The 9 Best Hotel Bars in London

Connaught Bar

The martini trolley that Director of Mixology Agostino Perrone rolls to your table remains the single most elegant ritual in global bartending. Cubist interiors by David Collins, marble floors, and a team led by Assistant Director of Mixology Giorgio Bargiani and Bar Manager Maura Milia deliver a level of choreographed service that no competitor has matched since the bar opened in 2008. Granted permanent Best of the Best status by the World's 50 Best, Connaught occupies a category of one, a luxury hotel bar that redefined what luxury hotel bars could become. Every city claims a benchmark; London's is here. The latest lists place it at No. 6 on the World's 50 Best Bars 2025 and No. 10 on Europe's 50 Best Bars 2026.

Scarfes Bar

Gerald Scarfe's caricatures stare down from the walls of Rosewood London's flagship bar, giving the room a sardonic edge that cuts through its gentleman's-club aesthetic. New Director of Bars Andy Loudon, appointed in 2024, delivered his first full menu in 2025, a collection that respects the bar's tradition of spirit-forward drinking while introducing lighter, more seasonal constructions. At No. 31 on the World's 50 Best, Scarfes operates in the sweet spot between establishment credibility and creative ambition. The leather armchairs alone are worth the reservation. It currently stands at No. 47 on Europe's 50 Best Bars 2026.

Blind Spot London

Hidden speakeasy inside the St Martins Lane hotel, entry is by shaking the golden hand door handle. The list is globally inspired: spin the globe and drink from Harare to Havana, Turin to Kingston. 2-4-1 cocktail hour daily 5-7pm (to 9pm for hotel guests); bar bites from jerk chicken to gochujang prawns. Closed Mondays.

Dukes

The bar of DUKES LONDON in St James's, a hotel established in 1908, where Alessandro Palazzi and his team make the famous DUKES Martini: mixed tableside from a trolley with frozen spirits and no ice, finished with bespoke vermouth and Amalfi lemon peel. Ian Fleming was a regular, and the bar is reputed to have inspired James Bond's 'shaken, not stirred'. The New York Times called it the hotel bar that some say makes one of the world's best martinis. Dress is smart casual and walk-ins are welcomed.

Order this: DUKES Martini (mixed tableside from the trolley — frozen spirits, no ice, bespoke vermouth, Amalfi lemon peel)

Punch Room

An intimate, wood-panelled cocktail bar inside The London EDITION hotel in Fitzrovia, dedicated to sharing punches. Its menu mixes house classics with new creations, the signature EDITION Milk Punch blends cognac, rum, cider, brandy, green tea, lemon, pineapple, spice syrup and milk, and includes recipes guests can recreate at home.

The Donovan Bar

Brown's Hotel's bar is the vision of Salvatore 'The Maestro' Calabrese, creator of the Breakfast Martini, with Federico Pavan as Director of Mixology. The room celebrates photographer Terence Donovan, whose boldest portraits hang throughout, the riskiest in the semi-private Naughty Corner. Calabrese's 'Salvatore's Legacy', mixed from 18th- and 19th-century spirits, set a 2012 Guinness World Record at £5,500, and the Vintage Cabinet still pours spirits dating back to 1770. Walk-ins only; no sportswear.

Order this: Bellini Colada (Altamura Vodka, Crème de Peach, peach purée, Prosecco)

The London Edition Lobby Bar

An all-day bar in the lobby of The London EDITION hotel on Berners Street, designed for both work and play, with tufted sofas, eclectic artwork and a snooker table. It serves twists on classic cocktails and operates walk-ins only.

The Spy Bar

Raffles London at The OWO's subterranean speakeasy occupies rooms 006 and 007 of the Old War Office, once high-security vaults for the identity papers and mission reports of MI5 and MI6 agents. Access is invitation-only (hotel residents), photography is forbidden, and the £150 Spy Bar Tasting Experience, three cocktails, three canapés, is the bookable way in. In the hotel's words: it's classified.

Waeska

The Mandrake hotel's Fitzrovia bar builds its menu on ethnobotany, the traditional uses of a region's plants, mixing ancient herbs and botanicals like moringa, tulsi, palo santo and lion's mane over an expansive labradorite gemstone counter, beneath murals, artifacts and objets d'art. Live DJs Thursday to Saturday. Walk-ins only; smart casual (no ties, hoodies or sports shoes).

Order this: Mariposa (Bombay Sapphire gin, butterfly sorrel, orris, jasmine, soda)