The best new bars in London: 2022 edition

The Wealthy Beggar, Kensal Rise

While its name might sound offensive at a glance, its paradoxical pitching as a five-star dive bar affords The Wealthy Beggar its brash billing. The day-to-night venue is the latest opening from restaurateur Zac Lichman, chef Gareth Drew and Emily in Paris actor (yes, really) Lucien Laviscount – the trio who previously collaborated on bar-cum-eatery The Shop – and here they’re joined by bar manager Jack Owen, with film director Don Letts stepping in to oversee events.

Cocktail highlights include the light and sweet Velvet Hand (fresh pomegranate cordial, sparkling wine and apple-infused brandy). Live music and DJ sets have also been promised.

Stereo, Covent Garden

Stereo is the latest initiative from luxe hospitality brand Experimental Group, and it's taken over the bowels of Covent Garden Market. Straddling the concepts of ‘classy’ and ‘raucous’, the restaurant-cum-bar-cum-club has capacity for 500, and is a space to tuck into an all-American menu designed by consulting chef-restaurateur Andrew Clarke (Acme Fire Cult, Brunswick House and St Leonards), before heading onto the dance floor and boogying to tunes mixed by the residence DJ. Don't fancy a full session? Pop in for a cocktail before heading on elsewhere.

Alma, Soho

The team behind Argentinian restaurant Sucre have burrowed into the basement of their Soho site to launch Alma, a cocktail bar specialising in concoctions muddled with little known ingredients from around the world – Yemeni Myrrh to Ming River Baijiu included. Former Nightjar mixologist Tony Pescato is in charge of the menu.

Avora, Hoxton

Who likes a novelty bar? You? Well you're in luck, because Inventive Productions, the minds behind Wild West-inspired Moonshine Saloon and prison-set Alcotraz have been in the drawing room again, this time coming out with magic-meets-morality bar Avora.

Zip up into a jumpsuit before heading into the magical forest of Avora to meet the local inhabitants (Avorians, played by live actors) and foraging for ingredients, including the mysterious Liquor Lilly. You must then decide whether to join an underground resistance to protect the kingdom or mine its beauty for financial gain. Regardless of which you choose, you can sleep easy afterwards knowing this immersive experience is entirely carbon neutral.

Avora costs £40 a head and includes three cocktails.

All My Friends, Hackney Wick

While you're unlikely to find all your friends here if you're over the age of 30, this split-level Hackney haunt is the place to be on a Friday or Saturday night if you want to feel like a Hot Young Thing. They've got the natural wine flowing, some interesting beers on tap and a funky cocktail list that includes a shot of mezcal followed by a chaser of coriander-heavy salsa. A boogie on the dance floor, which doubles up as a record shop, is a must.

Common Decency at the NoMad Hotel, Covent Garden

Launched in September by some of the most prestigious names in the business and priding itself on its menu of 'forward-thinking, avant-garde' cocktails, Common Decency below Covent Garden's gorgeous NoMad Hotel is a place to sip something experimental in a setting steeped in grandeur. Cocktails can be paired with a menu of lavish bar snacks from executive chef Ashley Abodeely.

The Den, Soho

It was once the site of the infamous Marquee Club – which in its heyday hosted the A to Z of musical greats, including The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and David Bowie – now the basement beneath 100 Wardour Street has been refurbished and reopened as a piano bar and speakeasy. Paying homage to its musical heritage, The Den invites esteemed pianists to entertain guests from Thursday to Saturday, taking requests from those who like to put their mark on the playlist. The cocktail list, like the artworks lining the walls of this dimly-lit space, celebrate musical legends of the past. You'll see us on a stool closest to the piano, sipping on a tequila-based Purple Haze.

Humble Grape, Crouch End

New vines are growing under the Humble Grape brand. The sixth branch of the neighbourhood wine bar is opening in Crouch End this side of Christmas, boasting a 12-seater, bookable cellar room and al fresco terrace, ideal for lazy summer afternoons. The wine list hopes to showcase independent producers, in particular those involved with biodynamic, organic production – look out for tastings and masterclasses to clue up on what you're drinking. Food wise, there's a full range of seasonal dishes, from small plates through to Sunday roasts.

The Umbrella Project, Shoreditch

From the team behind acclaimed cocktail bars Discount Suit Company and The Sun Tavern comes another darling of the mixology world, this one draped in dried flowers, its walls smothered with intriguing bottles of spirits – including prize whiskies. Brewed out of lockdown, The Umbrella Project is the first bricks-and-mortar site of Umbrella Workshop, the group's online store through which it sold bottled cocktails, natural wines and independent spirits, allowing them to stay afloat behind closed doors.

Its location down a cobbled lane and behind an unassuming door adds to the charm of The Umbrella Project (keep your eyes peeled for the trademark umbrella printed on the wall), but its intimate size (just 12 seats!) means you'd be wise to reserve your table or bar stool in advance.

The Act, Notting Hill

With its plush pink seats and jungly pictures masking a more standard pub setting, The Act in Notting Hill won't suit everyone's preferred aesthetic, but for a good-time bar that caters for big groups, offers live entertainment and serves a decent range of its own original cocktails, it's a safe bet.

Funkidory, Peckham

Don't be fooled by its corny-sounding name, this Peckham hub for cocktails, natural wine and records is oozing with cool. It's the love-child of Sergio and Anna, a local couple with roots in the hospitality sector, who know a thing or two about creating the sort of ambience that'll keep you glued to your (comfortably backed) bar stool. If the name sounds familiar, you may have visited the bar in its pre-pandemic guise, but the vinyls and vinos are new and now integral to the bar's identity, so go and enjoy a lovingly made drink with a side of funk, hip-hop or soul.

The Little Scarlet Door, Soho

It began with a Little Yellow Door in Notting Hill, then a Little Blue Door in Fulham, followed by a Little Orange Door in Clapham, and now the team behind the lauded chain of hidden cocktail bars are bringing their house party vibes to Zone One, with the opening of The Little Scarlet Door in Soho. At the Greek Street address, you can throw some moves on the dance floor, have a drunken catch-up in the kitchen or cosy up in a hidden corner, just like at a regular house party, only this one promises live DJs and expertly shaken tipples.

The Thin White Duke, Soho

A bar named after one of the late music icon David Bowie's alter egos could go one of two ways, especially when it claims to specialise in cicchetti (Venetian tapas), coffee and cocktails. But while the premise of The Thin White Duke might sound a bit all over the place, its three Cs share more than their first letter in common, because everything edible and drinkable here happens to be very good. Hunker down in the Japan-inspired Kyoto Room or church-style Seminary and take a punt on one of Dav Eames' punchy cocktails, or wake yourself up with a brew from Girls Who Grind, and linger over a plate of Italian goodness.

Nightjar Carnaby, Soho

While the trend for prohibition-era cocktail bars in London has largely faded, still flying the flag (well, luring drinkers through unmarked doorways) are a few dab hands, including Old Street favourite Nightjar, which has recently launched a second site in Soho. Here you'll find a similar aesthetic with low lighting, vintage furnishings, late-night music and old-world elegance. It's a nod to the roaring 20s, of course, and while you can certainly sip on a classic concoction from the era too, a trip to Nightjar would be wasted without sampling one of the bar's innovative signatures, like the London Mule (a muddle of Tanqueray gin, King’s Ginger, lime juice, apple & rhubarb juice, Nightjar galangal beer, bee pollen syrup and bitters).

Caia, Notting Hill

Golborne Road gets a new neighbourhood wine bar this spring that's truly run by locals: founders Rishabh Vir and Tim Lang live near by, and together they’re hoping to make their 60-cover bar, restaurant and music venue a pillar of the community. Caia, which takes its name from the Roman goddess of fire, boasts a chef’s table which allows 10 guests to watch the open-fire cooking in action. Elsewhere, a 12-cover wine room showcases a floor-to-ceiling display of bottles, and a basement featuring a Kuzma R record player and Auditorium R-25 A speakers hopes to keep guests dancing to everything from rare jazz to tropical house until the early hours. Look out for special events with guest speakers and acoustic live sessions.

The Lucky Club, Camden

Behold: a brand-new rooftop bar in Camden. The sister site to The Lucky Club in Mayfair, this dishevelled younger sibling has big boots to fill, popping up on the site of former legendary nightclub Proud. While the Mayfair original is known for its Asian small plates and lengthy martini menu, visitors to the Camden branch will be transported to Mexico via a menu of tacos, tostadas and seven different margaritas. An opening date of Friday 13 May might sound ill-fated, but that was also World Cocktail Day, which surely had to be a good omen, right?

Seed Library at One Hundred Shoreditch

Ryan Chetiyawardana, aka Mr Lyan, aka one of the best barmen in the world, kept a relatively low profile during the pandemic, but big exciting things have been building in the background. The cocktail connoisseur behind South Bank bar Lyaness (formerly the World’s Best Bar of 2018, Dandelyan) is launching a new bar, Seed Library, at chic new hotel One Hundred Shoreditch.

Visitors have been told to expect a relaxed bar with a ‘lo-fi, analogue approach to bartending’, where a regularly changing cocktail menu runs alongside a low-intervention wine list and short selection of seasonal snacks. Happily, walk-ins are very much encouraged.

Vinoteca Borough, London Bridge

Wine bar mini-chain Vinoteca opens its sixth branch in the shiny, new Borough Yards complex, which is slowly transforming the area next to Borough Market into a polished shopping and design destination akin to Coal Drops Yard. While the primary focus here is on a generous wine list championing small producers – with over 200 bottles and 25 varieties by the glass – Vinoteca is also a restaurant, with the Borough branch planning to champion local ingredients sourced from the famous food market next door.

Common Counter, Shoreditch

Brick Lane gets a community-focused, LGBTQ+-driven bar and events space by way of Common Counter. A bar menu designed by mixologist Oliver Thomlinson (pictured) promises a celebration of queer history, with a rotation of just six cocktails at a time, each connected to a story about an important figure from the community.

The inaugural menu includes the punchy-sounding Dance of the Forty One: a heady mix of mezcal, sweet vermouth, nitro cold brew, xocolatl syrup and mole bitters. The cocktail takes its name from 1901’s condemnable police raid in Mexico City, where 42 men were arrested for frolicking together while wearing ballgowns.

La Goccia cocktail bar, Covent Garden

Petersham Nurseries’ Covent Garden restaurant La Goccia has launched a hidden cocktail bar, ideal for post-work or pre-theatre sipping. Surrounded by fiery reds, blushing pinks and elegant stems of dried flowers, sip on punchy, botanical-led cocktails like the meticulously blended Smoked Orange (a mezcal-based muddle with notes of Aperol and amaro), or a crisp glass of Petersham’s signature Villa Marcello prosecco. The nibbles are just as good and offer the chance to tuck into La Goccia’s Signature Chicken and Sage and Anchovies without having to commit to a full sit-down meal. That said, with cocktails flowing and plates arriving, you may find yourself cancelling plans to linger longer.

Holy Bar at Holy Carrot restaurant, Knightsbridge

One for the crystal crowd: upmarket vegan restaurant Holy Carrot has launched a liquid offshoot, Holy Bar, adjacent to the dining room. Taking inspiration from a smörgåsbord of real and fictional wacky characters – Salvador Dali, Peter Pan and Lewis Carroll among them – Holy Bar offers crystal therapy and tarot readings as well as the chance to sip by candlelight.

The drinks served are all in keeping with the restaurant’s ethical, sustainable, plant-based ethos: some come lined with Piper-Heidsieck Champagne, and others are heavy on the shrubs and botanicals. Each cocktail has been designed to represent a tarot archetype, but peer closely at the ingredients and you’ll spot the essence of some familiar favourites. The Magician, for example, sounds like a mysterious cousin of the ‘dark and stormy’ with its muddle of dark and white rum, ginger liqueur, Fernet Branca Menta, lime juice and homemade carob soda.