Address: The Connaught Bar, 16 Carlos Place, London W1K 2AL
Website: the-connaught.co.uk
Price: Connaught Martini, £26
Where to get the best French 75 in London
The drink: gin, lemon juice and simple syrup topped up with Champagne\
The bar: Three Sheets, Dalston
Dating back to World War I, rumour has it that the French 75 was created in about 1915 at the New York Bar in Paris. You’ll find an exceptional take on this old-school cocktail more than a century later at Three Sheets, an award-winning bar (currently ranked at number 16 in the World’s 50 Best Bars, if you’re interested in that sort of thing). Pull up a pew among the chic, minimalist decor and try the team’s concoction of Bombay Premier Cru, lemon, muscato, verjus and orange flower.
Address: Three Sheets, 510b Kingsland Road, London E8 4AB
Website: threesheets-bar.com
Price: Paloma, £13.50
A Bloody Mary at Hawksmoor
Where to get the best Bloody Mary in London
The drink: vodka and tomato juice – plus lashings of Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco
The bar: Hawksmoor, Spitalfields Love them, hate them – either way, when the craving for a Bloody Mary hits (usually on a Sunday with a slightly sore head) it can be hard to track down the perfect one. Enter steak restaurant Hawksmoor. Hawksmoor’s Bloody Marys pack as much of a punch as the hearty menu they accompany, with a serious horseradish kick perfect for washing down a roast dinner.
Address: Hawksmoor, 157A Commercial Street, London E1 6BJ
Website: thehawksmoor.com
Price: The Hawksmoor Bloody Mary is included with the set lunch menu, £52 for two courses
Where to get the best Aperol Spritz in London
The drink: Prosecco, Aperol and soda water\
The bar: Bar Italia, SohoThis relatively low-alcohol cocktail was dreamt up in Venice in the 1920s and is still one of the most-sipped aperitivos in the country. It makes sense, then, that the best iteration to be found in London is at Soho’s aptly named Bar Italia. This neighbourhood institution was first opened by the Polledris in 1949 and is still owned by the family today – on sunny days, nab a table outside and watch the Soho crowds flock by.
