[title]
Thirsty? London has a whole slew of fabulous cocktail bars that can sort you out. In fact, according to a new ranking, it boasts 25 of the UK’s finest. Based on votes from more than 200 expert bar operators, bartenders, drinks writers, suppliers and drinks specialists, the Top 50 Cocktail Bars 2026 list has just been revealed.
Satan’s Whiskers in Bethnal Green was crowned the best cocktail bar in the capital for 2026, and the third best in the whole of the UK. It took first place overall last year (and in 2019 and 2023) but was bumped down to third by Liverpool’s Bar Glue and Birmingham’s Couch.
The laid-back east London spot has a daily changing menu, so you can never be fully prepared for what you’re going to get – in 2024 it served a carousel of more than 400 cocktails.
But whatever creations are on offer, Top 50 says you can expect ‘high-quality craftsmanship with simple serves in quality glassware using the freshest ingredients’. There are usually some dependable house specials, like Satan’s Garibaldi (campari, orange, lime, passionfruit and orange soda) or Satan’s Manhattan (Knob Creek whiskey, vermouth and bitters).
Top 50 said of Satan’s Whiskers: ‘Whimsically known as London’s “bartenders’ bar”, it is not your clichéd swanky London cocktail bar, but full to the brim with character that oozes from its exposed bricks, taxidermy and hip-hop music and unique décor. Unassuming would describe it in one word.
‘We’d also say this is a humble venue that doesn’t make a song or dance about its many accolades gained over the years and blends in well with the local surrounding community.’
London cocktail bars made up exactly half of the this year’s top 50 list. After Satan’s Whiskers, moody Japanese bar Waltz in Shoreditch came in fifth place and Kensington’s Amaro Bar scooped seventh place.
All the London bars that feature in the Top 50 Cocktail Bars 2026
3. Satan’s Whiskers, Bethnal Green
5. Waltz, Shoreditch
7. Amaro Bar, Kensington
8. Bar Termini, Soho
10. Tayēr + Elementary, Shoreditch
11. Three Sheets, Soho
12. Side Hustle, Covent Garden
15. Swift, Soho
18. Archive & Myth,
19. Kwãnt, Mayfair
21. Murder Inc, Soho
25. Lyaness, South Bank
26. Equal Parts, Bethnal Green
31. The Connaught Bar, Mayfair
32. Three Sheets, Dalston
33. Viajante87, Notting Hill
35. Scarfes Bar, Holborn
36. 🔶🟥🔵, Hackney
37. Bar Kinky, Fitzrovia
39. Dram, Soho
43. The Spy Bar
44. Happiness Forgets, Hoxton
45. Disrepute, Soho
46. Opium Cocktail and Dim Sum Parlour, Chinatown
48. SOMA, Soho
See the full Top 50 Cocktail Bars ranking for 2026 here.
Explore Time Out’s guide to London’s 50 top bars here.
Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke – from news and reviews to events and trends. Just follow our Time Out London WhatsApp channel.
Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out London newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.