A blue plaque at the side of Match EC1 proclaims: ‘It was behind this screen in 1997 that Mark Dodd first demonstrated the reverse plum manoeuvre.’ What’s that? A Heston Blumenthal baking experiment? A wince-inducing S&M move?

No, we don’t know either. Such eccen-tricity might seem wilful elsewhere, but nothing at Match seems try-hard: not the food menu littered with grass-fed, free-range ingredients; not the Greenwich Union micro-brewery beers; and certainly not the bartenders. Those instant smiles are warm, not functional, and the mixing is effortlessly confident, which is as it should be – the cocktail, in dizzying and diverse incarnations, is why you’re here.

Peer round the door from Clerkenwell Road and you’d be forgiven for not getting it straight away. The interior of this modestly-sized space, all low sofas, leather banquettes and sunset-hue pendant lampshades, is more upmarket ’70s bordello than industrial chic, the prevailing décor theme out East. But head down from the balcony entrance level to the bar, review the drinks menu, and all becomes clear.

Match is an original – as in ‘a unique idea that spawned a rash of imitators’ rather than ‘old’. Brainchild of self-confessed cocktail geek Jonathan Downey, ideas man behind members’ bars The Player and Milk & Honey, Match has been mixing here since 1997, aided for the last seven years by NYC ‘King of Cocktails’ Dale DeGroff. Alongside his novel signature recipes, the individual elements of classic standards shine just as brightly.

With fine grazing and a short but carefully selected wine list, Match is still just as much a destination bar as it was a decade ago – a destination not for a quick flirt and a cheeky pint, but for a languid evening of short waits for long drinks.

45-47 CLERKENWELL RD, CLERKENWELL EC1M 5RS

P / 0207 250 4002

T / FARRINGDON

matchbar.com

Tucked away at the Highbury end of Upper Street, 25 Canonbury Lane is surrounded by a tangle of swanky Georgian townhouses of the kind once occupied by Tony and Cherie Blair. (Don’t worry, this would not be their kind of bar, although Linda Blair would probably enjoy seeing the regulars fired up on cocktails and possessed by the spirit of having a good time.) Though it’s away from the main Islington action, being hidden away is an asset – the bar attracts an unpretentious local crowd and you won’t have to camp out at the bar for an hour every time you want a drink.

With its stripped back-interior and grown-up cocktail menu, this is one for drinkers who find the Marquess Tavern a bit too foodie and the Elk in the Woods a little knowing and urbane. Lined with timber and old mirrors and lit by candles and chandeliers, the lounge is small enough to feel cosy, but roomy enough that you don’t have to worry about fellow revellers spilling your drink. Weekends are boisterous; weekday evenings are quieter, with a regular crowd of local thirty-somethings who drop by for a chinwag with the bar staff and an inexpensive bowl of Thai curry on the way home from work.

In a neighbourhood where vodkatonic is frequently the most imaginative cocktail, the list of shots and modern classics is impressive (the raspberry martinis and Manhattans come highly recommended), but plenty of regulars retreat with a bottle of wine to the cosy nook at the back, with its skylight roof, flagstone floor and divans piled with cushions. It’s the best spot in the bar and accordingly it gets grabbed almost immediately – come early if you want to stake out this space at weekends.

25 CANONBURY LANE, ISLINGTON N1 2AS

P /0207 226 0955

T / HIGHBURY ISLINGTON

It seems like the Westbourne has been creating a buzz on this Notting Hill street corner forever. It’s a see-and-be-seen, watch-the-world-go-by, let-Sunday-slip-along-smoothly kind of spot. Out front is a huge street-side terrace and solar gas burners allow the flirting hordes to eke out that summer feeling as long as possible.

Inside, this is a pub that edges into brasserie territory. A long, green-and-zinc bar runs along one side, the menu is chalked up on blackboards, there are big Chesterfields to lounge on and large old mirrors reflect all the action. Otherwise, the walls are covered in framed posters and paintings, a hip backdrop of battered portraits featuring Francis Bacon, Morrissey and Elvis Costello.

There’s a fine selection of beers on tap and by bottle, and a good selection of artfully coiffed bar staff to serve them, and the food is imaginative and excellent, with a menu that changes twice daily. They call it ‘peasant-style’ but these are some lucky peasants, with dishes such as baked filo rolls with butternut squash, ricotta, sage & nutmeg, or fillet of seabass baked with lentils, chicory, thyme, white wine & vermouth, to choose from.

In contrast to upscale local, the Cow, across the road, the Westbourne feels more like a destination, somewhere you might come from another part of town specially to hang out. On weekend nights, cabs wait outside, waiting to whisk drinkers off to the next party. Who are they? They’re a young, affluent crew, their dress sense at the expensive end of hipster-chic, with lots of cashmere slung casually over shoulders. Perhaps it’s the continental vibe of the interior that attracts so many expats: you’ll hear more European accents here than at an Erasmus reunion.

101 WESTBOURNE PARK VILLAS, NOTTING HILL W2 5ED

P / 0207 221 1332

T / PARK ROYAL

thewestbourne.com

If you ask any local where to eat on restaurant-and bar-thronged Lordship Lane, they’re likely to namecheck the Palmerston, a revamped traditional pub that’s famous for its gastronomic glories. It’s a wood-lined, intimate place, classic and simple, with changing exhibitions on the walls, a long green-leather banquette, and close-set wooden tables and chairs. One room is wood-floored, the other has fine mosaic flooring that is easy to miss as you lovingly peruse the menu.

The pub’s polished, timeworn panelling gives it something of the feel of a room in a grand country house, with simple wrought-iron chandeliers overhead, and it’s an appealing place to settle into any night of the week. The crowd is mainly local – a relaxed crowd of the twenty-, thirty- and forty-somethings that congregate in this neck of the woods – and a good mix.
As inviting as the surroundings, the company and the beers are, it’s the food that hauls in the hordes. This award-winning gastropub is overseenby head chef Jamie Harding (formerly of Bibendum) and offers an eating experience that’s a far-flung fat chip ahead of most pub-restaurants. You can dive in with dishes such as poached egg with potato, chives and truffle vinaigrette and go on to eat steak with Roquefort and parsley butter or line-caught wild sea bass with purple sprouting broccoli, anchovy and rosemary butter. Sunday lunch is a triumph, as are puddings, and it’s rare to find a pub harbouring a wine list this spectacular, all handily described, with some delectable treats by the glass. Of course, there’s beer on tap too – a reminder that the Palmerston is a pub, not just a foodie paradise.

91 LORDSHIP LANE, EAST DULWICH SE22 8EP

P / 0208 693 1629

T /EAST DULWICH

thepalmerston.net

Legendary music producer Arthur Baker (also the don of the Elbow Room) is the soul behind this soul-food joint. Upstairs is a laid-back bar-restaurant, downstairs a sleek little late-night speakeasy. So feed your soul – first with New York-style stodge, and then with fresh, funky tunes in the basement.

The ground floor channels the American diner, all banquettes, exposed industrial piping, and window seats, though exposed brickwork, dark wood and an elaborate chandelier give it a touch of extra class. It’s dream brunch territory, with hearty stuff that’s just what the doctor ordered after a heavy night – we’re talking Christmas-style calories. Choose from buttermilk pancakes with maple syrup or the all-day Harlem Downtown breakfast special: sausage patties, bacon, tomato, Boston baked beans, home fries and eggs any style. If that sounds a little on the heavy side, there’s always granola and fruit salad.

There’s also a range of restorative brunch cocktails – the more rock-n-roll amongst you will relish a Breakfast Fizz: gin with fresh orange and red grapefruit, topped with club soda. Otherwise there’s a solid wine list and an astonishing choice of American and Canadian beers (Moosehead, anyone?). Evenings from 6pm the menu brings out the big guns: Harlem special buttermilk-fried chicken, fried catfish, meatballs in marinera sauce & mashed potatoes. You get the picture.

Part of the appeal of the downstairs bar, Harlem Underground, is that it opens until 2.30am. It’s a snug little oak-and-steel haven that’s big on atmosphere, and always packed late at night. You have to pay a charge of £10 to get in after 10pm, but – as you might expect – the music’s always good (hip hop, funky, electro, disco, ’80s pop, afro beat) and it’s a happening hangout. Space might be tight, but the expats and Notting Hillbillies make the most of what is there, with dancing till the small hours to earn that brunch.
78 WESTBOURNE GROVE, NOTTING HILL W2 5RT

P / 0207 985 0900

T / BAYSWATER

harlemsoulfood.com

The last thing you’d expect on busy, bar-packed Shoreditch High Street is this Shanghai surprise. The exterior is appealingly discreet, with a blue neon sign reading ‘dim sum all day’ signifying that this is something different from your regular boozy bar. It’s a dim-sum-meets-drinks concoction, the creation of Stephen Chan, who comes from a lineage of Chinese restaurateurs and honed his craft in the Opium Den and Jerusalem.

Step inside and it’s channelling 1960s Chinatown. The dim lighting comes from a canopy of red Chinese lanterns hanging above the bar. Ceiling fans whirr overhead in veritable colonial-veranda style, and dark wood and huge latticework-edged mirrors complete the look. Long banquettes line the main room, with large wooden tables and plenty of space. Even on a Friday night, it’s lively but not crowded, which adds to its appeal in an area where often you’ll spend half your evening queuing at the bar. Beers aplenty are on draught (John Smith’s, San Miguel, Kronenberg Blanc), but our tip is to plump for a cocktail: signature creations are classics given a unique twist, such as Monkey’s Whiskey Sour, which adds a cunning dash of maraschino cherry.

Hands-in-the-air house music is loud enough that people dance in the central space, undeterred by the lack of a dancefloor, and the crowd is good natured and unpretentious, another plus in London’s region of the post-ironic haircut. There’s an intimate snug at the back with space for two tables, and some steps up to another small area, perfect for sampling the delicious dim sum (served noon till midnight), with melt-in-the-mouth classics such as har gau (king prawn dumplings) and yummy cha siu bao (barbecued roast pork buns), the ideal way to counterbalance those cocktails. Bigger bites (and then sum) include noodle, rice and hotpot dishes – and any bar where you can order Peking duck gets our vote.

222 SHOREDITCH HIGH ST
SHOREDITCH
E1 6PJ

TELEPHONE
0207 392 9606

TUBE
BETHNAL GREEN

WEB
drunkenmonkey.co.uk

It’s fair to say that history is made in the Coburg. Well, to be accurate, lots of pieces of history – the cocktail menu is chronological, a canter through the saga of mixed drinks through the ages, from pre-1800 ancestors The Sours to modern classics. It’s a sweeping, technicolour epic peopled with a cast list of innovative bartenders, ambitious hoteliers and not a few celebrity soaks. After all, why have a star or a rose named after you when an eponymous cocktail will have thirsty swingers blessing your very name nightly? Would a Marlene Dietrich by any other name taste as sweet?

Fortunately, the display of cocktail erudition isn’t just theoretical; bartenders are hot on the practical side, too. Innovation and experimentation are fine, but the acid test is the ability to do the simple things well, and here the Coburg excels: the mojito is perfection, crushed ice, mint and sweet-sour tang superbly balanced.

They say true beauty is on the inside. They’re only partly right. Here it’s in the bartenders, the India Mahdavi-curated refurb (sink-in velvet wingback chairs, taupe walls, monochrome Julian Opie cameos, black lacquered fireplace) and, most eye-catchingly, in the party on the adjacent table to us – quite the most handsome array of people we’ve clapped eyes on.

And yet we’ve rarely felt so comfortable in a bar. Perhaps it’s the music, segueing from prohibition-era ragtime to piano and Latin jazz. Or the fat olives that keep appearing without pressure to scan the food menu. Or the smooth competence and lack ofpretension from the Holly Golightly-like staff.

The Coburg is the second-best bar in London, according to a recent awards list. We think they might be underselling it. Somewhere this special (with correspondingly special prices) has no right being so accessible to mere mortals – it could be the ruin of us.

THE CONNAUGHT HOTEL, CARLOS PLACE W1K 2AL

P / 0207 499 7070

T / BOND STREET

the-connaught.co.uk

OK, so the mismatched furniture thing’s been done, but the Clarence works junk shop chic to perfection, hovering nicely between traditional boozer and trendy style bar. Three large rooms are decked out with all kinds of weathered pieces; you can pull up a tractor seat, set your drink down on an old woodwork bench or settle into a pre-requisite battered leather sofa. Deeply coloured lamp- shades cast an opium den glow, and the multitude of mirrors and clocks seem to be channelling Salvador Dali.

Hip twenty- and thirty-something locals flock to soak up the laid-back atmosphere, without the distraction of pub quizzes, big screen TVs or other pub accoutrements. In good weather, people spill out into a beer garden overlooking the High Road; fairy lights twinkle in an open-air atrium towards the back of the bar, where people can suck in carcinogens to their hearts’ content whilst still feeling part of the crowd indoors.

This isn’t the place to rock up for a pint of Stella or fiddly cocktails – these people are serious about their beer, and Budvar is as mainstream as it gets. The fridge holds an impressive selection of bottled beers from around the world – think Brooklyn Lager and Belgian fruit lovelies – and there are interesting beers and ciders on tap, complete with handy tasting notes of the kind you find slung over bottles of wine in your local offie. Wines are carefully selected through regular staff tasting sessions, and even the spirit shelf has a sprinkling of rare breeds. An excellent, solid menu of English pub favourites backs up the down to earth vibe.

90 – 91 BALHAM HIGH ROAD, BALHAM SW12 9AG

P / 0208 772 1155

T/ BALHAM

capitalpubcompany.com/clarence

One of North London’s most charmingly eccentric freehouses, the Charles Lamb is a London local with a hint of Gallic exuberance that marks it out from the crowd. The owner Camille has family ties to Brittany, and the food menu at her cosy corner pub is a joyous celebration of the Entente Cordiale. Locals flock here after work for hearty British snackables and French treats like pork rillettes with cornichons and toast. Hell, there are even a few Spanish delicacies thrown in for good measure.

Put images of Café Rouge out of your head. You won’t find tricolore beermats or Johnny Halliday on the sound-system, though regulars are happy to join in annual game of boule on Elia St to celebrate Bastille Day. For our money, the mood is more a flashback to the English pubs of the 1950s, with hand-picked posies on the tables and windowsills piled up with old-fashioned board games. Dotted around the walls are eclectic artworks, including a cut-paper depiction of Charles Lamb, the Islington writer and bon viveur who gave his name to the pub and his pen-name to the street outside.

Behind the bar, the Lamb takes full advantage of its freehouse status, serving substantial English real ales and full-flavoured international brews like Californian Sierra Nevada pale ale, Bavarian Konig Ludwig (brewed at the
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang castle) and cloudy Cidre Breton. On warm summer days, patrons drift outside to soak up the afternoon rays from the tables and benches along Elia Street, frequently joined by Mascha, the pub Staffie. It’s one of those pubs where everyone seems to know everyone – the Lamb is as intimate and uncontrived as the beer halls on Upper Street are superficial and townie. Vive la difference!

16 ELIA STREET, ISLINGTON N1 8DE

P / 0207 837 5040

T / ANGEL
thecharleslambpub.com

In Hoxton, a bar called Two Floors would come across as knowingly ironic. In Soho, it just sounds like a simple statement of fact. Tucked away at the south end of Kingly Street, Two Floors does indeed have two floors – a busy upstairs lounge and a small downstairs room full of tiki lamps and bamboo that reminded us ever so slightly of Elvis’s living room in Graceland. Before you take that analogy too far, the designers have shown commendable subtlety – while other bars plaster their walls with Hawaiian murals, Two Floors invokes the feel of a ’70s lava lounge using nothing more complicated than flickering tealights in volcano-red covers.

The first thing you notice when you walk in the door is the plastic-letter bar menu, with a list of cocktails as long as a Long Island Iced Tea, starting from a very respectable £6. Regulars swear by the caipirinhas (Brazilian cachaça, sugar and lime) and caipiroskas (the same, but with
vodka). Many cocktail bars go all out for the spirit-based concoctions and forget those of us who relish the fusion of hops, barley and yeast, but Two Floors has a generous selection of bottled lagers (including Modelo and Brooklyn) and ales (including connoisseur labels St Peter’s and Sierra Nevada).

The other thing we rate about Two Floors is the unpretentious mood. Despite the Will Broome ‘scary panda’ prints on the walls, nobody will take a second glance if your jeans aren’t the coolest brand or you came out in office brogues instead of Jimmy Choos. We find the mixed crowd a welcome change from the all-media clientele at some of the local competition. A cocktail bar you can actually relax in – now that’s a novel idea!

3 KINGLY STREET, SOHO W1B 5PD

P / 0207 439 1007

T / PICCADILLY CIRCUS

barworks.co.uk