London's cocktail scene is the deepest in Europe. The Connaught Bar has been on the World's 50 Best top-five for the past decade. American Bar at the Savoy has been pouring since 1893. Modern London (Lyaness, Tayer + Elementary) plays at world-class level. The 10 below are the rooms where the cocktail itself is the centre of the experience.
Part of our 50 Best Cocktail Bars in the World listThis article is one chapter in our larger global guide. See the full pillar with every featured city.
Read the world list
The 10 best cocktail bars in London
01 · London
Mayfair
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Hotel bar · Trolley martini
Agostino Perrone's room. The trolley martini service is theatre, but the drinks justify the spectacle.
Order: Connaught Martini
02 · London
Strand
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Hotel bar · 1893
Britain's oldest serious cocktail bar. The annual menu is its own publication event.
Order: Hanky Panky
03 · London
South Bank
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River views · Lab
Ryan Chetiyawardana's Sea Containers room. Each annual menu reformulates around novel ingredients.
Order: Whatever's on this year's menu
04 · London
Old Street
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Modernist · Counter
Monica Berg and Alex Kratena's room. Tayer is the formal counter; Elementary is the casual one. World's 50 Best fixture.
Order: Whatever's on this year's modernist menu
05 · London
Shoreditch
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Live jazz · Theatrical
Live jazz nightly. Drinks are Prohibition-era theatre executed with fine-dining precision.
Order: Old Cuban
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06 · London
Hoxton
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Basement · Tiny
Below a burger restaurant on Hoxton Square. Forty seats, no fuss, exceptional drinks.
Order: Perfect Storm (rum, ginger, mint)
07 · London
Smithfield
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Three-continent menu
Sister to Nightjar. Menu organised by Old World, New World and Orient. Theatrical drinks taken seriously.
Order: Ortolan Sour
08 · London
Spitalfields
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Basement · Forty seats
Below the actual Discount Suit Company tailor. Forty seats, no reservations. London hidden gem locals defend.
Order: Bartender's choice, stirred
09 · London
Soho
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Counter · Modern
Modern Soho cocktail bar. No gimmicks, just precise drinks. Smaller than Hoxton; better for conversation.
Order: Whatever's on the seasonal menu
10 · London
Mayfair
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Modernist · Counter
Erik Lorincz's modernist Mayfair counter bar. Asia 50/Europe 50 fixture. Quiet, technique-focused.
Order: A drink built around their house-aged ingredients
More London cocktail barsThe full London cocktail-bar index by neighbourhood.
See the full list
What London does to cocktail technique
London cocktail bars work to a higher standard of polish than almost anywhere — the trolley-martini service at the Connaught is the visible end of an extreme attention to detail. The 10 above all qualify on technique. The mid-Hoxton speakeasy cluster (Nightjar, Happiness Forgets, Discount Suit) is the casual face; the Mayfair hotel bars are the formal face. Both are essential.
