Hawksmoor Spitalfields Bar

Hawksmoor Spitalfields Bar is the basement cocktail room beneath the original Hawksmoor steakhouse on Commercial Street, at the Shoreditch edge of Spitalfields. It pours the group's well-drilled cocktail programme in a low-lit cellar of brass and mirror panelling, copper-topped bar and deep leather booths set under brick arches. The room has twice been crowned the world's best restaurant bar.

This is a cocktail-first space tied to one of London's best-known steakhouses, not a rowdy late bar. Today the basement runs largely as a private events room, while the restaurant bar upstairs keeps the same drinks list flowing for walk-ins. Come for precise classics and the famous Shaky Pete's. If you want a dancefloor, look elsewhere in Shoreditch.

The bar sits in the basement below the restaurant, a snug cellar lined with vintage brass and mirror, a copper-topped counter and generous leather booths tucked into the underground arches. Difford's Guide and DesignMyNight both flag the room's polish and its award pedigree. The space now leans toward private hire for events and gatherings.

Set on Commercial Street between Spitalfields Market and Shoreditch, the bar sits an easy walk from Liverpool Street. That position makes the upstairs bar a natural pre-steak or after-work stop in the City fringe. The cellar keeps its cool, clubby calm whatever the night above.

The list runs deep on classics done properly, alongside Hawksmoor's own house creations. The signature is Shaky Pete's Ginger Brew, a long, fizzing mix of gin, lemon, homemade ginger beer and London Pride that has become a group calling card. Expect cocktails around the mid-teens, in line with a serious Spitalfields cocktail room. Start with a Shaky Pete's, then move to a stirred classic.

City workers, Spitalfields diners and cocktail-minded regulars fill the upstairs bar, with the basement booked out by private groups and events. Early evening brings the after-work and pre-dinner set, busiest Thursday and Friday. The mood is grown-up and convivial rather than loud.

Explore more with our London cocktail bars guide and the London bar guide. For a Spitalfields and Shoreditch crawl, pair this with Nightjar in Shoreditch, The Cocktail Trading Co. in Shoreditch, or Oriole in Farringdon. Searching nearby? Use our cocktail bars near me hub.