Shaker & Co (Belle & Co.) (permanently closed)

Address: 119 Hampstead Road, London, NW1 3EE , United Kingdom
Tel: +44 207 060 6877
Email: belle@shakerandcompany.co.uk
Website: view Shaker & Co (Belle & Co.)’s website

Door: Open door/walk-ins
Style: Cocktail bar
Food: Bar Snacks
Established: 2011

Shaker & Co doubles as a bar and a bartender training school so during the day you might see various lessons being held there. By night Shaker trades as a cocktail-led pub.

A long, dark wooden bar and back-bar looks like it's straight out of the 1920s and leather stools, brass lamps and a belt-driven ceiling fan shout Victorian drinking den. Shakers abound - they decorate the top shelf of the back-bar, while a mural at the far end is testament to bartending heroes, picturing Ada Coleman, Trader Vic, Jerry Thomas, Harry Johnson and Charles Schumann.

Down in the basement lies a fairly nondescript room christened Belle & Co, sometimes portrayed as an alter ego speakeasy. The bar's own website recommends booking a seat here two weeks in advance but in our experience you'll be able to simply walk in.

The drinks style is classic cocktails with contemporary touches such as homemade reductions, they're not afraid of fresh herbs. There's a good range of top shelf spirits and the beer selection stretches to a couple of cask ales.

Overall, this is an approachable neighbourhood joint with a pub-style, easy-going ethos. On the downside, it lies in something of a no-man's land between Euston and Mornington Crescent.