Oh, the negroni. The beloved blend of gin, vermouth and Campari has taken on legend status in London, being one of the most ordered drinks in the best bars. It’s a bitter and stiff tipple that can be enjoyed as an aperitivo, but that also goes down swimmingly as a nightcap. For the best classic blends and for sweet interpretations on the cocktail, these London bars are the place to go. Salute!
Sip on dainty little negronis at Bar Termini, where the delicate glassware belies the clout behind what lies in your glass. The ingredients are cooked sous vide and bottle aged, making for a more mellow experience on the palate (but one that will still go straight to your knees).
There’s a reason why ELLC have negroni taps installed in some of London’s best bars – their Premium Batch No. 2 gin is a great building block for the cocktail. Sip it fresh in the distillery’s bar while you gaze on to the copper stills within which the spirit is crafted.
In this smart basement bar there’s not just one, but six takes on the negroni. There are wide combinations of gin, vermouth and variable bitters and each one comes made with quality Italian ingredients. Your options include everything from a Negroni Bianco to a Smoky Negroni, which replaces gin with whiskey.
Rather than making you feel all cosy, the Ristretto Negroni will have you dancing up on tables. It’s slow-dripped through a cold brew coffee tower, to add an extra caffeinated level to your drink and to form the most Italian negroni imaginable.
The Vesca Negroni is an exciting order in this stylish new hotel bar. It comes with a globular, pink ice cube in the middle that adds depth and flavour as it dissolves. It also contains sweet notes of strawberry, coconut and rosehip. Marvel as your drink changes from sip to sip.
Okay, so this negroni probably tastes so good because you have to work for it. Frank’s Café inevitably attracts hordes of drinkers to its rooftop position as soon as the sun hits, so you may have a queue on your hands – both on the door and at the bar. But with views like this, it’s the perfect sundowner.
The basement bar of this trattoria has the biggest stash of vermouth in the capital, so you can bet they make a banging cocktail from it. The House Negroni blends three vermouth styles as well as the traditional gin and Campari. Bellisimo.
Beneath the Smithfield flagship of this Venetian mini-chain is a dedicated negroni bar, knocking out all kinds of Italian aperitivi, as well as those eponymous negronis. If you fancy adding a bit of fizz to proceedings, order the Negroni Sbagliato, made with Polpo's own prosecco.
The Ritorno Negroni will have you doing return trips to this Italian cocktail bar in Chelsea, with its extra hint of sweetness from fig liqueur. Other drinks on the menu riff on the formula of gin, vermouth and Campari, too, so find a spot at the bar and get your bitter on.
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