London's bar scene is the most epic in the world. From the late night dives to Martini trolley pushing hotel bars and cocktails from the best bartenders in the world, these 50 bars are a MUST for London's boozers. Message BarChick Concierge aka. your boozing PA for the best bar recommendations and bookings!
Best to do list, like, ever...
1. 68 and Boston - Downstairs is a wine bar where every bottle is £20. Even Champagne if you play nice. Upstairs is one of Soho's best cocktail bars and Chorizo Old Fashioneds. Epic.
2. 69 Colebrooke Row - This bar does classic in style. Their legendary edible Bloody Mary that you shoot from an oyster shell... don't ask, just try it. It only seats 35, but they've been known to seat even Keira Knightly on the stairs so you're in with a shot.
3. Bar Story- Under the arches of Peckham Rye station this car park/bar/cool hangout has a ridiculous cocktail list scribbled on the board and you can get two for £7 in happy hour. Boom.
4. Bar Termini - The real Italian deal. Swing through aperitif style and stand at the bar for a £1 espresso or a pre-batched Negroni to perk you up before dinner.
5. Beaufort Bar at The Savoy- Possibly the sexiest hotel bar in London which is dripping gold (£40Ks worth if you're wondering). It's glamorous - as should you be if you come in here. Do the Savoy double and pop into the American Bar for a booze history lesson whilst you're at it.
6. Black Rock - There's a river of whiskey inside a giant oak tree. SERIOUSLY. This is one of the most epic bars BarChick's ever been to.
7. The Blues Kitchen Shoreditch -If you love live music and wanna party in a private caravan inside a bar, this is your place. The ribs are some of the best in London, the bourbon selection is banging and you're pretty much guaranteed to pull.
8. Cahoots - It doesn't get more London than drinking in a tube carriage. Book into this once air raid shelter and you'll be transported, literally, to war-torn 1940's London for some drinking on the ration.
9. Callooh Callay- A bar inside a wardrobe never gets old. Get your Narnia freak on, drink colour changing cocktails and beg for an invite to the Jub Jub.
10. Camden Town Brewery- Piss up in a brewery? Exactly.
11. Cecil's- Chilled cocktails in the week and cabarets, stripping nuns and rumours of sex parties at the weekend. Come with an open mind and your most fun crew.
12. Cellar Door - Drag Queens, snuff and a load of absinthe in an underground toilet by Somerset House... right.
13. The Connaught -'Cos sometimes you wanna go somewhere insanely beautiful, drink some of the best Martinis in town and play 'spot the hooker'.
14. Cork & Bottle- An old school underground wine haven underneath the mayhem of Leicester Square, it's a sanctuary in these parts.
15. The Dolphin - No one has lived until they've woken up with the legendary dolphin stamp on their wrist. Anything goes, they play R Kelly's Ignition every hour and the drinks are worryingly cheap. Just say yes.
16. Duck & Waffle - 'Cos where else do you go at 4am for Champagne, crispy pigs ears and that epic waffle dish? The view is the best in London and it looks even better when you're four Nutella Negronis in and the sun's coming up.
17. Duke's - Home to Bond's Vesper Martini, home to the coolest Martini trolley in town and home to Alessandro. Behave nicely and they'll let you have more than one. Can you handle it?
18. East London Liquor Company - Distillery, bar and bottle shop all in one, could this Mile End join get better? Plus grilled cheese toasties. Turns out it could.
19. ECC - Dress up and get over the tw*tty French attitude on the door because London's original Experimental Cocktail Club is sexy and slick throughout. Find the unmarked door in Chinatown and discover a little piece of Paris. Mais oui.
20. Evans & Peel - Who doesn't love a bit or role-play and a good detective agency-cum-cocktail bar? Get past the (hot) detective to enjoy prohibition vibes and boozing out of paper bags. Original and surprisingly not gimmicky.
21. Found - Shoreditch failsafe. Hidden behind velvet curtain underneath Casita is this perfect little bar. Oskar's mixing up awesome cocktails while you fondle your date in the tucked away corner. Nice.
22. Frank's - This bar atop a grotty carpark put Peckham on the map. Go soak up awesome London views with a £5 cocktail in hand.
23. Gerry's Club- This place is in fact run by a guy called Michael, not Gerry. The guy's an *rsehole to everyone, you'll probably get into a fight, the drinks taste like sh*t - but everyone should have been (if you can get in). Just never go before 2am.
24. The Gibson- It's kind of like an Edwardian time-warp and legendary bartenders Marian (ex-Nightjar) and Rusty (ex-Connaught) know a thing or 10 about making perfect cocktails. Killer Martinis, fun smokin' cocktails served up in crazy vessels, pickle snacks and the best service you can get, it's legendary.
25. Gordon's Wine Bar - London's oldest wine bar (cave). Worth the hype. Just go. You'll see.
26. Happiness Forgets- No pretence, just amazing cocktails in a basement in Hoxton Square. Its rep has spread far and wide so book it baby.
27. Hawksmoor Spitalfields Bar - The legendary Shakey Pete's Ginger Brew is reason enough... but the insane meaty snacks, popcorn infused rum Old Fashioneds and eye candy GB World Class winner Ali Reynolds will keep ya coming back for more.
28. La Cabina- Open 'til 5am, London's latest happy hour from 11 'til midnight.. this Barcelona style dive bar rocks. Look out for the neon phonebox/tardis and you're there, then message for the secret code to get down there!
29. Ladies & Gentlemen - Responsible for putting Kentish Town on the cocktail map, plus no one ever gets bored of booze in an old victorian toilet in this city.
30. Milk and Honey -Considered a Grandfather of the modern cocktail movement this speakeasy is kind of an institution. It's probably the only 'secret' prohibition bar undiscovered tribes in the Amazon have heard of.
31. Nightjar- World famous for its cocktails and with a waiting list to prove it. The garnishes turn their drinks into works of art worthy of a museum. Enjoy the live music and try to enjoy the drinks instead of Instagramming your night away.
32. NOLA - A little slice of New Orleans hidden above a bar in Shoreditch. Live jazz 'n blues, killer bourbon stiff ones and smoking' like the fat cats of the east on an awesome cigar terrace.
33. Oblix at The Shard - Because you're up The Shard & you don't have to pay big dollar for that killer view. Plus the drinks are damn delicious.
34. Original Sin- Free pool, cocktail legends behind Happiness Forgets, a 10 meter long bar made outta whisky vats and bangin' burgers upstairs. Nuff said.
35. Piano Works- Where else can you rock up to a gang of jazz musicians and ask them to play a rendition of Bieber at 3am? Exactly.
36. The Pink Chihuahua at El Camion - This basement was run by the late ledge Dick Bradsell, cocktail rebel extraordinaire who invented the Espresso Martini, but it's the tequila and late night debauchery you're here for: the end game for any Soho night out.
37. Portobello Star - An awesome little gin joint run by bar wizard Jake Burger with a Ginstitute upstairs. Yup, you can get up there and make your own gin.
38. Ridley Road Market Bar - All good vibes and awesome for a little dance and some market fresh fruit cocktails.You even might find some kind of leftover goat head on the street from the market that day. Win win.
39. Sager & Wilde - It's East, it's cool, it's always busy and they do wine like no other. Wine fans go get in line.
40. Satan's Whiskers - Old school hip hop, some of the world's best bartenders and plenty of unusual taxidermy; never seen a dildo on a badger? Now's your chance.
41. Sexy Fish - Damien Hirst Mermaids, cocktails in treasure chests and an enormous indoor aquarium hiding in the private dining rooms. Nice one.
42. Shoreditch Grind - Hot. Flat. White. Russian.
43. Shoreditch House Rooftop- Even if you think it's full of tw*ts there's no arguing with pitchers by that pool. Now you just have to blag your way in.
44. Shrub and Shutter - Anywhere that puts on Disney nights with cocktails outta genie lamps and glass slippers is a must for us. The cocktails are weird and wonderful and it's impossible to not have fun.
45. Sketch - You're here for the egg pod loos. Best loos in London, hands down.
46. Slim Jim's Liquor Store - Flash the bartender at this American dive bar and you get free booze. Or just whip off your underwear. Bras hang from the ceiling and the shots of bourbon flow.
47. Sovereign Loss- Badass bartenders, a 24 hour license, the best cocktails in Brixton and rumours of 2am posh junk food pop ups. Good luck finding that buzzer.
48. The Spaniards Inn - If you want a history lesson with your pint this boozer by Hampstead Heath is the place- it's one of London's oldest pubs and there's even an old toll gate outside.
49. The Vault - Secret bar hidden behind a bookcase in London's best whisky shop? Hell yeah. Date night nailed with killer whisky cocktails, Simo rockin' the show and comfy leather couches to kick back on with Chester the resident dog. Woof.
50. White Lyan- There's no ice, no citrus fruit and no sugar, just Ryan Cheti's mastermind of a menu. It's unlike any other bar and is kinda world renowned. Think black walls, bright lights and a strip pole downstairs if you get frisky.
Want more awesome bar recommendations and to get booked in? BarChick Concierge is kind of like WhatsApp, but for bars... go play!