bars · London
The best nights in London start at these addresses — award-winning cocktail rooms, beloved locals' haunts and views worth ordering a second round for. All rated 4.5 stars or higher.
Strand, Covent Garden · $$
Serving since the 1890s, this is the longest-surviving cocktail bar in Britain, where head bartender Harry Craddock compiled the canonical Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930. A white-jacketed pianist plays as you sip a White Lady or Hanky Panky, both invented on this very counter.
Insider tip: No reservations are taken; arrive before 6pm on weekdays to claim one of the coveted piano-side armchairs.
Mayfair · $$
Twice crowned the World's Best Bar, this David Collins-designed platinum-and-silver room is home to Agostino Perrone's tableside martini trolley with its choice of house-made bitters. The Connaught Martini ritual, mixed and poured at your armchair, is one of drinking's great theatre pieces.
Insider tip: Book exactly when reservations open online; otherwise arrive at the 4pm opening for a walk-in seat and order the martini from the trolley.
Old Street, Shoreditch · $$
Behind an unmarked door near Old Street roundabout, this candlelit speakeasy pairs live jazz and swing bands with baroque cocktails garnished with smoking cinnamon bark and edible flowers. Its drinks menu, split into pre-Prohibition, Prohibition, and post-war eras, helped launch London's speakeasy revival in 2010.
Insider tip: Reserve a table online a week or two ahead and time it for the nightly live jazz set, usually starting around 9:30pm.
Fleet Street, City of London · $
Rebuilt in 1667 right after the Great Fire, this warren of dark wood snugs and sawdust floors poured pints for Dickens, Twain, and Dr Johnson, who lived around the corner. Descend to the vaulted cellar bars, parts of which belonged to a 13th-century monastery.
Insider tip: Enter via the narrow alley off Fleet Street and head downstairs; it closes on Sundays, so go on a weekday afternoon.
South Bank · $$
Ryan Chetiyawardana's Thames-side bar at Sea Containers builds its menu around house-invented ingredients like oyster honey and infinite banana. Floor-to-ceiling windows frame St Paul's across the river, making it the rare award-winner that doubles as a view bar.
Insider tip: Book a window table for sunset; the bar snacks from the Sea Containers kitchen are good enough to make it dinner.
Kensington · $
This 1750 Fuller's pub is famous for the 100-plus hanging baskets and Christmas trees that smother its facade, and for the memorabilia-packed interior honoring Winston Churchill, whose grandparents drank here. The conservatory at the back serves surprisingly good Thai food among the butterflies and brass.
Insider tip: Come in December when the exterior blazes with Christmas trees and lights; weekday lunch is the easiest time for a table.
May–June & September–October
Pound Sterling (GBP)
English
How this list is made: we only feature places rated 4.5 stars or higher with 1,000+ reviews from real travelers. Ratings and review counts are approximate and move over time — always check current numbers before booking. Photos are sourced from Wikimedia Commons under free licenses (credits in each gallery).
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Good to know
Four to five days covers the marquee sights — Tower of London, Westminster, British Museum, South Bank — at a humane pace with time for a market morning and a West End show. With a full week you can add neighborhoods like Greenwich or Hampstead and a day trip to Windsor or Oxford.