Eclipse, Chelsea (permanently closed)

Address: 111/113 Walton Street, London, SW3 2HP, United Kingdom

Style: Cocktail bar

A veritable veteran of a venue, now 13-years-old, Eclipse just been refurbished to live another day. This bar on Walton Street, and its sister in South Kensington, cater to a wide clientele, from large groups of girls to intimate dates, and after-work drinkers.

This Eclipse is located on prime realty that runs parallel to Knightsbridge itself and groups fancy boutiques, interior design showrooms and, increasingly, a collection of bars and eateries. Since aperitivo and vermouth specialist bar Tini closed (replaced by Jak's, which we visited but chose not to include), Eclipse is arguably the most predictable place to get a drink on the street.

Pick one of the nooks and crannies and peruse the menu. You'll see a fair few Watermelon Martinis going out - their signature drink clearly remains one of the top-sellers, and if any drink does what it says on the tin, that's it. You can also order a whole Watermelon filled with a vodka-based mix to share: the bar gets through 24 tons of watermelons every year. The rest of the drinks tend to be packed full of fruit too - like we said, that's the Chelsea way, but there's a classics menu too, with historic annotations. We were a bit non-plussed with the look and taste of our classics, unfortunately, but man they've nailed that Watermelon market.