Waterloo bars

This chic rooftop bar has one of the best views in town, with a terrace overlooking St Paul’s and DJs to lure sophisticated after-workers and Friday night socialites. Inside is just as blingy, and the drinks are skillfully mixed. Grab a champagne cocktail at sunset to feel like you’re living your best life.

Check out this Southwark bar for Polish-themed drinking in low-key surrounds. There are more than 50 cocktails on the lengthy list, but the speciality is vodka – it’s served by the shot or three sizes of carafe, and includes everything from the standard Finlandia to the luxe likes of Chopin and Snow Leopard.

Welcome to party island, a rooftop bar with a rather loose Napoleon theme. It's a buzzy oasis and the ideal place from which to wait out the rush hour. With fairy lights, communal benches and a sizeable cocktail list (frosé included), this rooftop bar is more about the (bona)party than the nineteenth-century military leader.

This rooftop allotment/woodland/wildflower meadow (tended to by volunteers) is packed for sunny lunchtimes, but choose it for a tipple, too. Food and drink come from a smart wooden bar area. Things stay civilised, with a slightly otherworldly vibe thanks to a cap on crowds and a smoking ban. Perfect for a sundowner as the world passes by down below.

Most people embrace the mantra ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ Not Mr Lyan. London’s leading mixologist has built up bars only to tear them down - take Lyaness, which replaces the world-renowned Dandelyan. The powder-blue makeover adds freshness, but the real overhaul is saved for the menu: seven newly created ingredients feature, with three different drinks made from each. 

Pass through the Royal Festival Hall foyer and head on up. Skylon is a blend of contemporary style and retro chic, and it makes terrific use of its cathedral ceilings and vast windows, which afford views of river, skyline and people on the move. In the middle of the room, surrounded by restaurant tables, is a cocktail oasis serving both classics and signature drinks.

Tonight Josephine, a tiny basement bar in Waterloo proper, wants your night out to become a photo shoot. Bask in its insta-ready glow and catch the vibes from motivational messages on the walls, like: ‘Why the fuck can’t I have fun all the time?’. Cocktails are equally brash and sugary sweet. Bring a gaggle and get down to ‘90s pop.

Part pub, part theatrical production, this boozer is owned by the brains behind The Vaults (the arts company in the tunnels under Waterloo station) – and you can tell. The place is littered with humungous props that whisper of onstage antics. Beer-wise, there aren’t many craft options beyond Lagunitas, but there’s espresso martini on tap, draft negronis and boozy lychee or Pimm’s slushies. Fun with a capital F.

Sister pub to the Euston Tap, this craft beer haven is also very close to a station. But this outpost is housed in a hip railway arch. The beer selection is British-focused, with the North especially well represented. The 20-strong keg selection (plus six on cask) is presented on big TV screens either side of the bar – compelling viewing indeed.