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Piccadilly Circus, in the heart of the West End, is London's answer to Times Square. The Bar at The Dorchester, one of the city's longstanding hotel-bar institutions. The Dorchester's Giuliano Morandin will fix you a Martinez with the bar's proprietary gin and bitters. Cocktails at 69 Colebrooke Row in Islington are likely to include unusual infusions like neroli or violet. The Lonsdale, known for its Brit-centric drink menu, in posh Notting Hill. |
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When it comes to beverages, the English may be best known for their steaming pots of Earl Grey or perfectly poured pints of stout and porter. But the U.K. has a robust spirits history. Not only is it home to some of the biggest gins on the market—and, of course, Scotch—but also some of the most talented mixologists in the world, including Dick Bradsell, Peter Dorelli, and Salvatore Calabrese. London is brimming with cocktail-centric bars that traffic, in typical British fashion, in strong doses of tradition served up with a twist. To help you navigate the city’s nightlife like a local, we put together a guide to our favorite watering holes. Cheers!
A Taste of History
Any business traveler can tell you that some of London’s best bars are in its poshest hotels, and the seasoned stalwarts behind these bars put a premium on service. One of the best is The Bar at The Dorchester. Located in tony Mayfair, it opened in 1938 with legendary bartender Harry Craddock—who worked at the American Bar in the Savoy Hotel during Prohibition and penned a classic cocktails book—at the helm. Today the bar, which got a glitzy makeover by Thierry Despont a few years ago, is managed by Giuliano Morandin, who has been at the hotel for more than thirty years. The eighteen-page menu is full of historic drinks, like the bar’s signature Martinez (see recipe below).
The Bar at The Dorchester, Park Lane, W1K, 1QA (44) 020 7629 8888, www.thedorchester.com/the-bar
A Splash of the New
Great cocktail bars aren’t limited to historic hotels; the newer boutiques are also getting in on the act. This November, the soon-to-open Arch Hotel in posh Marylebone pushes HUNter 486 into the fray. (The name of the bar is a play on the neighborhood’s old telephone area code.) HUNter 486 may have only a recent history, but the décor is retro-themed and perfect for a three-martini lunch. “The list reflects London cocktails from the 1830s with a contemporary twist,” like the JUNiper 486 (a froth of gin, violette liqueur, absinthe, vermouth, apple juice, egg white, and lemon; served with juniper-infused truffles), says Robbie Bargh, the managing director of the Gorgeous Group, which created the bar. The Arch also has a separate Mar’T’ini Library and a Champagne Salon, both great spots in which to revive after a day trawling the upscale shops of Oxford Street.
HUNter 486, The Arch London, 50 Great Cumberland Place, W1H 7FD
Weird Science
Just a few years ago centrifuges, water baths, and smoke guns were rarely found outside a laboratory. Thanks to innovative chefs, these tools are becoming more common in kitchens and now in a few bars around the world. 69 Colebrooke Row has fully embraced this inventive approach. The owner is Tony Conigliaro, who in July was named International Bartender of the Year and has run some of the city’s top watering holes, including the Atlantic, Hakkasan, and Shochu Lounge. The menu has a dozen seasonal cocktails, which are made with floral waters, vacuum-infused spirits, and “innovative food-grade essences.” Try the Wild Strawberry Bellini with Neroli or the Elegante, featuring Wybrowa vodka, lemon sorbet, and Prosecco. Conigliaro calls his style of mixology “Future-Retro,” which could also describe the style of the cozy bar that has room for just over three dozen patrons. Be warned: There’s no sign outside, just a glowing yellow lantern.
69 Colebrooke Row, 69 Colebrooke Row N1 8AA, (44) 075 4052 8593, www.69colebrookerow.com
Made in the U.K.
The Lonsdale is on a mission to popularize drinks that were created in the U.K. This Brit-centric bar’s menu states it’s “an historic list which confirms London’s place in the history of cocktail culture, from pre-1800 to the present day.” Among them are old-timey elixirs like the Whiz-Bang (Scotch, dry vermouth, and homemade pomegranate syrup with absinthe and orange bitters) or the Bloodhound Cocktail (fresh raspberries, equal parts dry and sweet vermouth, gin, and a dash of maraschino, introduced in 1922 by the Duke of Manchester). Two pages are devoted to modern classics by the bar’s former master mixologist Dick Bradsell, who also dispensed cure-alls like the Pharmaceutical Stimulant (an espresso-laced martini) at Damien Hirst’s now-defunct Pharmacy bar.
The Lonsdale, 48 Lonsdale Road, W11 2DE, (44) 020 7727 4080, www.thelonsdale.co.uk
Isle Be There
Trailer Happiness may be just a short walk from the Lonsdale but its menu is from the other side of the world. The self-proclaimed “retro-sexual haven of cosmopolitan kitsch and faded trailer park glamour” serves up a selection of authentic, made-from-scratch tiki drinks, including a Dark & Stormy, a Scorpion Bowl, and two versions of the Mai Tai. The five-rum Zombie, which also contains absinthe, is so strong that the bar will only serve a patron two a night—after another round you might actually believe you’re in Polynesia.
Trailer Happiness, 177 Portobello Road, W11 2DY, (44) 020 7727 2700, www.trailerhappiness.com
Noah Rothbaum is the author of the book The Business of Spirits: How Savvy Marketers, Innovative Distillers, and Entrepreneurs Changed How We Drink.
Photography credits:
- Hiroyuki Matsumoto
- Courtesy The Dorchester
- Courtesy The Dorchester
- Photo by Matthias Suchert; courtesy 69 Colebrooke Row
- Courtesy The Lonsdale
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