If your run-up to Christmas has been anything like ours, you’ll be in need of a stiff drink. And we have just the tonic: our top 20 new bars to have opened in 2017. Cheers!
Words: Keith Barker-Main and Ben McCormack
1 Untitled, Dalston
Why go: Tony Conigliaro’s (Bar Termini and 69 Colebrooke Row) is the antithesis of the eclecticism that informs many London bars
Must order: Violin – an oak, pine, beeswax, benzoin and black pepper creation that smells (and tastes) like the inside of a violin case
538 Kingsland Road, E8 4AH
2 Coupette, Bethnal Green
Why go: This first solo bar from former Beaufort Bar head bartender Chris Moore is styed like a vintage Parisian café and specialises in Calvados, Armagnac, cider and kir
Must order: Soyer au Champagne (a belle époque brandy and cherry-wine fizz topped with ice cream)
423 Bethnal Green Road, E2 0AN
3 The Nickel Bar at The Ned, City
Why go: To soak up the glamour of London’s most hyped hotel from a corner of the dimly lit lobby in the resplendent pillared banking hall of the former Midland Bank HQ
Must order: A Hendricks gin and Fernet root beer Mule, served in a tin mug.
The Ned, 27 Poultry, EC2R 8AJ
4 Waeska, Fitzrovia
Why go: A decadent clubby cocktail lounge with a mind-bendingly exotic, sensual interior that is a magical mystery tour-de-force
Must order: Restorative plant-based sips such as White Witch (a truffled Grey Goose Martini with wattleseed bitters)
The Mandrake Hotel, 20-21 Newman Street, W1T 1PG
5 The Wigmore, Oxford Circus
Why go: A ‘modern British tavern’ housed in a majestic belle époque room, with heritage pub grub from Michel Roux Jr’s team and drinks overseen by the barkeeps at Artesian bar
Must order: Hanky Panky – that most sexy of Martinis
13 Langham Place, W1B 1JA
6 Super Lyan, Hoxton
Why go: Ryan Chetiyawardana’s revamp of the dark and moody basement of White Lyan, complete with a lap-dancer’s metal pole
Must order: The bourbon-based Pillow Manhattan enhanced by ‘leathered cherry’
153-155 Hoxton Street, N1 6PJ
7 Clarette, Marylebone
Why go: Co-ownership by one of Bordeaux’s Château Margaux dynasty guarantees an extensive wine list stuffed with costly grand vins from Bordeaux and big-ticket Burgundies
Must order: If your budget doesn’t stretch to the big names, Pays d’Oc Viognier sold at pub prices
44 Blandford Street, W1U 7HS
8 Scout, Shoreditch
Why go: An eco-minded cocktail lounge from star barkeep Matt Whiley, who aims for zero waste in creating cocktails defined by their natural, often foraged, ingredients rather than their base spirit, developed in a basement lab
Must order: A cherry-based Gin Martini made with cherry bark, mastic resin and the fruits of the whitebeam tree
93 Great Eastern Street, EC2A 3HZ
9 The Devil’s Darling, City
Why go: This 1930s-inspired bar completes a triptych of drinking dens at the one-bedroom Napoleon hotel – and the cocktails are a triumph
Must order: Josephine Baker, an inspired brandy, apricot and port-based 1930s revival
9 Christopher Street, EC2A 2BS
10 Manetta’s Bar, Mayfair
Who go: Boutique hotel Flemings’ cosy cocktail lounge has been lavishly refurbished and now staffed by dashing men in waistcoats and dickie bows
Must order: They Do It With Mirrors, a Herradura Blanco Tequila, crème de pêche, lavender, camomile and Zinfandel sour named after the Agatha Christie thriller
Flemings Hotel, 7-12 Half Moon Street, W1J 7BH
11 Dickie’s Bar, Mayfair
Why go: The relaunched cocktail lounge at Richard Corrigan’s eponymous restaurant is overseen by Gregory Buda, the force behind New York’s The Dead Rabbit (voted the World’s Best Bar in 2016)
Must order: The Professional Stalker, a 12-year-old single pot still Irish whiskey, Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac, fig, allspice and bitters Manhattan
Corrigan’s Mayfair, 28 Upper Grosvenor Street, W1K 7EH
12 Cub, Hoxton
Why go: Avant-garde cocktail king Ryan Chetiyawardana has replaced White Lyan with this zippy drinks-led diner that sets out to blur the boundary between food and drink
Must order: A refreshing combo of Belvedere vodka, cider vermouth, tomato, Muscat grapes and lemon verbena
153 Hoxton Street, N1 6PJ
13 Disrepute, Soho
Why go: This late-night Soho basement club admits non-members with table reservations until 11pm to its sleek 1950s-style interior
Must order: Queen’s Cup (Marylebone gin, Riesling, fino sherry, Lillet blanc and elderflower)
4 Kingly Court, W1B 5PE
14 Bad Sports, Shoreditch
Why go: A retro, redneck sports bar, complete with unfathomable US sporting action on the big screen – but the main point of interest are the hardcore cocktails and draught (not craft) beers
Must order: Cheeseburger tacos washed down with Mezcal Margaritas
184 Hackney Road, E2 7QL
15 The Aviator Bar, Mayfair
Why go: The Aviator is the newly rebranded 1960s-style cocktail bar at Hush, where ‘destination’ cocktails are detailed on mocked-up boarding cards and delivered with a theatrical flourish
Must order: Smoking Señorita (Spain) is a suave take on a Manhattan that arrives in a cloud of smoke, from under a cloche
8 Lancashire Court, W1S 1EY
16 Bokan, Canary Wharf
Why go: Spectacular riverside views from an alfresco drinking terrace and whisky-focused bar on the 39th floor of the Canary Wharf Novotel, cheaper than many of London’s other high-rise bars
Must order: The seaweed-garnished Wharfinger cocktail (Cognac, mastic liqueur, bitters and vermouth)
40 Marsh Wall, E14 9TP
17 Comptoir Café & Wine, Mayfair
Why go: For a boho-chic café-bar vibe that would look at home in the Parisian quarter of Le Marais – or 1950s provincial France
Must order: Take your pick: a flat £10 corkage charge applies to any bottle consumed on-site
21-22 Weighhouse Street, W1K 5LY
18 Nine Lives, London Bridge
Why go: This 1950s-style California tiki lounge follows a zero-waste approach to cocktail-making, using sustainable ingredients to produce a reasonably priced, snappy list
Must order: Moby Dick, a coconut oil-washed whisky and salted-caramel Old Fashioned
8 Holyrood Street, SE1 2EL
19 Canova Hall, Brixton
Why go: In what was once Brixton’s Bon Marché department store, Canova Hall’s decor imaginatively references the building’s Edwardian heritage, down to a bar with functioning absinthe fountains
Must order: A wine wall hosts a dozen taps for by-the-glass
250 Ferndale Road, SW9 8BQ
20 Tea Room at Bun House, Soho
Why go: A well-observed homage to the hedonistic Hong Kong of yore, serving exquisitely presented cocktails built on premium Chinese base spirits
Must order: Coriander & Cucumber, a Fenjiu-based sweet and sour sharpener
23 Greek Street, W1D 4DZ
Don’t like drinking on an empty stomach? Then get your laughing gear around our list of the 25 best new restaurants that opened in 2017