London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jan 15, 2026

The best bars in the world have been named - and a lot of them are in London

The best bars in the world have been named - and a lot of them are in London

Not a surprise really, we like our drinks. One of London's best qualities is its nightlife - from fancy restaurants to street food gardens, and cheesy nightclubs to Instagrammable bars, it has something for everyone.

If you're looking to try out some new bars , whether for a quick pre-dinner drink or a special celebration, you've found the right place.

The top 50 best bars in the world for 2019 have been named and, unsurprisingly, a lot are in London.

Alongside New York haunts, Roman speakeasys and Hong Kong favourites are a whopping 10 London joints.

The hard part? Deciding which one to try first.

Here all all of the London bars that made the top 50.


48. Artesian, Regent Street

It used to be all about the theatrical, but it's returned to the list with a new leadership team who have stripped it back and made everything, form the decor to the menu, minimalist.

Unusual ingredients and infused spirits make this place hugely unique.


47. Kwant, Mayfair

Hidden away below a Moroccan restaurant is a real taste of exotic glamour.

You may feel like you're in Casablanca, but with ingredients like fermented pineapples, micro-herbs and other techie treats you know you're firmly in the 21st century.


41. Swift, Soho

Known as one of London's favourite independent bars Swift is an all round winner.

Its bright and airy upstairs offers fizz, oysters and lighter cocktails, while head downstairs for one of London’s widest ranges of world whiskies in a moody, refined environment.


40. Happiness Forgets, Hoxton

A reliable hideout for drinks in a speakeasy-style bar the vibe is relaxed and fun, as the name suggests.

People actually travel from around the world to visit this great bar with top-notch drinks, and as avenue that opened a decade ago on a budget of just £25,000 it's achieved great things.


39. Lyaness, Southbank

Take a look at the menu and this cocktail bar looks simple, but that's the beauty of it - you get an incredible surprise when you have that first sip.

The main guy is basically a mad scientist, with cocktails based around strange ingredients including Onyx, but also starring more traditional flavours like pineapple, raspberry and banana.


28. Scout, Hackney

It leads the way in the use of sustainable and seasonal ingredients in cocktails without compromising on taste.

Upstairs is minimalist and straight-edged, downstairs is more a dive bar, with writing on the walls, then there's the basement bar, Gold Tooth, which is more art-focused. take your pick, or try them all.


23. Coupette, Bethnal Green

Simple, unfussy, stripped back and modest are all key features of Coupette, but the drinks aren't.

Its created some of the most famous cocktails of recent years, such as the Champagne Piña Colada and Apples, and it has an original focus on French spirits, particularly calvados, making it one of the best specialist bars in the industry.


16. Three Streets, Hackney

It's tiny, bare and truth be told, doesn't look like much, but trust us - you need to try it.

Carrying on the stripped back approach there are just three drinks on offer (changing weekly), each based on strength and flavour - but given that cocktail menus can be a confusing minefield this is refreshing and pretty useful.


5. American Bar, The Savoy

It's been around for nearly 130 years and has won many accolades in its time, but this institution is going nowhere.

As much a piano bar as it is a cocktail bar, the lavish lounge it doesn't sway too far from the classics - it knows that patrons are traditionalists - but then there are unexpected eccentric options like The Electric Lover with purple glitter running through it.


2. Connaught Bar, Mayfair

Stylish, graceful and iconic, this place almost tops the list for good reason.

The latest cocktail menu, Vanguard, has made offerings more creative, but then you can have the perfected classics too - we recommend the Dry Martini, the Bloody Mary and the Mulatta Daisy.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Launches First-Ever ‘Town of Culture’ Competition to Celebrate Local Stories and Boost Communities
Planned Sale of Shell and Exxon’s UK Gas Assets to Viaro Energy Collapses Amid Regulatory and Market Hurdles
UK Intensifies Arctic Security Engagement as Trump’s Greenland Rhetoric Fuels Allied Concern
Meghan Markle Could Return to the UK for the First Time in Nearly Four Years If Security Is Secured
Meghan Markle Likely to Return to UK Only if Harry Secures Official Security Cover
UAE Restricts Funding for Emiratis to Study in UK Amid Fears Over Muslim Brotherhood Influence
EU Seeks ‘Farage Clause’ in Brexit Reset Talks to Safeguard Long-Term Agreement Stability
Starmer’s Push to Rally Support for Action Against Elon Musk’s X Faces Setback as Canada Shuns Ban
UK Free School Meals Expansion Faces Political and Budgetary Delays
EU Seeks ‘Farage Clause’ in Brexit Reset Talks With Britain
Germany Hit by Major Airport Strikes Disrupting European Travel
Prince Harry Seeks King Charles’ Support to Open Invictus Games on UK Return
Washington Holds Back as Britain and France Signal Willingness to Deploy Troops in Postwar Ukraine
Elon Musk Accuses UK Government of Suppressing Free Speech as X Faces Potential Ban Over AI-Generated Content
Russia Deploys Hypersonic Missile in Strike on Ukraine
OpenAI and SoftBank Commit One Billion Dollars to Energy and Data Centre Supplier
UK Prime Minister Starmer Reaffirms Support for Danish Sovereignty Over Greenland Amid U.S. Pressure
UK Support Bolsters U.S. Seizure of Russian-Flagged Tanker Marinera in Atlantic Strike on Sanctions Evasion
The Claim That Maduro’s Capture and Trial Violate International Law Is Either Legally Illiterate—or Deliberately Deceptive
UK Data Watchdog Probes Elon Musk’s X Over AI-Generated Grok Images Amid Surge in Non-Consensual Outputs
Prince Harry to Return to UK for Court Hearing Without Plans to Meet King Charles III
UK Confirms Support for US Seizure of Russian-Flagged Oil Tanker in North Atlantic
Béla Tarr, Visionary Hungarian Filmmaker, Dies at Seventy After Long Illness
UK and France Pledge Military Hubs Across Ukraine in Post-Ceasefire Security Plan
Prince Harry Poised to Regain UK Security Cover, Clearing Way for Family Visits
UK Junk Food Advertising Ban Faces Major Loophole Allowing Brand-Only Promotions
Maduro’s Arrest Without The Hague Tests International Law—and Trump’s Willingness to Break It
German Intelligence Secretly Intercepted Obama’s Air Force One Communications
The U.S. State Department’s account in Persian: “President Trump is a man of action. If you didn’t know it until now, now you do—do not play games with President Trump.”
Fake Mainstream Media Double Standard: Elon Musk Versus Mamdani
HSBC Leads 2026 Mortgage Rate Cuts as UK Lending Costs Ease
US Joint Chiefs Chairman Outlines How Operation Absolute Resolve Was Carried Out in Venezuela
Starmer Welcomes End of Maduro Era While Stressing International Law and UK Non-Involvement
Korean Beauty Turns Viral Skincare Into a Global Export Engine
UK Confirms Non-Involvement in U.S. Military Action Against Venezuela
UK Terror Watchdog Calls for Australian-Style Social Media Ban to Protect Teenagers
Iranian Protests Intensify as Another Revolutionary Guard Member Is Killed and Khamenei Blames the West
Delta Force Identified as Unit Behind U.S. Operation That Captured Venezuela’s President
Europe’s Luxury Sanctions Punish Russian Consumers While a Sanctions-Circumvention Industry Thrives
Berkshire’s Buffett-to-Abel Transition Tests Whether a One-Man Trust Model Can Survive as a System
Fraud in European Central Bank: Lagarde’s Hidden Pay Premium Exposes a Transparency Crisis at the European Central Bank
Trump Announces U.S. Large-Scale Strike on Venezuela, Declares President Maduro and Wife Captured
Tesla Loses EV Crown to China’s BYD After Annual Deliveries Decline in 2025
UK Manufacturing Growth Reaches 15-Month Peak as Output and Orders Improve in December
Beijing Threatened to Scrap UK–China Trade Talks After British Minister’s Taiwan Visit
Newly Released Files Reveal Tony Blair Pressured Officials Over Iraq Death Case Involving UK Soldiers
Top Stocks and Themes to Watch in 2026 as Markets Enter New Year with Fresh Momentum
No UK Curfew Ordered as Deepfake TikTok Falsely Attributes Decree to Prime Minister Starmer
Europe’s Largest Defence Groups Set to Return Nearly Five Billion Dollars to Shareholders in Twenty Twenty-Five
Abu Dhabi ‘Capital of Capital’: How Abu Dhabi Rose as a Sovereign Wealth Power
×