London’s best bars and pubs
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By Time Out critics
Updated: Wed Jun 30 2010 Map | Hotel bars | Spirits & cocktails | Real ale & good beer | Historic pubs | Wow factor | Gastropubs | Wine bars
Wow factor
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Artesian
Langham Hotel, 1c Portland Place, W1B 1JA (020 7636 1000/ www.artesian-bar.co.uk).
Designer David Collins has done a fine job regenerating this kidney-shaped, high-ceilinged room at the Langham Hotel: lit by huge hanging lamps, the back bar is immeasurably dramatic; the chairs and tables are less eye-catching but still very handsome. Rum is the thing here, where a 50-strong list keeps growing as the bar staff are trained in each new variety – a sure sign of serious dedication to spirits. The prices are equally serious (£11-£14.50), but our classic Champagne cocktail, made with rum, of course, was irresistible – fizzing with fruit flavours and boasting a lovely molasses finish. Read more
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Hakkasan
8 Hanway Place, W1T 1HD (020 7907 1888/ www.hakkasan.com).
This long, thin strip of a bar behind the Chinese screens of Hakkasan’s exalted dining room gets astonishingly crowded, and with good reason: it hasn’t lost an ounce of glamour since opening in 2001, and the cocktail-making skills are still superb. Meander through the maze of tables to get to the shimmering bar at the back, where saké, beers (Yebisu from Japan), wines by the glass are sold, but cocktails are king. Made with Hendrick’s gin, Belvedere vodka and Akashi-Tai saké, the saketini is a thrilling diversion. Don’t be put off by the door staff, the dark descent to the basement or the bevy of hostesses asking about your booking: this is worth the perseverance. Read more
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Loungelover
1 Whitby St, E2 7DP (020 7012 1234/ www.loungelover.co.uk).
Owned by the same concern as the Les Trois Garçons restaurant around the corner, this louche-looking cocktail lounge offers a touch of tasteful, low-lit decadence with distressed wooden armoires, hothouse plants, vintage palm-frond chandeliers, a stuffed hippo’s head, man-sized Chinese urns, antlers made of red, mirrored mosaic, a giant disco ball and tea lights set on elegant, glass-topped tables establishing a unique, upmarket ambience. Chinese print-covered menus list cocktails by genre (the Hot Lover and Old Flame are house specialities) and cost around £9, while a glass of Champagne is £8 – but watch out for the 12.5 per cent service charge added to your bill. It may be slightly pretentious, but staff are helpful to the cocktail-confused and if you’re out to impress, the place can hardly be bettered. Read more
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