Recommended Bars in London - A Pocket List for Locals, 4 Must-Visit Top Bars in London
I am often asked, what is the best hotel bar in London? This question is actually very difficult to answer... I usually leave out the five-star hotel chains first, such as Four Season, Bulgari, InterContinental, etc. It's not that these hotels are not good enough, but that there are also these hotels in other big cities. To me, they lack the soul of London!
I really want to recommend it, and I think everyone should not miss it when you come to London. The hotel has a history of hundreds of years in this city, and each has endless stories. Most importantly, there are restaurants that you can't find in another city except London, such as The Savoy Hotel, Claridge's Hotel, The Dorchester, Dukes London Hotel and so on.
(The Connaught Hotel in Mayfair, taken from the Internet)
So what is the biggest difference between these top hotel bars? My answer may surprise you, it is neither the bartending nor the decoration, but the guests! Let’s put it this way, these historic restaurants are all housed in gorgeous and elegant Victorian buildings, and the beautiful decorations are all designed by the top The master chef, the creativity of the wine list and the quality of the bartending are always amazing. These hardware things, they really can't make people picky! However, if you look closely at their clientele, you will see that each London hotel bar attracts a very different clientele!
(The elegant Claridge's Hotel, taken from the Internet)
Dukes Bar is a British gentleman's bar. Most of the customers are men in suits. It is rare to see a table of guests all female.
(Dukes Bar with a British gentleman style, taken from the Internet)
The resplendent The Dorchester is the favorite of the rich in the Middle East, low-key never has anything to do with them, the more Bling-Bling the bar can get their favor.
(The magnificent The Dorchester Hotel, taken from the Internet)
The Savoy HotelLocated in Strand, it was the top district in London in the 19th century. Today, the most upscale district has become Mayfair, but Strand has more tourists, so many tourists in The Savoy Hotel come here admiringly.
(The Savoy in a gorgeous French style, taken from the Internet)
(The Savoy Hotel)
And I personally feel that the hotel bar where the guests are the most observant is...Connaught Hotel!
Connaught HotelLocated in the Mayfair (Mayfair) district where London's high society gathers, it has won The World Best Bar several times (2020 is the first again), led by Agostino Perrone, who is well-known in the London bartending industry. Needless to say, the ingenious wine list and bartending level! The black leather chairs in the bar, the metal mirrors and dazzling crystal lamps that can be seen everywhere on the wall, interweave a sense of luxury that belonged to the era of the tycoon. However, in this very prestigious bar, what attracts my attention every time is...his customers...
(The Connaught Bar, taken from the Internet)
Take tonight for example, there is a blond girl sitting at the table on the front left, wearing a tight red dress that reveals her curvy figure, her fair calf is set off by loose diamond stiletto high heels More slender. Her male partner was wearing a dark blue fitted hand-made suit, what a perfect pair! No, there is a sense of discord between them... What is it? It turned out to be age! She is old enough to be his daughter~ After a few drinks, the man caressed her blond hair and whispered in her ear, a flowery smile rippling from the corner of her mouth. When she got up to go to the dressing room, the man immediately took out his mobile phone from his suit pocket and tapped quickly. He was telling his third wife that he had a dinner party tonight and would be late...
(The Connaught Bar, taken from the Internet)
There is an old gentleman sitting at the next table. His every move has the peculiar sense of formality of an old-fashioned British gentleman. He is waiting for someone, right? The old man tasted the cocktail in his hand slowly, and about twenty minutes later, the person he was waiting for arrived! It was a handsome young man with a rucksack on his back and an uneven shirt. In this five-star bar, no matter how you look at it, it looks a bit shabby. The two chatted in whispers for a while, and in the few words faintly heard in their ears, it felt like two strangers who met for the first time, trying to find something embarrassing to say. It turned out that the young man was from southern Europe and had just arrived in London. I don't know the place well, and I met the old man on the Internet... It didn't take long before the two people who met for the first time got up and left as if they didn't want to waste another moment of spring festival. Their backs just disappeared in the corridor of the hotel superior...
(The Connaught Bar, taken from the Internet)
Drunkards are more interested in drinking than sipping a cocktail in their hands. People-watching in a London bar is more of a pleasure. In the bar, there are all kinds of life, and in the bar, the story of her and him is being staged... Connaught Hotel Bar will never let me who wants to peek into other people's lives get bored, but it is a pity that every time my inference is true or false, it will always be true. I don't know...
Lisa Huang's book "Slightly Drunken, London: Drinking Culture and Wine Stories, Overturning Your Imaginary Britons" fully reconcile travel, British culture, and wine knowledge with emotional brushstrokes, and share a glass of fragrant and charming wine with you . Book details, blog to order online
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