Archive for May, 2010

London’s Top Five Bars

Even in the current recession new bars spring up like weeds. Their highly paid PRs ensure they get at least their hour in the sun and what new bar does not promise the earth?  How then can the discerning drinker sort the wheat from the chaff?  Well below is an insiders guide to London’s bar land.

Making a list of the best bars in London is of course in part a nonsense . The requirements of say a hip young clubber, cocktail aficionado and a gourmet are all going to be very. And that’s before getting into the whole bar vs bar restaurant, bar vs bar club, gay vs straight and public vs private members clubs issue. Below are what I call my five “best of breed” bars .

I make no attempt to crown one “best of show” because as any grocer  will tell you you cannot compare apples and pears.

Peacock Bar – best for entertainment www-the-peacock-bar. co. uk

Now I have to confess to some bias here as I book the club and helped create it. However in my defense Peacock Bar has been rated Best London Cabaret Venue, Best London Burlesque Show as well as Top Birthday Party Venue by ViewLondon [plus won just about every other award under the sun in the last six months including Top London Small Venue from Function Fixers and Spoonfed]. Our programming is very much musical comedy sketches /social commentary in the finest Kinks style After we have cheesy 80s, 90s, 00s till 2. 30am with top Djs like Dave DiskoJuice. We also try and program seasonally so for Christmas we are presenting ” Christmas Lunch and Christmas Dinner with a difference with free burlesque and cabaret – put your boss on stage and humiliate him! Particularly well suited for birthday party, Christmas party, hen party and stag party bookings. Should Peacock Bar be rated best for Entertainment? Well where else in London can you get great cocktails, burlesque, cabaret and Djs till 2. in the morning all under one roof!  Runners up Inigo for electronic music and Hawley Arms for live bands.

Vinoteca – Best for wines

I almost did not include this bar because I was initially uneasy about its almost pure wine focus making it completely unlike any other bar I am aware of except possibly Vinopolis (whch isn’t really a bar anyway more a glorified supermarket not my cup of tea at all).
The wine list is a outstanding with a vast range to choose from including several many unusual options by the glass and this is what sets it apart from every other bar and restaurant in London where you have to purchase from the bottle. It is not possible to give justice to the breadth of the wine list in terms of grape varieties, countries and price points. Just go there.
Putting the wines aside I quite like the distressed brick like simplicity (think Smiths of Smithfield), food (suitably plain) offering and overall bar atmosphere. Runners up any Michelin restaurant who invariably have much better wines than any bar but especially Gavroche
It is the wine list that is the star at Vinoteca

Lab – best for cocktails
What Vinoteca is to wines Lab is to cocktails but like Vinoteca it is very much a one trick pony but hey what a trick! A very convenient position in the middle of Soho is a somewhat spoilt by a having to go into a rather dingy and low ceilinged basement (ignore the ground floor which is pokey and reminiscent of an  airport lounge) . The atmosphere can also be rather flat with too many out of towners trying out the excellent cocktails before moving onto dinner. The food average at best. Entertainment is just a CD player. However Lab has consistently produced the highest quality of cocktails in London bar none for at least the last five years and manages to do so in a non stuffy way (please note various hotel bars I prefer not to publicize). That for me means Lab gets my vote as one of London’s Top Five Bars. Runners up none spring to mine but a list of pretenders to the throne would be  endless

Loungelover – best for style
You either love it or you hate but everyone who has any sense of style loves it. Picture this a room are taken up by seating, which is mostly regency-style chairs with low, candlelit tables, each with a four foot champagne. The bar area features high glass fronted bookshelves filled up not with books, but with wine and glasses. Opposite the main room is an antiquities room and VIP area (also used for performances) also serves as a green room for any performers. The very back of the room is the red section of Loungelover. Decked out entirely in red, even down to red tinted windows, this area surely has only one purpose – seduction. And it works the drinks and food are first rate albeit on the pricey side. Runners up on the style front Ziegfrieds and Lost Society

The Library and Garden Room – best hotel bar
Not really my thing but for any US investment bankers reading this article get on down their fast. The Library at the Lanesborough Hotel conjures up drinking men’s clubs from regency times, with wall to wall books and high ceilings and though you won’t find old lords snoring in the corner, you will find a standard of service unknown since colonial days. Following a refurbishment, the Lanesborough has created The Garden Room, for those who believe the life went out of the London bar scene along with the smoke. An extensive collection of Cuban cigars is offered for those who want to complete their evening in style. Runners up Met bar and Zetters