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Slideshow
Top 10 London Cocktail Week bars
With the fifth London Cocktail week round the corner we round up some of the capital’s top bars taking part in a week’s worth of cut-price cocktail frivolity.
Wristbands cost £10 in advance, £15 once the festival has started, giving access to a week’s worth of free sampling sessions, cocktail demonstrations and self-guided cocktail tours which will see 250 of the capital’s best bars offer up offer bespoke and unlimited cocktails for just £4 each, with each bar mapped out in a free London Bar Guide app.
Running from Monday, 6 October, to Sunday, 12 October, this year’s event will also feature a record 11 pop-up bars within the Seven Dials area from a blend-your-own-whisky bar, to a City of Gold (and rum bar).
For those with more luxurious tastes LCW will, for the first time, be offering The Luxe List in association with Belvedere Vodka, five very exclusive bars which will be offering a signature serve at the reduced rate of £8 per cocktail.
For more information on the events taking place and a full list of the 250 bars in London taking part click here.
Scroll through for some of our top picks of the bars taking part…
5CC AT HARRILD & SONS
Hidden beneath Harrild and Sons in the City, this basement bar opened earlier this year and specialises in rare whiskies. From Wales to Japan, Holland to Taiwan and Sweden to New Zealand, the bar’s vast whisky collection includes over 80 bottles making it one of London’s most extensive whisky bars.
Signature serve: Quicksand: A bittersweet autumnal drink blending, artichoke liqueur with the softness of apricot leaving enough room for the Scotch to shine.
26 Farringdon St, London, EC4A 4AB
020 3714 2397
Mon-Wed 5pm-Midnight, Thu 5pm-1am, Fri 5pm-2am, Sat 5pm-Midnight, Sun-Closed
CALLOOH CALLAY
Located in London’s trendy Shoreditch, Callooh Callay serves up a host of playfully named cocktails including the Chai Hard, Quince of the Stone Sage and Guac’ to the Future. Adding to the fun, imbibers can enter its lounge bar through a Narnia-like wardrobe.
Signature serve: Mexican Mustard Trick: Don Julio Blanco, shaken with Luxardo maraschino, fresh grapefruit juice and Coleman’s mustard powder.
65 Rivington Street, London, EC2A 3AY
020 7739 4781
Mon-Wed 6pm-Midnight, Thu-Sat 6pm-1am, Sun 6pm-Midnight
CATCH CHAMPAGNE BAR & LOUNGE
With a contemporary feel and slick interior Catch Champagne Bar & Lounge at the Andaz Liverpool Street Hotel offers an extensive wine list of more than 70 Champagnes and speciality Bellinis. On Friday evenings it transforms into a buzzing night time haunt thanks to its resident DJ.
Signature serve: Second Summer: With delicate floral notes, uplifting citrus tastes, mixed with cucumber, mint and elderflower cordial and topped up with Prosecco.
40 Liverpool Street, London, EC2M 7QN
020 7961 1234
Mon Midday-Midnight, Tue-Fri Midday-1am, Sat 6pm-1am, Sun-Closed
CHOTTO MATTE
This Japanese-Peruvian fusion restaurant, the brainchild of Australian-born Kurt Zdesar, a former manager of Nobu London and founder of the popular Ping Pong restaurant chain, not only boasts a 55-cover à la carte restaurant and a 100-cover main restaurant, but a raw bar, sushi bar, robata grill and pisco and saké bar carved from lava stone.
Signature serve: Moshi Moshi #4: The Botanist Gin and Sake, produced using deep sea pacific spring water, married together with St Germain elderflower liqueur and lemon juice.
11-13 Frith Street, W1D 4RB
020 7042 7171
Mon-Sat 12pm-1am, Sun 1pm-12am
THE BLIND PIG AT SOCIAL EATING HOUSE
Secreted away behind a thick curtain at the back of Soho’s Social Eating House, The Blind Pig is part of Jason Atherton’s culinary empire, who recently gained his third Michelin-starred restaurant. With a creative drinks and stylish setting this speakeasy has a cool, New York vibe about it complemented by its antique mirrored ceilings and copper-topped bar.
Signature serve: Gin Quininey, Gin Quininey, Gin Gin Yuzu: A bottled cocktail consisting of Portobello Road Gin, Yuzu cordial, green tea, malic acid and tonic bitters.
58 Poland Street, London, W1F 7NR
020 7993 3251
Mon-Thu Midday-11.30pm, Fri-Sat Midday-Midnight, Sun-Closed
MARK’S BAR, BANKSIDE
A stone’s throw from the db offices, Mark’s Bar is located in an old metal box factory south of Borough market tucked beneath Hixter – the latest addition to Marx Hix’s culinary empire. With a sunken bar and artworks by Tracey Emin, as well as some rather saucy lavatory décor, it oozes cool and makes a special effort to champion British drinks producers.
Signature serve: Tanqueray Autumnal Orchard: Tanqueray No. TEN Gin, pressed apple juice, Martini Rosso an elderflower cordial. Served long over ice.
16, Great Guildford Street, London, , SE1 0HS
0207 921 9508
Mon-Sun Midday-1.30am
DIRTY BONES
With retro pinball machines, geometric wallpaper and space-age lighting this Kensington-based hot dog joint is swiftly making a name for itself riding high on the current trend for high-end fast-food style eateries. Its simple menu offers those dining a choice of six “dogs” including the Brit Dog stuffed with maple bacon and mature beer cheddar, alongside a section of inventive cocktails including the Bourbon-based Mutt’s Nuts.
Signature serve: Mutt’s Nuts: Woodford Reserve Bourbon, cinnamon & vanilla infused maple syrup, angostura bitters, fresh lemon & apple juice.
20 Kensington Church Street, London, W8 4EP
020 7920 6434
Mon-Closed, Tue-Sun 6pm-Midnight
THE ALCHEMIST
Taking inspiration from the occult, The Alchemist opened only this year in the heart of the City. It serves a vast array of cocktails from consistent classics to innovative serves such as the Mercury Rising – a drink made to share which comprises Reyka vodka, Manzana Verde, sugar syrup and water boiled up with blackcurrant and hibiscus tea infused with the bar’s “special metal powder” and chilled with dry ice.
Signature serve: Loire Lady: Chambord black raspberry liqueur blended with grapefruit vodka, dry and sweet vermouths and citrus bitters. Heated and poured over dry ice and served over cubed ice.
133 Houndsditch, London, EC3A 7BX
0207 283 8800
Mon-Wed 7am-Midnight, Thu-Fri 7am-2am, Sat 7am-Midnight, Sun-Closed
FLESH & BUNS
For a taste of the far east head over to Flesh and Buns in Soho, an offshoot of the popular ramen bar Bone Daddies’, to enjoy a Japanese menu comprising of tempting dishes such as crispy piglet belly and salmon teriyaki, alongside a wide array of sake wines.
Signature serve: Hokuto Sour: Hakushu Japanese Whisky, Yuzu Sake, fresh egg white, chocolate bitters and a twist of lemon
41 Earlham St, London, WC2H 9LX
020 7632 9500
Mon-Tue Midday-3pm & 5pm-10pm, Wed-Fri Midday-3pm & 5pm-11.30pm, Sat Midday-11.30pm, Sun Midday-9.30pm
CITY SOCIAL
City Social is Jason Atherton’s most recent venture which last week accepted a michelin-star having been only open for five months. Alongside a 90-cover restaurant headed up by Paul Walsh, the former sous chef at Gordon Ramsay’s Royal Hospital Road in Chelsea, City Social also boasts an 85-seater bar serving prohibition era cocktails devised by Atherton’s group bar manager, Gareth Evans, with Bourbon featuring particularly highly.
Signature serve: $Dollar Shake: Diplomatico Anjeo Rum, split milk, chocolate yoghurt and a hint of walnut.
Tower 42, 25 Old Broad Street, London , EC2N 1HQ
020 7877 7703
Mon-Fri Midday-10.30pm, Sat 5pm-10.30pm, Sun-Closed