Door 74
For our review of Door 74, please see our Amsterdam’s 10 best cocktail bars page.
PDT
PDT (short for Please Don't Tell) is one of the original Manhattan bars modelled on Prohibition speakeasies. This one is a rather wonderful cocktail lounge,
Byrdi
Byrdi is a bar unlike any other, pulling the concepts of seasonality and locality together with culinary techniques, in a venue that is both day and night,
Polly
It’s easy to miss this Fitzroy long-stayer, just across the road from the better-known Black Pearl. The classical statuary and pot plants in the conservatory
Tayer + Elementary
At first glance, this is yet another brutalist Shoreditch/Hoxton/Old Street bar with bare concrete, exposed aircon ducking and raw steel trunking. But
Kwãnt
You can take the boy out of the five-star hotel but you can’t take the five-star hotel out of the boy! Erik Lorincz’s new bar, Kwãnt, operates to
Lucy's Flower Shop
A non-descript doorway leads to an unattended florist shop and then, when you find the door, this hidden basement cocktail bunker of a bar. Lucy's is
Bubbles and Wines
We stumbled upon this little place close to Dam Square by accident. I say stumbled, although we were riding past on pushbikes as is normal when bar crawling
Nottingham Forest
The Nottingham forest was opened in 1970 by Carlo Comini, Dario’s father. In 1980 under the guide of Dario Comini the Nottingham Forest became one of
Farr's School of Dancing
Farr's was an old dance school, now stripped out and turned into a charming and spacious neighbourhood bar. It's interior is a mixture of eclectic seating
Red Light
Looking for Red Light can be a real challenge for those who have never visited before. Another speakeasy in the Bristol bar scene with a luminous red
Le Cellar at Galvin
Although practically hidden in the basement of Galvin Bistro De Lux on Baker Street, and reached only via a tiny stairwell from the middle of the dining
Le China
If Buddha Bar's eastern charms leave you feeling flat, you might prefer a taste of Le China. Formerly known as the China Club, and located on a quiet street
Le Lion - Bar de Paris
Widely recognised as being one of the world's 20 best bars, Le Lion lies behind a locked door and buzzer system but is open to anyone who makes a reservation.
Gollem's Proeflokaal
When the original 'Café Gollem' opened in 1974 it was the first bar in Amsterdam to offer a large range of specialist Belgian and other foreign
American Bar at The Savoy
Perhaps the most famous hotel in the world, The Savoy reopened in 2010 after a three-year, £100m+ refurbishment. While the rest of the hotel now sparkles
Feijoa
This good-time bar is named after the fruit that flourishes in South America and New Zealand, and indeed the fruit crops up in some of the cocktails served
Fritzel’s European Jazz Pub
Warning: Fritzel’s does not sell cocktails. It does not have a good range of beers or wines. Nor does it have comfy seating or even attractive decor.
Barfish
Built to accompany Blowfish, the upscale Asian restaurant with which it shares an entrance, Barfish can easily be said to be the prettiest bar space in
Eileen's Bar - Four Pillars
Branded bars are tricky to pull off, without a diverse enough catalogue the drinking can get monotonous, the branding can be too in your face and they
Meat Mission
This Shoreditch offshoot of Meat Liquor takes over a former church hall in this cobbled square next to Hoxton Square. There's less graffiti and it feels
Murder Inc.
A dingy narrow backstreet traversing the corner between Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road is a fittingly seedy setting for a bar which celebrates
The Botanist
Another from the Tom and Ed Martin stable, the Botanist is slap-bang on Sloane Square. Named in honour of Sir Hans Sloane, a botanist, it is brightly decorated
Lyaness
Lying in the belly of a vast landmark hotel on London's Southbank, Lyaness boasts a stunning location overlooking the River Thames. This is the place for
The Clumsies
Perhaps the most renowned bar in Athens and indeed Greece. The Clumsies is a vast series of interconnected spaces but is seemingly constantly packed with
Holy Spirit
Situated out in the Southern suburbs, this is by far the best bar in the area. Funky and colourful - both the bar and the cocktails they serve. Holy Spirit
Scarfes Bar Rosewood Hotel
Scarfes Bar sits to the right as you walk under the arch into the courtyard entrance to the Rosewood hotel and is the hotel's main bar. It's been decorated
The Roger Room
This 'speakeasy' might not have a sign, but can find it easily enough because a) it sits behind a psychic's shop window with a red neon hand and b) there
Mint Leaf
At night Mint Leaf's entrance glows like an oasis in a desert. This well-hidden bar stands out among the mass market chain bars that plague the city. Mint
Papillon & Sophie's Bars at Bank Hotel
The Papillon Bar is tucked away, off to the left from the Bank Hotel's lobby entrance. It is intimate, elegant and refined with wall-to-wall carpet and
Pavilhão Chinês
Enjoy retro cocktails in one of the world’s most bizarre bar interiors. The most famous of the bars created by the late Lisbon bar maven Luis Pinto
Her Majesty's Secret Service
Right at the entrance to Clifton Down train station sits HMSS. You enter through a traditional and iconic British red phone box into an equally British
A Bar Called Gemma
Gemma is the creation of regarded bartender Johan Evers who, with the exception of the electrics and plumbing, built everything you see in this bar himself.
Bols Mirror Bar
The aptly named Mirror Bar is located in the House of Bols and unsurprisingly it boasts the best stocked liqueur bar in Amsterdam. To gain access you'll
High Sushi Salsa
Most visitors to Camden Lock looking for a drink at the water's edge in warmer weather will flock to an enormous Wetherspoon's pub. We prefer something
Hemmesphere
A long player, long stayer on the Sydney cocktail bar scene, Hemmesphere's impact on the city was not dissimilar to Oliver Peyton's opening of the Atlantic
Tonic (Nottingham)
Tonic occupies a deceptively large site than you might expect from its street-frontage. In fact it's three levels of deli, bar and restaurant, decorated
Lost + Found Drinkery
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The Bon Vivant
Defined as a person who enjoys the good things in life, especially food and drink, Bon Vivant is co-owned by Stuart McCluskey - enough said. Lying on
The Boilerman Bar
The Boilerman is Joerg Meyer's other bar (see Le Lion). It couldn't be more different and he set out to ensure it was. Boilerman is best described as a
The Fellow
The Fellow, a British gastro boozer named after the triumphant French racehorse is situated just minutes from both Kings Cross and St Pancras stations.
Maybe Sammy
Maybe Sammy feels like a bar that's been cut straight out of a London hotel and set adrift to land on Sydney's shore. It's got the jacketed bartenders
Bread Street Kitchen
We first visited Bread Street Kitchen when it launched and despite the opulent setting and an offering of two bars, the cocktails were below standard.
Brandy Library
The name hints at what to expect: wood, floor to ceiling book case-style shelves lined with brandies from around the world. The selection is incredible,
Clover Club
Clover Club has the same owner as the Flatiron Lounge in Midtown Manhattan: there, Julie Reiner's drinks have a contemporary bent, but here in Brooklyn
Weather Up
One of those bars that's not exactly a secret, Weather Up certainly doesn't shout about its existence from the rooftops either, refusing to publish a phone
Hiding in Plain Sight
For our review of Hiding In Plain Sight, please see our Amsterdam’s 10 best cocktail bars page.
Buck & Breck
Rather than the bar’s name, outside there’s simply a neon sign flashing “closed”. Off-putting perhaps, but such is this bar’s reputation that
The Trap
Hidden down a narrow alleyway off the Syntagma Square, directly opposite the Grand Bratagne hotel. The entrance to the alley is next to Alpha Bank. Although
The Gibson
Rusty Cerven and Marian Beke have taken a tiny (just 40 seats) emerald green tilled corner pub in no man's land and turned in into one of London's must-visit
