits inside the Sea Containers hotel on the South Bank with floor-to-ceiling windows facing the Thames and St Paul's Cathedral directly across the river. The room is designed to let the view do much of the work, which it does. The cocktail programme is built around a rotating set of hero ingredients, each season. These hero ingredients inform the entire menu, creating a cohesion that most bars do not attempt. The result, when it works, is one of the most coherent drinking experiences in Europe.

This is the bar that the London cocktail community considers the current standard-bearer for serious drinks on the South Bank. The Connaught Bar and the Beaufort Bar hold their ground on the north side of the river. Lyaness holds the south. If you are building a London cocktail itinerary, the choice between them is not either/or. Both reward your time and money. If you are choosing just one, choose whichever room fits your evening's mood — the Connaught's quiet precision or Lyaness's view across the Thames.