London's bar scene is the deepest in Europe — possibly the deepest in the world. The 10 below are the rooms a London-based editor would send you to first. They span the city: Mayfair to Hoxton, Soho to South Bank. Some are storied institutions (the American Bar opened in 1893); others are recent rooms that already feel definitive. All of them reward serious attention to the drink.
Part of our 50 Best Bars in the World listThis article is one chapter in our larger global guide. See the full pillar with every featured city.
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The 10 best bars in London
01 · London
Mayfair
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Hotel bar · Trolley martini
Agostino Perrone's room at the Connaught Hotel. The trolley martini service is theatre, but the drinks justify the spectacle. Worth dressing for.
Order: Connaught Martini, the trolley pour
02 · London
Strand
$$$$
Hotel bar · 1893
Britain's oldest serious cocktail bar. Still in the conversation for the world's best. The annual menu is its own publication event.
Order: Hanky Panky (Ada Coleman invented it here)
03 · London
Shoreditch
$$$
Live jazz · Theatrical
Original Hoxton location. Live jazz nightly. Drinks are Prohibition-era theatre — flaming garnishes, century-old recipes — executed with fine-dining precision.
Order: Old Cuban
04 · London
Hoxton
$$
Basement · Tiny
Below a burger restaurant on Hoxton Square. Forty seats, no fuss, exceptional drinks. Reservations land in seconds.
Order: Perfect Storm (rum, ginger, mint)
05 · London
South Bank
$$$
River views · Lab
Ryan Chetiyawardana's Sea Containers room. Each annual menu reformulates around novel ingredients. A working laboratory dressed as a bar.
Order: Whatever's on this year's menu
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06 · London
Spitalfields
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Basement · Tailor front
Below the actual Discount Suit Company tailor on Wentworth Street. Forty seats, no reservations. The London hidden gem locals defend.
Order: Bartender's choice, stirred
07 · London
Smithfield
$$$
Live music · Themed menu
Sister venue to Nightjar, with the menu organised by Old World, New World and Orient. Theatrical drinks that take fundamentals seriously.
Order: Ortolan Sour
08 · London
Mayfair
$$$
Phileas Fogg theme
Phileas Fogg-themed Victorian drawing-room bar. Antique-stuffed, gas lamps, hot air balloon overhead. Theatrical and surprisingly serious.
Order: A Tipperary
09 · London
St James's
$$$$
Hotel bar · Old guard
Inside Dukes Hotel. Ian Fleming drank his martinis here; the room is still pouring them in the same style.
Order: Dukes Martini, pour-and-stir tableside
10 · London
Soho
$$$
Counter · Modern
Modern Soho cocktail bar — no gimmicks, just precise drinks. Smaller crowd than Hoxton; better for conversation.
Order: Whatever's on the seasonal menu
More London bars by categoryCocktail, rooftop, hidden gem, after-work — the full London index.
See the full list
How to drink in London like a local
Book ahead for the Connaught and the Savoy — both rooms have queues that you don't want to be in. The Hoxton trio (Nightjar, Happiness Forgets, Discount Suit Company) all reward late nights more than early ones; arrive after 9 PM. Lyaness and Aqua Shard are the South Bank pairing — do them in sequence on a clear evening for the river view-and-cocktail-laboratory contrast.
