London's top 50 bars and pubs

Loungelover

Spirits & cocktails
Apartment 195
There’s a Vivienne Westwood meets laid-back gentleman’s club feel to this discreet little number, with sumptuous leather sofas and royally purple walls adorned with artwork. To celebrate its fourth anniversary, the bar has launched a special London-themed cocktail menu, featuring various fruity offerings. The star turn is the aptly named Crown Jewels: a glass of honey-sweetened rare cognac topped with vintage champagne that’ll set you back a staggering £350.
Apartment 195, 195 King’s Rd, SW3 5ED (020 7351 5195) Sloane Square tube then 11, 19, 22 bus.
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Green & Red
Green & Red has an almost evangelical commitment to fine tequila. Only 100 per cent agave tequila is stocked, and the huge selection includes a large range of exceptional ‘private reserve’ tequilas for sipping neat. Latin bottled beers and cocktails round off the menu. G&R works equally well whether you’re boozing, dancing, eating or just killing time with the papers.
Green & Red, 51 Bethnal Green Rd, E1 6LA (020 7749 9670/www.greenred.co.uk) Liverpool St tube/rail.
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Hawksmoor
This American-inspired venture exists primarily for its meat and its mixology. The former is taken care of by the restaurant half of the operation; the latter is performed with excellence. The highlights are a Tobacco Old Fashioned and the bar’s own invention, R&R Sour. There’s a secluded mini-lounge at the back, and the barmen are loud and characterful enough to make plonking yourself on a stool at the counter worthwhile too.
Hawksmoor, 157 Commercial St, E1 6BJ (020 7247 7392/www.thehawksmoor.com) Liverpool St tube/rail.
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Lab
What Lab does is exuberance with panache, its cocktail list among the finest in town – and handled by some of the world’s best mixologists. Try a Kool Hand Luke (Myer’s rum, fresh limes muddled with dark brown sugar and Angostura bitters); or a Red Hot Chili Pepper (lemongrass-flavoured tequila with ginger beer and champagne).
Lab, 12 Old Compton St, W1D 4TQ (020 7437 7820/www.lab-townhouse.com) Leicester Square or Tottenham Court Rd tube.
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Long Bar
Quality spirits monopolize the cocktail menu at the high-design Sanderson's Long Bar: Wyborowa lemon and Polstar cucumber in the Sanderson martini; Kurant Absolut in the Long Bar Hi Ball; Sauza Gold tequila in the Apassionata martini. Four pricey wines of each colour come by the bottle and glass.
Long Bar, The Sanderson, 50 Berners St, W1T 3NG (020 7300 1400) Oxford Circus or Tottenham Court Rd tube.
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Lonsdale
The Lonsdale launched a fabulously original cocktail menu in spring 2007. Simple in concept, it traces the history of the London cocktail, from the Cuban mojito in 1586, to the sours of the 1700s, the flips of the 1860s, the bucks of the 1920s and contemporary classics. It’s a labour of love, a work of art, and it provides meticulously sourced concoctions at fair prices.
Lonsdale, 44-48 Lonsdale Rd, W11 2DE (020 7727 4080/www.thelonsdale.co.uk) Ladbroke Grove or Notting Hill Gate tube.
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Loungelover
Shoreditch loves this bar’s OTT approach to glamorous, cocktail-swilling bonhomie. The luxe junk-shop decor does much to impress, and the cocktails (£7.50-£11) are utterly fabulous. But there’s something about the neat, ordered service that makes it hard to relax, and there isn’t much scope for spontaneity (you need to book tables in advance, for a start).
Loungelover, 1 Whitby St, E2 7DP (020 7012 1234/www.loungelover.co.uk) Liverpool St tube/rail.
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Match Bar
As well as a branch in Geneva, the Match group still runs three London bars, this West End outlet being a narrow but not squeezed space. Two rows of seating, one raised, connect a convivial front area to the bar, suiting the sharing of bowls of punch, noodles and curries.
Match Bar, 37-38 Margaret St, W1G 0JF (020 7499 3443/www.matchbar.com) Oxford Circus tube.
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Shochu Lounge
In a setting that’s half 21st-century style bar, half feudal Japan, there’s a pioneering focus on vodka-like spirit shochu, tinctured with the likes of cinnamon (for joy of life) or lemon (for virility) and served neat or in cocktails by Tony Conigliaro. Anything on Roka’s tempting food menu can be ordered in the bar.
Shochu Lounge, Basement, Roka, 37 Charlotte St, W1T 1RR (020 7580 9666/www.shochulounge.com) Goodge St or Tottenham Court Rd tube.
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Zuma
A-listers' affection for Zuma remains undiminished – which means excellent people-watching potential. The sleekly minimalist bar area combines understated decor with a buzzing, vibrant atmosphere. Don’t be surprised if you have to stand, as this place is invariably busy. There’s an enticing array of saké, shochu and cocktails, many made from fresh fruit infusions and Japanese spirits.
Zuma, 5 Raphael St, SW7 1DL (020 7584 1010/www.zumarestaurant.com) Knightsbridge tube.
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West End | Hotel bars | Spirits & cocktails | Real ale & good beer | Historic pubs | Good mixers | Wine bars | Gastropubs

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