Bars & Pubs

Trader Vic's

It's hard to know quite who this place is aimed at: it's too far from any of the major rail terminals or theatres for the bridge-and-tunnel crowd, and hardly somewhere...

Mayfair: London Hilton, 22 Park Lane, W1K 4BE

Distance: 0.1 mls

Guinea

Tucked away in an attractive West End mews, the Guinea is a proper boozer - and there aren't many of those in this part of town. The largely besuited punters sup from...

Mayfair: 30 Bruton Place, W1J 6NL

Distance: 0.1 mls

Chopper Lump (branch of Davy's)

Mayfair: 10C Hanover Square, W1S 1HN

Distance: 0.1 mls

Mô Tea Room

A small corner of the West End that is forever Marrakech. That, at least, is the idea, though the casbah chic (or is it kitsch?) here may be a little rich for some...

Mayfair: 25 Heddon Street, W1B 4BH

Distance: 0.2 mls

Aqua Spirit

High-end cocktail bar above Oxford Cirus

Oxford Street: Fifth Floor, 240 Regent St (entrance in Argyll St), W1B 3BR

Distance: 3563.2 mls

Absolut IceBar/BelowZero

IceBar, a collaboration between Absolut and the designers at Ice Hotel, is probably not a place at which to settle in for a long night's drinking: that's because the...

Mayfair: 29-33 Heddon Street, W1B 4BN

Distance: 0.2 mls

Balls Brothers

Mayfair: 34 Brook Street, W1K 5DN

Distance: 0.2 mls

Ain't Nothin' But... The Blues Bar

The current revival in live music has done nothing but benefit the honest-to-goodness Ain't Nothin' But... The Blues bar. As basic as the similarly titled 78 by...

Soho: 20 Kingly Street, W1B 5PZ

Distance: 0.2 mls

Claridge's Bar

When we visited Claridge's on a Thursday night, they were standing three-deep at the bar - eager, it seems, to pay, as we did, £19 and £20 respectively for glasses...

Mayfair: Claridge's Hotel, 49 Brook Street, W1K 4HR

Distance: 0.2 mls

Mulligan's of Mayfair (branch of Balls Brothers)

Mayfair: 14 Cork Street, W1S 3NS

Distance: 0.2 mls

Argyll Arms

The clientele at the impressive, historic, frosted-glass-and-mahogany Argyll Arms is almost as transitory as Oxford Circus, a stone's throw away. The pub was just as...

Soho: 18 Argyll Street, W1F 7TP

Distance: 0.2 mls

Shampers

While many of the kids around Carnaby Street opt for the Puma shoes shop and assorted style bars, those with more experience drop into Shampers. Pinstripe suits and...

Soho: 4 Kingly Street, W1B 5PE

Distance: 0.2 mls

Two Floors

Sparse, laid-back and bohemian, the two-floor Two Floors is understated and quite wonderful. Beers here are mainly bottled (Modelo Especial, Red Stripe, Brooklyn),...

Soho: 3 Kingly Street, W1B 5PD

Distance: 0.2 mls

Donovan Bar

To get to the Donovan, you have to pass through an anonymous, standard-issue hotel bar, with acres of grey carpet and a pianist tinkling away in a corner. But don't...

Mayfair: Brown's Hotel, 33-34 Albemarle Street, W1S 4BP

Distance: 0.2 mls

Old Coffee House

Slap in Soho bar central, this conspiratorially dark drinking den seems to have changed little since it first offered the eponymous coffee and idle chatter in the 18th...

Soho: 49 Beak Street, W1F 9SF

Distance: 0.3 mls

Lees Bag (branch of Davy's)

Marylebone: 4 Great Portland Street, W1W 8QJ

Distance: 0.3 mls

Sun & Thirteen Cantons

Built way back in 1882, with links to Soho's Swiss heritage (hence the name - there's still a Helvetic map on the wall), this Soho boozer has opted to attract a...

Soho: 21 Great Pulteney Street, W1F 9NG

Distance: 0.3 mls

Alphabet

At the forefront of London's bar revolution in the late 1990s, Alphabet still does little wrong; but it could, perhaps, do with a little contemporary competition....

Soho: 61-63 Beak Street, W1F 9SS

Distance: 0.3 mls

Polka

With the dimming of Amber and the opening of Lucky Voice, it's all change on Poland Street. Polka, a Jamies chain venue, still attracts regulars to its intimate,...

Soho: 58-59 Poland Street, W1F 7NB

Distance: 0.3 mls

Only Running Footman

There's something gracious about many Mayfair pubs: disinclined to lay on satellite sport and all-night happy hours, the best retain an old-world charm. This is one...

Mayfair: 5 Charles Street, W1J 5DF

Distance: 0.3 mls

Lucky Voice

This post-work novelty, a karaoke bar with private rooms, has proved a great success since opening in 2007. The drinks menu is equally Japanese-themed, with a dozen or...

Soho: 52 Poland Street, W1F 7LR

Distance: 0.3 mls

Milk & Honey

The house rules here include 'No name-dropping, no star fucking. No hooting, hollering, shouting or other loud behaviour'. This admirable restraint continues in the...

Soho: 61 Poland Street, W1F 7NU

Distance: 0.3 mls

Market Place

Still going strong, Market Place, just off Oxford Street, is packed with a loyal crowd who spill out on to the pedestrianised thoroughfare throughout the year, hungry...

Fitzrovia: 11-13 Market Place, W1W 8AH

Distance: 0.3 mls

Coburg Bar

Luxurious, elegant and discreet, this is everything a good hotel bar should be. From the criminally comfortable, grey velvet, wing-backed chairs and chic, black glass...

Mayfair: The Connaught, Carlos Place, W1K 2AL

Distance: 0.3 mls

Connaught Bar

Latest glam bar in The Connaught

Mayfair: 16 Carlos Place, W1K 2AL

Distance: 0.3 mls

Mahiki

Regular and much-publicised patronage by junior members of the Royal Family means you'll have to queue to get in here, even midweek; though when you're in this Mayfair...

Mayfair: 1 Dover Street, W1S 4LD

Distance: 0.3 mls

Amuse Bouche

Affordable Champagne bar in Soho

Soho: 21-22 Poland Street, W1F 8QG

Distance: 0.3 mls

Mark's Bar

Downstairs bar in Mark Hix's Soho restaurant

Soho: 66-70 Brewer Street, W1F 9UP

Distance: 3563.2 mls

Glass

Part of an enterprise that includes a restaurant and a swanky club, Glass appears to lead something of a double life. When it's busy, this shiny, happy room is popular...

Piccadilly: 9 Glasshouse Street, W1B 5EL

Distance: 0.3 mls