Best North London Bars

Totally ghetto fabulous, this ’hood within a ’hood mixes a big glug of Latin spirit with a powerful shot of la musica, shakes it and pours out a party almost every night. In true barrio style the bar is decked out with recycled bounty, right down to the 1976 Ace caravan rescued from eBay and parked in the middle of the room. Drinking is serious fun here, and an extensive list of exotic liquids is divided by region, taking your taste buds on a journey around the world. Travel to South America via a Guyana-inspired rum and raisin swizzle (Eldorado rum, berries, lychees and rose petals), a Quilmes beer from Argentina or a Brazilian Abelha Silver cachaça. The musical menu encompasses funk, soul, rock and roll, hip-hop, 1980s’ pop, reggae, jazz and blues; the young staff sport dazzling smiles; and there are chips and dips and pinchos to eat.

Regularly acclaimed by critics the world over, this wee dive bar has won more awards than we care to count: in 2016, it even scooped 'Best International Cocktail Bar' at America's prestigious Tales of the Cocktail bash. No bad for a prosaic, no-frills, "low-rent basement" (owner Andy Bird's description). This is no achingly cool 'concept', no big-budget design team's take on a Prohibition speakeasy, 1970s disco or any other corny theme you care to mention; there’s no pretentious molecular malarkey either: what Happiness has in spades, is heart and soul. It also has a team of chipper, capable staff who are keen to craft old-school favourites and gratifying new stirs to order: try Dirty Sanchez (a tropical cobbler involving Havana Selección rum, crème de banane, port, Manzanilla sherry and pineapple juice). Like the Burt Bacharach song by Dionne Warwick that inspired the bar’s handle, this seemingly effortless number oozes class and sophistication.