Back Room Bar, London

Not an outpost of the New York speakeasy but The Hard Rock Cafe's much cooler venue hidden round the corner from it's Mayfair venue. We first visited mid-2012 and have always enjoyed the space for the relaxed atmosphere it provides in an otherwise uptight area of town.

Oddly enough this bar still isn't very well known. Inside it's electric living room meets rock n' roll recording studio. The wood-panelled bar takes a more classic approach to mixed drinks than Hard Rock with customers often refering to The Back Room as the "adult" version of the Cafe. In contrast the fast-to-make, fruit-driven drinks served in the cafe, you're more likely to see brown, stirred drinks in The Back Room, a place where your server won't baulk if you order an Old Fashioned and where the bartenders are free to indulge their own curiosity.

Look out for the door which leads to the bathrooms - it's an original from The Beatles' recording studio and is covered in famous graffiti.