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London's best speakeasies

Explore the city's new wave of London's speakeasy-inspired bars

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Traditionally, speakeasies were places for illegal boozing that came to prominence during the Prohibition era in 1920s America. But ever since, they have taken on a mythical status: teacups brimming with gin, suave jazz musicians and a glitzy, retro dress code. Here's our pick of the new wave of London's speakeasy-inspired bars and events

  • 69 Colebrooke Row

      69 Colebrooke Row, London, N1 8AA

    Tucked away off the Islington Green end of Essex Road, 69 Colebrooke Row has an impressive pedigree. Opened in mid 2009, it's the brainchild of Tony Conigliaro – who has worked on the likes of Isola, Roka and Shochu Lounge – and Camille Hobby-Limon, who runs the nearby Charles Lamb pub.

  • Bathhouse

      7-8 Bishopsgate Churchyard, London, EC2M 3TJ

    Built at the tail-end of the nineteenth century, this Turkish bathhouse has found a new lease of life as a fresh and interesting party palace. Done out with marble and gilt mirrors, the space is perfectly appropriate for a decadent Sunday happening like the Boom Boom Club and the showgirls, burlesque acts and young neo-cabaret stars who perform at it.

  • Cellar Door

      Zero Aldwych, London, WC2E 7DN

    A gaudy neon arrow points the way to this tiny basement, where cabaret, lounge singers and drag acts ensure things go with a swing.

  • Callooh Callay

      65 Rivington Street, London, EC2A 3AY

    This 2009 arrival has all the hallmarks of the trendy Shoreditch bar du jour. There's a storefront location, hipster staff, mismatched furniture offset by self-consciously quirky touches (a wall of cassettes by the toilets, modified gramophones on the bar, a page of the drinks list devoted to 'Random Shit')…

  • Experimental Cocktail Club

      13A Gerrard Street , London, W1D 5PS

    Among the touristy Chinese restaurants in Gerrard Street, ECC is perhaps the closest thing we have in London to a genuine speakeasy. The only indication it’s even there is the presence of a bouncer outside, and a reservations list hidden inside a fruit and veg catalogue. But it’s no mere front: the cocktails created inside are among the best in London, complex yet perfectly balanced blends made with super-premium spirits by ultra-committed bartenders.

  • Happiness Forgets

      8-9 Hoxton Square, London, N1 6NU

    This counts as a 'speakeasy' by dint of it being the place on Hoxton Square possessing of a bit of subtlety. Below a Thai restaurant, you'll find a simply decorated basement bar with very friendly, knowledgeable staff, and well-crafted cocktails.

  • Milk & Honey

      61 Poland Street, London, W1F 7NU

    One of the original bars in London that created the ‘speakeasy’ trend, Milk & Honey – behind an unmarked door in Soho – can still count itself among the city’s best cocktail purveyors. While its Manhattan-esque look of leather booths, tin ceiling tiles and permanent twilight has now been replicated all over London, it’s done with real panache here. Note though: it’s a members’ club most of the time, although the rest of us can book a table in the early evening for two hours maximum, as long as you book at least a day in advance, and arrive before 9pm.

  • Purl

      50 Blandford Street, London, W1U 7HX

    Another basement speakeasy broadly themed on the Prohibition era of the US and transported to twenty-first century London – but this one does it better than most. Drinks tend towards both the ‘molecular mixology’ end of the spectrum and the ‘classics revisited’; bar staff really know their stuff. Presentation is often theatrical: see the Absinthe Sazerac, served in a silver egg cup, which blends cognac, sugar and bitters with absinthe bubbled on top.

  • Nightjar

      129 City Road, London, EC1V 1JB

    In a typical east London retail parade (fried chicken, greasy spoon, dry cleaner, booze ’n’ news) is an almost unmarked doorway: behind that doorway is a late-night cocktail and jazz venue of a classier sort than you might expect so close to the Old Street roundabout. Like many other ‘speakeasies’, it’s modelled strongly on the Prohibition era; drinks too are inspired by the early twentieth-century United States and are made by a bunch of bartenders who really know their stuff.

  • Worship Street Whistling Shop

      63 Worship Street, London, EC2A 2DU

    On a Shoreditch back street deserted in the evening, this secretive spot takes the Prohibition idea back to the Victorian era, with a drinks list of wonderfully described cocktails made with all manner of scientific techniques new and old.

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Comments

By Gregg Buchanan - May 30 2011

Hi there from lil New-Zealand, hey have you fellas got something that has the places names and contact email and phone numbers, all presented on one page so as for a data base am creating, much easier and less time consuming than looking them all up one by one..am referring to the businesses listed on your best London speakeasies page there.

Cheers if you can help,
Gregg Buchanan,
Auckland,
New-Zealand.

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