Editorial
Mayfair is London's most expensive postcode and its drinking culture reflects that — but not always in the way you might expect. The best bars in Mayfair range from hotel bars with decades of institutional knowledge to small, independent cocktail rooms that have managed to thrive in one of the capital's most competitive neighbourhoods. We have visited them all and kept only the ones that earn their prices.
Mayfair's hotel bars carry the weight of history more than almost anywhere else in London. These are the places where the staff have been shaking the same cocktails for longer than most bars have existed.
Beyond the hotel bars, Mayfair has developed a smaller but impressive independent cocktail scene. These are the rooms where regulars come back specifically because the drinks are worth it.
Mayfair's wine bars tend toward the expensive and the serious — which is appropriate given the neighbourhood. These are the ones that justify the commitment.
The best bars in Mayfair are among the best bars in London, which makes them among the best in Europe. The prices are high and the competition for tables at the Connaught and Claridge's is real — book ahead for any evening that matters. For first-timers to Mayfair's bar scene, our sequence is: the Connaught Martini first, Hide Below for the second act, and wherever the evening takes you from there.
Sofia has been writing about European bars for over a decade. She has a particular appreciation for hotel bars done properly and an ongoing argument with herself about whether the Connaught Martini is actually the best in London.