Drink
GREENWOOD
If you’re looking for somewhere to watch sports in SW1, Greenwood is the place. The huge bar is dotted with screens so you can catch football, rugby, F1, NFL, tennis, boxing, basketball and golf, as well as all the action from major tournaments. You won’t be going hungry or thirsty in between all that action either – the bar is well stocked and the kitchen is serving up wing platters, burgers, and stonebaked pizzas.
CATALYST CAFE
Catalyst Cafe is a very sleek coffee shop on Gray’s Inn Road serving up very high-quality small-batch coffee alongside a menu of highly rated food. Expect the likes of eggs kayanas (with fresh tomato and feta on sourdough), avobergines (sourdough bread topped with roasted aubergines & red peppers, avocado, tahini sauce, Coffee Sriracha, Chalkidiki XV olive oil, za’atar and pomegranate molasses) and fish goujons filet (daily fresh fish goujons sandwich with house coleslaw, lettuce and cheese) on the menu. They also host loads of one-off foodie events in collaboration with some of the city’s favourite chefs and brands.
REDEMPTION ROASTERS
The Lambs Conduit Street Redemption Roasters is the flagship site of this cafe-cum-social enterprise. Redemption Roasters opened in 2017, serving up coffee using the beans from their own roastery that functions out of a young offender’s institute, providing the detainees with valuable skills in the vibrant coffee market. Besides your morning latte, you can grab some pastries, cakes or lunch here before parking yourself outside to do some Grade-A people-watching.
THE LILLIE LANGTRY
In need of a new pub fave? Head to The Lillie Langtry, a Fulham spot that’s recently re-opened its doors with a fresh new look, feel and menu. Think bold British dishes, all freshly prepared daily using seasonal ingredients, including steak and Guinness pie, sausage & mash; cured pork chop; and (if you’re feeling a little fancier) steamed mussels with Bovril butter garlic cream, toasted sourdough & frites. Don’t forget to opt for their sticky toffee pudding too, which comes with a smoked caramel sauce to die for. These guys are really going all out. Whether you’re looking for a spot for a weekday dinner, Friday drinks, Sunday roast with the family or a cosy private space for an intimate date night, make sure to give these guys a go.
PASERO
After a series of sell-out supper clubs, Genevieve Sparrow took Pasero from pop-up to permanent by opening it as a restaurant and wine bar in Tottenham. Pasero, named after the Esperanto word for Genevieve’s surname, runs week-long as a cafe and deli by day before flipping into a restaurant in the evenings from Wednesday – Saturday. Pip MacDonald (ex-J. Sheekey, Scott’s, Cafe Murano and Levan) heads up the kitchen, cooking up a broadly European, regularly changing menu, with dishes like smoked cod’s roe choux bites, Cornish sole with caper beurre noisette, and apple & almond tart with creme fraiche. And as for drinks, expect a short list of low-intervention wines from small suppliers that you can take home with you.
OPIUM BAR
This dimly lit drinking den is hidden behind a jade door on Gerrard Street, perfect if you want to escape the crowds outside. You’re not in 1920s Chinatown anymore, but Opium Bar makes its best effort to convince you otherwise. Grab one of their experimental cocktails, such as the Opium No.9 (Hyogo 135 dry gin, Fortunella Golden orange liqueur, Lillet Blanc, yuzu green tea, lemon juice and simple syrup) or the Don Arturo (Ojo de Dios Café mezcal, tequila black chocolate liqueur, Ocho Blanco tequila, espresso, demerara syrup and cookies & cream mist).
THE MAGIC GARDEN
As the name suggests, The Magic Garden is a whimsical pub in Battersea that’s worth going just for the outside alone. The pub’s garden is decked out with fairy lights, blanketed sofas and a vintage car and it’s even a viable outdoor option in the colder months, as the garden is covered – plus, you can get some blankets and hot water bottles if you’re a little too chilly. Inside, the vibes are boho meets cluttercore and they regularly host gigs – as they put it themselves, it’s a “festival in a pub”. “The Cure” is their Sunday special, a day where you can drop by for free blues gigs, Sunday roasts, board games and Bloody Marys so you can recover from that hangover and shoo away the Sunday Scaries.
THE WHITE BEAR
You’ve got a lot of choices when it comes to pubs in Clerkenwell and Farringdon, but that doesn’t mean we’re any less interested when a new one opens. Well, to be exact, The White Bear *re*opened recently, welcoming locals into the lovingly restored 18th-century space once again. Just up the road from Smithfield Market (soon-to-be the Museum of London), The White Bear feels just as historic as its surrounding area, but its food and drink offering is relatively contemporary. Alongside a classic selection of beers on tap, cocktails (including the much-buzzed-about negroni sbagliato) and wines there’s a food menu of small bites & charcuterie, Neapolitan street food and homemade sourdough pizza – the starter for which was supplied by their neighbour St John, in a very neighbourly way.
CAFE KOKO
Cafe by day, bar and restaurant by night, Cafe KOKO is the food and drink counterpart to Camden’s legendary and recently renovated music venue KOKO. The design-forward bohemian space is lined with original works by artists including David Shrigley and Joachim Lambrechts alongside photographs of the likes of Grace Jones and Anderson .Paak – from KOKO’s private collection – which nod to the theatre’s rich music history. Music is, of course, key to KOKO, and it’s no different in the cafe which welcomes a variety of live performers in the evenings. It’s an ideal spot for anyone after a chill hangout with friends (particularly if you’re in Camden and you’re not feeling a pub vibe), complete with a list of classic cocktails like Espresso Martinis and Bloody Marys – it may not be molecular mixology but the drinks are decent.
If you’re looking for a spot to buy a nice bottle of wine before heading to a pal’s for dinner, or just fancy a couple of post-work glasses and some charcuterie, 56 West Smithfield is one to have on your radar. The family-run wine bar was founded by the same family behind boutique vineyard Château De La Cômbe in the South of France, so they know their way around a grape. As a result, 56WS stocks a carefully curated range of rare and award-winning wines to either drink in for a £5 corkage fee, paired with some nibbles, or take away. Keep an eye out for their wine tasting events to learn a bit more about the people behind the bottles, or book their tasting room for your own private event.
LONDON BRIDGE ROOFTOP
As well as enjoying the views over the city from six storeys up, at London Bridge Rooftop you’ll be able to get stuck into beers, burgers and seasonal cocktails, all to a soundtrack provided by live DJs. And yes, they have heaters in case the weather takes a turn.
COMMON DECENCY
This sexy basement drinking den lives below The Nomad London with plush sofas, rich fabrics, soft lighting and intimate private rooms for hire. The cocktails are worthy of a World’s 50 Best award with disco-coloured light up glassware, stamped ice and interesting flavour combos like the Szechuan Gibson and Butternut Milk Punch. Don’t worry if you get carried away, there’s killer bar snacks to soak up the booze, like caviar rosti and the signature Nomad burger and fries, which gives it big New York hotel bar vibes. A great safe space from the mass of Covent Garden tourists, this one is definitely for grown-ups!
13TH FLOOR COFFEE
From the same people behind End of the Road festival, 13th Floor Coffee is a coffee truck parked outside St Mary’s church in Stoke Newington. They use Coffee by Tate, which not only had the ideal flavour combo they were after, but also supports female-led farms as part of Tate’s Gender Equality Project. As well as being a spot for your daily cup of joe, you can also treat yourself to one of their regularly changing bakes – there are plenty of vegan options too.
ELINE
Eline is a restaurant and wine shop that showcases French techniques, seasonal produce and natural wines, with two former Pophams team members at the helm. The menu changes each month but always keeps a strong French influence. Expect dishes such as venison tartare, celeriac & smoked hazelnuts, whipped chicken liver parfait, pear & grape chutney and basque cheesecake for dessert. Their wines are sourced from small producers across Europe, with bottles also available to buy and take away from the wine shop (manned by the restaurant’s resident dog, Kimchi).
THE BEAUMONT HOTEL
To take a trip to The Beaumont hotel is to step into a calm, Art Deco retreat away from the chaos of nearby Oxford Street. Styled after the grand hotels of the 1920s, The Beaumont’s interiors definitely fit the bill, with its walnut-panelled walls, marble furnishings and sleek rooms. Besides actually staying at the hotel, The Beaumont houses a pretty special selection of bars and restaurants. The Colony Grill Room is an old-school NYC-style restaurant with a timeless menu, Le Magritte Bar & Terrace pays homage to the American bars that were very popular in London and Paris during the 1920s and Gatsby’s Room serves as more of a daytime venue, with an all-day menu that includes breakfast and afternoon tea.
BAR PRINCIPAL
A member of the Brutos (a banging Brazilian steakhouse next door) family, Bar Principal is a certified hipster hangout for late-night boozing and cool al fresco evenings. More drinks-focused than its neighbour, Bar Principal has an excellent list of natural wines which are very much our thing. But if you’re after a bite to eat, some of the Brutos faves are on the menu, including the tapioca cheese balls and gnocchi with peas and pesto, alongside other small plates.
EARLY JUNE
Early June is an uber-cool wine bar in Paris’ 10th arrondissement that’s extremely popular – you may have a hard time nabbing a table, but it’ll be worth it if you do. They’re walk-in only unless you’re in a group of four or more, in which case you can have a look at the site for booking availability. Alongside their wine offering, which features plenty of great natural options, Early June hosts a range of travelling chefs who take care of the food menu. Check out their Insta to stay up to date on who’s currently manning the kitchen.
SKYLIGHT PECKHAM
Peckham is no stranger to rooftop bars, with the likes of Bussey Rooftop Bar, Frank’s Cafe and Forza Wine, among others, clustered around Peckham Rye for all of you who prefer your drinks served with a view of London’s skyline. And you can add Skylight Peckham to that list, which landed in SE15 in 2021 from the creators of the OG in Wapping above Tobacco Dock. With its prime location, Skylight has some pretty killer, panoramic views across the river that can be enjoyed even in winter with the help of heated pop-up igloos. The menu is comprised largely of small and sharing plates that take inspiration from various cuisines, including Korean, Italian, Japanese, British and Indian. And drinks-wise, there’s a range of signature, house and seasonal cocktails as well as beers and wine that’ll have you enjoying the view *even* more.