10 of London’s best hotel bars
Where to go for your next date night, cocktail catch-up and day out on the town
Hotel bars are quickly becoming hospitality’s hottest asset. Once sleepy, dull lounges for weary travellers too tired to seek better alternatives, they are quickly becoming some of the most exciting (and award-winning) cocktail destinations in the world. Unsurprisingly, London’s best hotel bars are leading the charge, with innovative menus shaken up by pioneering mixologists setting the standard for fine drinking across the globe. Upgrade your next pub trip to one of these brilliant boozy boltholes for a night out to remember.
Scarfes Bar at The Rosewood, Holborn
Must order: Scarfeland – Grey Goose, fortified baked bread, blueberries, white verjus
Quite literally one of the most decorated cocktail bars in London – largely because of its collection of star-studded caricatures featuring Daniel Craig and David Attenborough – Rosewood‘s flagship bar is inspired by the life and work of Gerald Scarfe. A renowned British artist and caricaturist, Scarfe was a regular illustrator for The Sunday Times and The New Yorker and purchasing one of his prints today will easily set you back £4,000. Lucky for Londoners, then, that the Rosewood hotel in Holborn has curated an exceptional collection of his works for its decadent drinking den, alloeing you to sip on delectable cocktails while admiring Scarfe’s art.
Director of bars Martin Siska oversees the Long Drawn Out Sip menu, which hones in on Scarfe’s memoir, Long Drawn Out Trip, to create dream-inspired serves. Divided into Fears, Revelations, Desires and Transformations, highlights include the Great Chase – mixing Glenfiddich 12, dried fig and pine, and Martini Ambrato – and the wintery Nutcracker, featuring Campari, peach aperitif, sauternes and acorn soda. Each section also features a hero non-alcoholic drink, so those off the sauce needn’t feel left out.
Visit scarfesbar.com
The American Bar at The Savoy, Strand
The Savoy’s American Bar
Must order: Five O’Clock Somewhere – Plymouth Gin, Savoy Cocchi dry vermouth, Cocchi Americano, Tio Pepe, basil and tomato
London’s oldest cocktail bar has plenty to impress the modern drinker. Dating back to 1893, The American Bar at The Savoy is lauded as London’s first cocktail locale, popularising ‘mixed drinks’ in the early 20th century and attracting a well-heeled crowd as a result (Winston Churchill and Ernest Hemingway were regulars). Head bartender Ada ‘Coley’ Coleman put this bar on the map in 1903 with creations like the Hanky Panky, while legendary bartender Harry Craddock cemented the hotel’s reputation during his tenure in the Roaring Twenties, and with the publication of The Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930. Despite changes and transformations, this bar remains at the forefront of modern mixology and is certainly a place to see and be seen in London.
Now leading the historic bar is bartender Angelo Sparvoli whose current menu, Liquid Moments, is inspired by the countless celebrations and stories that have unfolded here. Expect serves like the Yeoman’s Toast, nodding to the Tower of London and its Beefeaters, more formally called Yeoman Warders, and Tea O’Clock, which is inspired by The Savoy’s centuries-long tradition of afternoon tea. At The American Bar, every detail is accounted for.
Visit thesavoylondon.com
Side Hustle at NoMad, Covent Garden
Must order: Pandan Negroni – El Tequileno Reposado, Campari, Cocchi Vermouth Di Torino, coconut water and pandan
Housed within the storied walls of the former Bow Street Police Station – once the headquarters of the Bow Street Runners, England’s first official police force founded in 1749 – Side Hustle blends an old-school, gentlemen’s club feel with a South American-inspired menu to create a destination for gathering, grazing and lingering. Having recently won Best International Hotel Bar at the Spirited Awards 2025, this hideaway within the NoMad hotel is a force to be reckoned with.
Under the direction of bar director, Davide Segat, the cocktail menu speaks to the likes of Mexico, Costa Rica, Chile and Brazil and makes use of one of the largest collections of agave in London. Expect cocktails with a kick, such as a michelada featuring sour beer, Scotch Bonnet pepper and white miso, as well as the inventive Churros Milk Punch: Grey Goose vodka, mijenta reposado, cinnamon, maple, cacao and whey. Arriba!
Visit hilton.com
Velvet by Salvatore Calabrese at the Corinthia, Whitehall
Must order: The Enigma – Grey Goose, Nitro champagne vermouth, olive distillate, hazelnut brine and St Germain elderflower liqueur
Follow the Corinthia's trail of a tinkling piano and step behind richly-hued curtains to discover Velvet by Salvatore Calabrese. Aptly decorated with more velvet than you can shake a stick at and under the direction of mixology maestro Salvatore Calabrese, Velvet is as theatrical as it is delicious. The menu taps into Calabrese’s cocktail nous – garnered over five decades in the bar business and which has amassed him nearly a quarter of a million followers on Instagram – and constantly changes to push the boundaries, with a former menu looking to the famous quotes to supercharge its serves.
The current iteration is named Pixel Book and innovatively reimagines timeless art through an AI lens. How does one transform that into a drink, I hear you ask? No artistic task is too big for Calabrese, who has created cocktails such as the Pearl Drop, inspired by Johannes Vermeer’s 1665 artwork Girl with a Pearl Earring, featuring vodka, hibiscus and rose blush and saffron-infused honey to create a misty drink reminiscent of the painting. With impeccable service and late-night hours (the bar is open until 1am every day apart from Sunday and Monday), this is the ultimate date night destination.
Visit corinthia.com
Connaught Bar at The Connaught, Mayfair
Must order: Connaught Martini – Tanqueray No 10 Gin, a blend of dry vermouths, and a selection of bitters served tableside
The Connaught offers a smorgasbord of delectable restaurants and bars – think Hélène Darroze’s three Michelin-starred outpost, and one of London’s best whisky spots, The Coburg Bar – but it's the eponymous bar that's the star of the show. Despite top-notch interiors by David Collins Studio that ooze Art Deco elegance, it’s the menu that does the talking here, and secured the World's Best Bar gong for two consecutive years in 2020 and 2021.
Award-winning mixologists Agostino Perrone and Giorgio Bargiani offer two menus: innovative serves from Of The Moment and then its classic cocktails. The former celebrates the bar’s creativity and spirit of adventure, introducing fresh twists on cocktails using rare botanicals, unique blends and rediscovered vintages; our top pick is the velvety Golden Coffee featuring silken notes of almond and coffee with gin and orange. For many though, the Connaught’s classics are the best you’re going to get, so don’t overlook the signature martini, Bloody Mary and Vieux Connaught: a smoky and aromatic take on the Vieux Carré, the classic New Orleans aperitif created by Walter Bergeron at the Carousel Bar in 1938, featuring Ron Santiago De Cuba 11 Rum, Johnnie Walker Blue Label and topped with saffron smoke.
Visit the-connaught.co.uk
Vesper Bar at The Dorchester, Mayfair
The Vesper Bar
Must order: Vesper – Stolichnaya Elit vodka, Dorchester Old Tom gin, Del Duque 30 sherry and re-distilled Forbidden Fruit
For movie-star looks and a mixology menu to match, head to the Vesper Bar at The Dorchester. Housed within the Mayfair Grand Dame that dates back to 1931, this bar relaunched in 2023 following a transformationg of legendary cocktail institution, The Bar at The Dorchester, into a modern bolthole. Designed by Martin Brudnizki to hark back to the spirit and elegance of the 1930s – a time when manners were still important and mayhem was celebrated – ornate touches can be spotted at every turn, from the palladium leaf ceiling to the mirrored columns dotted around the space.
The name hints at the hotel’s links with James Bond author Ian Fleming, who used to be a regular guest, and his creation of the Vesper Martini, which remains on the menu today. Elsewhere, the Eterna cocktail menu, inspired by the Golden Ratio and the Fibonacci sequence, was created by award-winning bar manager Lucia Montanelli to blend science, design and storytelling. Expect serves like the Look of Love – Boatyard Double gin, sesame campari and roasted aubergine – and the rum-based Eve’s Apple featuring notes of marzipan and fermented apple.
Visit dorchestercollection.com
Lyanness at Sea Containers, Southbank
Lyaness
Must order: Lyan King – Maker’s Mark whisky, gooseberry and citrus
The brainchild of the world’s most decorated bartender, Ryan Chetiyawardana, aka Mr Lyan, Lyaness brings pioneering cocktails, stylish decor and a buzzing energy to Sea Containers. Dressed in a palette of ocean blues and overlooking the River Thames, the team here encourages guests to embrace weird and wonderful flavours in order to try something new. Not sure what to go for? The expert team will happily concoct your perfect drink.
The Collaboration menu is based on the idea of taking two unlikely subjects, making them work together and bottling it in a cocktail. As a result, expect some wacky but tasty serves, such as the Cosmo Salad with Belvedere vodka, pink sherry, bitterless aperitif, orange-sec and lemon, as well as the nutty (literally) No Spoon Old Fashioned: Del Maguey mezcal, walnut honey and purple bitters.
Visit seacontainerslondon.com
Artesian Bar at The Langham, Marylebone
Must order: Mulberry – Don Julio 1942, Cointreau, Amaro Santoni, mulberries and lime
One of London’s oldest hotels is home to one of its most modern bars – and it’s a match made in heaven. Housed in The Langham, which dates back to 1865, is Artesian which specialises in conceptual and inventive cocktails and, as a result, has taken home the title of World's Best Bar not once, but four times. It's helmed by Giulia Cuccurullo, who became the bar’s first female head bartender in 2021, and has created countless cocktail menus – but none as impressive as Artesian’s current Ultimo, featuring 16 distinct serves.
Following the success of the Volume I and Volume II menus, Ultimo is centred around a single ingredient – think Cep, which features gin, sherry and mushrooms, and Wild Strawberry, mixing berries, vodka and Aperol. Complementing the cocktails is a concise menu of chef Chet Sharma’s Bibi bites, blending Indian flavours with inventive twists.
Visit langhamhotels.com
Brooklands Bar at The Peninsula, Belgravia
Must order: The Asprey Cocktail – Clix vodka, raspberry and blackberry eau de vie, and dry vermouth
A must-visit drinking den for any petrolhead, Brooklands Bar sits alongside Claude Bosi’s restaurant of he same name to offer an aviation-inspired space with serious views of London’s skyline. Many of the bar’s distinctive design elements echo cutting-edge achievements in automotive and aviation design: the geodetic ceiling is inspired by the work of Barnes Wallis, who was instrumental in the development of airframe structures in the early 20th century, while the carriage seating and leather-lined wall panelling recall those of the Rolls Royce Silver Ghost, and the glass chandelier is inspired by the blades of turbine engines. Posters and pictures, along with a library cabinet stocked with books, maps and historic items, have been gifted from Brooklands museum.
Created by The Peninsula London’s head mixologist James Tamang, the bar’s cocktails balance precision engineering with inventive creativity. Alcohol content is measured in machs, so the higher you go, the stronger the serve. For all-out occasions, skip to the luxurious cocktails section where serves will set you back at least £75, but with cocktails such as Spectre featuring aged whiskies like Thomas H. Handy Antique Collection, mixed with sweet vermouth and campari cask, it’s hard to say no.
Visit peninsula.com
The Spy Bar at Raffles at The OWO, Westminster
Must order: Whisky Mouthwash – Johnnie Walker Blue and Black Label Whisky, red dulse, kay sake, Idyll pine forest soda and cherry
As the spiritual home of James Bond, and its Mayfair-born author Ian Fleming, London bars love to nod to 007. But the Spy Bar at Raffles at The OWO takes things one step further, paying homage to the plethora of spies whose secrets were guarded by the walls of the Old War Office. It is located in two rooms that were formerly numbered 006 and 007 in the early 20th century and functioned as high security storage vaults for identity papers and mission reports of MI5 and MI6 agents. The lobby of the Spy Bar was once a guard room, while other rooms along this corridor were used for briefing and debriefing spies before and after going into the ‘field’.
The top-secret menu isn’t available online but is inspired by the espionage that played out in the building and the stories that unfolded. Rumoured cocktails include Dig for Victory – celebrating the garden behind the building which was used during the Second World War, and features fresh flavours of caramelised pear and jasmine – and The Spy Who Loved: a tribute to the success and sacrifice of Christine Granville, one of the British Allied forces' most trusted and successful spies, featuring Belvedere vodka, Campari, passionfruit spirit, artichoke and cocchi di torino.
Visit theowo.london
