“And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?

Come to my arms, my beamish boy!

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!’

He chortled in his joy”

Callooh Callay, named after a phrase from Lewis Carrol’s nonsense poem The Jabberwocky, has been making perfect sense since it opened back in 2008. So much so that it makes it on our list as one of the best cool bars in London.

Perhaps it’s because, while other bars rise and fall with the fickle tide of fashion, Callooh Callay still ploughs its own furrow. Perhaps it’s because quality never goes out of style – and a dedication to doing things right seems to be the first thing on the menu at Calloh Callay.

So, make your way to Shoreditch, find the innocuous entrance on a non-descript sidestreet and enter a world of cocktail make believe.

There are three bars to choose from, one reserved just for groups, one hidden behind a Narnia like wardrobe for a more intimate vibe and the main bar itself. But whichever you find yourself in, you’ll love the innovative, imaginative and inspired cocktails they produce (such as Chai Hard and Pea Ter Rabbit) and enjoy downing them in the superbly surreal surroundings.

A truly frabjous experience awaits you all at Calloo Callay..

Calloo Callay Bar 
65 Rivington Street
London
EC2A 3AY

www.calloohcallaybar.com

Tags: bar reviews, bars in Shoreditch, best bars east london, Best Bars in London, Best Bars London, best cool bars east london, best cool bars London, Calloo Callay Bar, cocktail bar, drinks, london best bars

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Here’s a riddle: which hotel has the best bar in London, but isn’t the best bar in London (although it is one of them)?

The answer: The Bassoon Bar at The Corinthia Hotel.

Here’s why… the actual bar, the one the drinks are expertly mixed behind, is a virtuoso piece of design which stretches elegantly for seven metres until it segues seamlessly into a perfectly proportioned piano.

It is truly stunning… and the bar is pretty good too.

The décor ticks all the right boxes for a top quality hotel bar; art deco influence, low-lit, sophisticated, lavish, seductive and intimate, without being cramped.

The cocktails are delicious, decadent and very dear, every ingredient is carefully selected and sourced – even the ice – and every drink carefully crafted by master mixologists.

And that stunning piano doesn’t sit idle – there’s a regular weekly program of quality jazz musicians, a distinct cut above your standard hotel bar fodder.

It all adds up to a great bar, hotel or not. One in the tradition of the original Metropole Hotel, which occupied the site in the 20s and counted Winston Churchill and Buffalo Bill amongst its guests – as well as securing Mantovani as the resident musician!

Bassoon Bar 
Corinthia Hotel
Whitehall Place, London,
SW1A 2BD

www.corinthia.com/hotels/london/dining-and-bars/bars/bassoon-bar/

Tags: bassoon bar, best bars central london, Best Bars London, best hotel bar, cocktail bar, evening out, hotel bar, london best bars, piano bar, smart bar

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