London is not just a city blessed with great bars. It’s a city brimming with clubs… from the old and esteemed such as Whites and Boodles, to the new and trendy such as Soho House and The Library. There are clubs for Ex Public School boys, artists, actors, writers, media types, motorists, bankers, directors, hipsters and heavy drinkers.

And there are still great, old established clubs that most people won’t know about, but which remain warm, welcoming and still very grand havens from the hustle and bustle of London life. The Lansdowne Club is one of these. Its delightful C18^th Robert Adam designed home close to Berkeley Square, was once owned by Gordon Selfridge, founder of the eponymous department store.

As a club with a penchant for the sporting world, one of its crowing glories, added shortly after it became a club in the 1930s, is an exquisite art deco basement swimming pool. Of course you ‘ll have to be lucky enough to have a friend who is a member – or to be a member yourself – to enjoy a plunge in their pool. If you do, you can then relax and reward yourself for your physical endeavours with a drink in their Aqua Bar.

The balcony of the Lansdowne Aqua Bar overlooks the 25 metre pool and both have been scrupulously maintained with all their stunning original 1930s features. While the Aqua bar offers a simple food and drinks menu, the view of the amazing pool with keen types ploughing lengths up and down is truly invigorating.

If you want a wider selection of high quality cocktails you can retire to the Lansdowne’s Round Room and if you need some sustenance to soak it all up a formal gourmet experience is available in the dining room.

So, we heartily recommend you cultivate a friendship with a member and experience life in clubland. And, if you can spare the quite reasonable membership costs and meet the entrance criteria, you could even make it a home from home in the heart of the West End.

www.lansdowneclub.com

The Lansdowne Club is at
9 Fitzmaurice Place
Mayfair, London
W1J 5JD

Tags: aqua bar, bar reviews, best swims london, lansdowne club, london bars

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St Pancras International Station –

What better way to prepare yourself for a trip to Paris than taking on board a few glasses of champagne? And what better place to do that than the stunningly appointed Searcy’s champagne bar? Occupying a prime position overlooking the grandly refurbished St Pancras International Station this polished establishment proudly boasts the longest bar in Europe at a horizon-busting 98m.

When we visited on a Friday afternoon the bar was surprisingly quiet. We had expected to see a throng of weekend wanderers ready to set off for Paris for romantic assignations… or at least a contingent of French tax exiles making their way back home for a few days to remind themselves what proper cheese tastes like. Perhaps it’s that long bar… anywhere else and the number of people might have constituted a crowd. Here, with its endless bar and the cathedral like glazed roof overhead, the drinkers seemed few and far between.

But hey, I love champagne… And having room to breath while I drink… And somewhere to sit… And an amazing view whichever way you look… And a special offer on decent champagne at £6 a glass. So, even if you’re not travelling it’s well worth a visit. You can always imagine yourself about to set off on an exciting journey into the heart of Europe, even if the only trip beckoning is the one home to Walthamstow on the Victoria Line.

This bar is to all intents and purposes, outside… even though the massive vaulted canopy overhead lulls you into thinking otherwise. So, when the weather gets cold, it won’t just be your champagne that gets chilled. However, the clever people at Searcy’s have thought of this and provide fan heaters and blankets to keep the temperature as warm as the ambience.

Just one word of warning. Large quantities of champagne can alter the fabric of space/time and it can be all too easy to miss your evening train to Paris or the last tube to Pimlico.

Searcys Champagne Bar
Grand Terrace
Upper Concourse
St Pancras International Station
London
N1C 4QL

searcys.co.uk/venues/st-pancras-grand

Tags: Bars in N1, Best Bars London, Champagne Bar, london bars, Searcys champagne Bar, St Pancreas Bars

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What do I think of cocktails that are served in Jam Jars? Well, I think they’re worth preserving.

Boom, boom, thank you, I’ll be here all night…

Actually, I could be here all night, because this is just the kind of bar that ticks all the boxes for me as one of the best bars in London. Small, friendly, decadent, eclectic and interesting. Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick.

Down the metal staircase and through the basement entrance you’ll find seductive, secretive and bookable cavern type booths hidden behind red velvet curtains – while elsewhere you’ll find shabby chic sofas and comfy chairs to sink into.

The bar serves up delicious cocktails, craft beers, and some decent pizzas, bar snacks and sharing boards to help soak it all up. You’ll encounter friendly people both behind and in front of the bar and lots of live music to add to the atmosphere. It’s a real contender for one of the best cool and quirky bars in London. Or one of the best party bars in London. And, if you’re in a booth, romance might get a look in too!

When it’s quiet it’s a great place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city, when it’s busy it’s a great place to be at the centre of that hustle and bustle. The night we visited the human jukebox was about to get going… In the shape of talented musician Tony Bowen, who takes tweets of any song you’d like to hear and serves up his own accomplished interpretations.

And that cocktail in a Jam Jar? It was a tantalisingly tasty concoction of rum, bitters, brown sugar and orange, that spread itself warmly through my body and whetted my appetite for more. Many, many more.

Lucky Pig? Lucky us.

The Lucky Pig is at
5 Clipstone Street,
Fitzrovia
W1W 6BB

www.theluckypig.co.uk

Tags: Bars in Fitzrovia, Bars in W1, Best Bars in Fitzrovia, Best Bars London, london bar, london bars, Lucky Pig, The Lucky Pig

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In typical fashion the start of London Cocktail Week saw the end of a balmy Indian summer and the onset of wet and windy conditions more befitting a British autumn. So, what better place to head off to after collecting my snazzy London Cocktail Week wristband than the House of Peroni in Lincoln’s Inn?

Here, for one month only, in a beautifully proportioned Georgian townhouse, the famous Italian brewers have invited a bunch of very creative types to envision and recreate the style, fashion, flair and cuisine of Rome with a series of themed rooms over four floors. They’ve even created a formal Italian herb garden at the front, which was looking a little forlorn in the drizzle, but which will, I’m sure, blossom when the sun reappears.

They say all road lead to Rome but my road obviously led me straight to the bar – or bars as there is one on each floor. Along the way there were some exquisitely stylish rooms to admire. I’m no art critic, but the various geometric shapes, light shows, glass-blowing, sculpture and exquisite paper cut trees quite took my breath away.

So much so that I had to sit down, not once, but twice, and recover over a Peroni based cocktail. The first floor bar treated me to a deliciously refreshing VII hills infusion of Peroni Nastro Azzuro, lemon curd and spearmint, the second introduced me to the Nerone, an equally enticing blend of Peroni, chilli and passion fruit.

It may have been cold and grey outside, but inside I was living la dolce vita. The House of Peroni is open this October only at:

64 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, 
London 
WC2A 3JX

To find out more

http://thehouseofperoni.com

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This legendary London hangout has a history and glamour all of its own. It lays claim to being London’s first ever gay cocktail lounge. And while some may debate that, there’s no debating it’s appeal and popularity. That’s what makes The Shadow Lounge one of our best gay bars in London.

Still opulent, still enticing, still exclusive it’s still attracting a well-heeled and well dressed clientele out to have a good time. There are different themes on different nights, with the weekends given over to crowd pleasing international pop.

The décor reflects the disco vibe and the fibre optic ceiling throws light on the party atmosphere – and occasionally the odd celebrity or two. Remember, it’s ostensibly a members club, so if you definitely want to get in, grab a member, or get yourself on the guest list.

While it does have booths – and wonderfully hunky hosts and waiters this isn’t the place for a quiet drink or an intimate rendez-vous. It’s a place to bring friends, meet friends, down some serious cocktails, kick back and have glamourous fun. The Shadow Lounge – one of the best gay bars in London.

The Shadow Lounge 
Brewer Street,
London,
W1F 0RF

www.theshadowlounge.co.uk

Tags: bar review, bar reviews, bars in london, Bars in W1, best bars central london, Best Bars London, best gay bar, best gay bars london, gay bars, london bars, The Shadow lounge

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