Discover some of the city’s proper hidden gems
You’re not short of places to have a drink in this city. London is fit to bursting with great pubs and there are some of the best cocktail bars in the world on your doorstep, but opening a bar in a such a crowded – and expensive – market requires a little creativity in order to stand out. This has led some clever folk to open bars that offer something a little different from the usual and in places you probably wouldn’t expect too. Just as we showcased the city’s most unusual restaurants with Unconventional Eats, we’re doing the same with drinks, so if you’re looking for somewhere new and interesting for your next bev, check out our fave Unconventional Drinks in London.
6. Wingnut Wines
Wingnut Wines in Netil Market might just be the smallest wine bar in London. Founded by Charlie Carr (who also has Papi just up the road with Matthew Scott of Hot 4 U) and modelled after the tiny wine bars of Madrid, where he’d been living when he got into wine, Wingnut first started life as a market stall.
The focus was on underrepresented natural wines and small producers, with Charlie buying wines in small quantities to keep the selection dynamic (unlike the lists in London at the time that were less fluid and had bottles from the same big importers) so that people could always try something new.
As Wingnut moved from stall to bar and as new people have come to manage it, they’ve established relationships with a wider range of amazing producers, meaning you’re able to drink incredible wines, like bottles from Pierre Overnoy, Vinoz Ambiz and Edgar Brutler. As well as serving some of the best natural wines in the world from what is essentially a shed in Hackney, the intimate size of the space encourages guests to start talking to each other and joining in the party together, which is not something you really get in London. Wingnut Wines may be small but it certainly is mighty.
5. Renegade Urban Winery
When you think of drinking wine at a winery, you probably imagine rows of vines, plenty of green space, maybe even a rolling hill or two, and not a mezzanine bar on an industrial estate in Walthamstow. Well that’s the set-up at Renegade, an urban winery that’s been making wine in London since 2016.
Founded by Warwick Smith, the winery actually started out in some railway arches in Bethnal Green, and though there’s still a bar there, the production was moved to a bigger space in Walthamstow in 2021. As well as hosting the winery, the new venue also has a big bar inside, meaning you can drink the wine in the same building, next to the barrels and tanks, where it’s made.
Renegade produces around 15 different wines a year, made with grapes from Europe and England. The operational set-up, whereby the team selects the best grapes they can find and make them into whatever style of wine works best, means that the selection available in the bar changes regularly.
And you can buy bottles, with the signature eyes labels (all real, regular people), like the Jamie 2023 Bacchus Pet Nat, the Roger 2023 Rondo Col Fondo, the Esi 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé, and the Susana 2022 Pinot Noir, to take home too.
As well as taps pouring the wine, there’s a commercial kitchen on site too, so you can come in for a Sunday roast, a supper club held between the tanks, or a glass of wine and a few small plates out in the garden overlooking the wetlands.
4. As Above, So Below
There’s a new hidden bar on the block and this one’s tucked inside a Stokey barbershop. If you head to Cuts & Bruises on Stoke Newington High Street, you’ll see a busy barbershop. And if you walk past all the people getting their trims and press the secret button on the skateboard in the back corner, the wall will slide away revealing stairs down into full-blown cocktail bar As Above, So Below.
Kem Mehmet is the man behind both businesses – a trained barber, he cuts hair in the shop, which he’s had for about ten years, with the basement space going through a number of iterations in that time. A cocktail bar had been an idea of his for many years and it finally came to fruition at the very end of 2024. Though the two businesses are separate entities (you can’t order drinks to have upstairs in the chairs), they very much complement each other, with Kem calling the bar a “sexy reflection of the barbershop”, hence the name.
As the setting shows, As Above, So Below isn’t your average drinking den, something that’s backed up by the creative cocktails on the menu. Designed by bartender Ben and bar manager Jay, they’re inventive takes on classics with a little bit of wizardry thrown in.
The Mango Lassi, made with a yoghurt syrup and Alphonso mango vodka, is completely clear but has all the texture and taste you’d expect from a proper lassi (it’s giving Hacha’s Mirror Margarita vibes). The Hot & Cold – cold homemade cola and lapacho-infused cachaça on the bottom and hot ube horchata foam on the top – balances contrasting temperatures to create something unique and very tasty. So whether you want a cut, a cocktail or both, this Stokey spot has you covered.
3. Absinthe Parlour
When it comes to unusual bar decor, the Absinthe Parlour at the Last Tuesday Society, housed inside the Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities in Hackney, takes some beating.
Opened by Allison Crawbuck and her partner Rhys Everett back in 2016, the Absinthe Parlour is decked out with all kinds of weird and wonderful objects, including a crocodile hanging over the bar, witchy artworks and taxidermy animals (and that’s just the tip of the iceberg, with the museum downstairs featuring everything from Victorian hair art to a ‘cabinet of monsters’).
For the bar, the pair wanted a speciality just as unique as the collections and absinthe was the one. The Absinthe Parlour boasts the longest list of absinthe available in the UK; as well as serving the spirit in the traditional way, using the fountains, spoons and sugar cubes as was done during the Belle Epoque in France, they also highlight the way it can be used in different cocktails.
Serves like the tiki-style Carnival of Being (made with rum, mezcal, absinthe and pineapple) and the Sunrise? Absurd sour (made with coconut rum, cherry brandy, absinthe and sour cherry) are amongst the most popular cocktails but people also come in to try Devil’s Botany, their own absinthe that they started distilling during lockdown.
And where else can you sip on absinthe while learning about occult films of the Sixties, looking at dodo bones and shrunken heads, or making magical poppets for protection?
2. Bruno’s
This floating bar proves just how sophisticated barges can be. Bruno’s, moored on the Regent’s Canal in Islington, is the little brother to floating restaurant Caravel, operated by Fin and Lorcan Spiteri (who also have the land-based Studio Kitchen right next to the water). Named after Fin’s dog, Bruno’s, which opened just over two years ago, is designed to complement the restaurant by offering before- and after-dinner drinks – though you can very much make a night of it there too.
The pair took inspo from hotel bars and high-end style drinks when setting up the bar, so it looks pretty smart with its table lamps, white tablecloths and velvet chairs, though the vibe is very laid back and intimate – perfect for a date.
You can see the influence of classic serves on the drinks menu but Fin has definitely put his own twist on the cocktails, which include the Aperol, bourbon and blood orange Below Deck and the Sesame Oil Martini, made with sesame oil-infused tequila and chilli.
Having access to a restaurant, with its larder of ingredients and knowledgeable chefs, makes it that much easier for Fin and the team to experiment with new serves, though the limited space (on both barges) necessitates a high level of organisation and precision. It also means the bar food menu is on point too.
1. The Natural Philosopher
A computer repair shop isn’t perhaps the first place you’d stop for a cocktail but this Hackney Road spot is no ordinary computer repair shop.
The exterior of the building may advertise the Macsmiths business, which is on full display at the front of the space, but if you look a little closer, past all the computer bits, you’ll notice some interesting decor and a couple of steps leading down to speakeasy-style bar The Natural Philosopher.
The shop came first, opening about 12 years ago, and the bar has been there for just over ten years, with Josh Powell having taken over ownership in 2019. As he says, “London is expensive so you have to buddy up sometimes”.
The bar, which opens after the shop closes, serves some killer picklebacks and a monthly changing list of twelve signature batched cocktails made using foraged ingredients, like sumac Josh found in Dalston, which’ll be appearing on the menu in December.
As well as being a relatively small bar, which is why Josh batches the drinks, it’s an unusual layout as it’s set a level below where the customers sit, so you order downwards. The maximalist decor has come from that ethos of making use of what you’ve got – some of the artefacts and antiques were already here, Josh found more (particularly more of the risque artworks) under the crawl space in the bar, and then he’s added his own touch, including the foliage, over the years.
Want to see more Unconventional Drinks? Watch this space.
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