5CC at the Well & Bucket

Address: Below the Well & Bucket, 143 Bethnal Green Road, London, E2, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)20 3664 6454
Website: view 5CC at the Well & Bucket’s website

Door: Open door/walk-ins
Style: Cocktail bar

The second 5CC, which opened in March, is below the Well & Bucket. Again, it's a discreet haven for cocktail lovers, and, like 5CC at the Exmouth Arms, contrasts not only with the pub floor in drinks but in design and atmosphere - a truly distinct entity to the lively, sometimes crowded space upstairs. This Shoreditch branch (just north of Brick Lane) contrasts with its sibling too with a different look: a low-lit, low-ceilinged, intimate basement of bare brick, with a brass-topped bar. Slick service ensures you are greeted, seated and served with just the right balance of friendliness and formality. A kick-ass music system provides the soundtrack to your night - loud but good quality and doesn't interfere with conversation.

It's the same drinks list as its sister site on Exmouth Market, with the 5CC apothecary bottles making an appearance in a vintage cabinet on the bar top. Again, the drinks are made with aplomb, they come balanced and tasty and the chat from the all-French bar team (including ex-LAB bartenders) is good. Another hidden gem and for us it had the edge on its sister site in atmosphere.