King’s Cross bars

Bars don’t get much smaller than Pepito, whose tall bar stools seat fewer than twenty people. In this case, size doesn’t matter one bit – the intimacy suits the experience, which is all about quiet communion with sherry and tapas in Andalusian style. The sherry list covers all the bases and tapas are flawlessly executed.

The Big Chill House has been going for years and is an icon of the area, even if it’s possibly had its heyday. Housed in a large, difficult building, it can feel a little tumbleweedy on quiet nights; it’s best to head here when DJs are spinning on Fridays and Saturdays. Food includes on-trend tacos and an upstairs patio comes into its own in the summer.

For cocktails and a bit of high-flying in the area, The Booking Office wins. Part of the Renaissance Hotel, it’s a tall-ceilinged place to drink, with dark wood and soaring gothic arches. Cocktails come at hotel prices – around £14 for a drink – but are expertly mixed and include options from a menu of ‘elixirs and potions’ in honour of nearby Platform 9 & 3/4.

Formulaic but effective, Camino gives King’s Cross punters what they need in a night out: a menu for sharing, an open courtyard for social smokers (or those pretending it’s warm enough to sit outside), Latino-inspired DJs, table football and cocktails. Fun, relaxed, and not taking itself too seriously, Camino exudes the true spirit of Spain.

Sure, you know Caravan for its coffee and its continent-hopping small plates, but don’t overlook it as a pretty spot for a well-mixed drink. Crowd-pleasing cocktails – from brunchtime bellinis to spritzes – rub shoulders with originals on the drinks list, including the Flying the Coop, which features ginger, sage and cardamom flavours in among tequila. 

Café and craft workshop by day, bar by night, Drink, Shop & Do is known as a one-stop shop for all kinds of good times – from dance classes that teach you to shake like Shakira to musical bingo nights and beyond. Cocktails verge on the sweet side of things but include the millennial girl’s dream: Black and Gold is a cocktail made from Chambord, glitter and prosecco. 

The bar inside the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel and next door to Marcus Wareing’s restaurant is a bit of a looker, dressed in gold and with a grand set of brass bells hanging from the ceiling. Cocktails draw inspiration from Wareing’s farm, so expect to see a few herbal and floral flavours in play. But it’s the sparkling wine that seems to be most popular in this gorgeous haunt.

Bored of arbitrarily themed Prohibition bars? Dishoom’s Permit Room has its own thing going on, taking inspiration from Bombay’s Prohibition era. It’s a big basement filled with chatter, a waft of incense and the comings and goings of chipper bar staff. Browse a list of juleps, martinis twisted with Indian aromatics, and low-alcohol and virgin cocktails.

The Racketeer is one of the newest additions to the neighbourhood in an unlikely spot along King’s Cross Road. Wooden flooring, royal blue walls, feature tiles and a log-burning stove make it a seriously cosy drinking spot, but it also suits summer with a neat terrace at the rear. House cocktails are classics, some with a gentle twist.

A studenty crowd is drawn to Simmons, with its board games, wobbly furniture and retro music. But in truth, it’s probably the insane happy hour that reels them in, when most prices drop to just £2.50 a drink. Options include cocktails and taps of Meantime beers atop a tiny bar counter, with a fridge dedictaed to bottles of Brooklyn, BrewDog and more. 

This spot is one for the music nerds, a ‘listening bar’ and recording studio near Granary Square with a focus on sound quality as well as quality music. It may seem pretentious, but it’s actually a down-to-earth bar where you can get your groove on while you work your way through a modern list of drinks – beers served as schooners, cocktails named after killer LPs and a ‘skin contact’ section on the wine list.

Don’t let fatuous claims about this being the longest bar in Europe spoil what is a lovely pre-travel experience: glass of champagne in hand and tickets at the ready. Underneath William Barlow’s vast curving roof, a wonder of the Victorian age, Searcy’s serves a vast and laudable list of over 100 wines. Perfect for pre-Eurostar sipping.

Good and affordable wines by the glass are the main draw at Vinoteca; bargain-hunters will particularly like the handful that are ‘fresh from keg and box’. An outside terrace gets rammed with people in summer, yet service is usually on the ball. So stop by for an uplifting rosé or stay for dinner and grab a bottle to share.

VOC occupies a smallish, cosy space hidden away from the wheelie-suitcase-weilding masses of this part of town. There’s a nautical and historical theme to the drinks list and punches based on old recipes figure large. And when it comes to presentation, they’re about as experimental as drinks in the area get.