London's best American bars
Yeeee-haaaa!
Think American Bars, think cowboy hats; think Margaritas; think Bud; think college girls dancing on bars in Daisy Dukes, pouring tequila over themselves before taking on the mechanical bull...
Ahem...
OK, so that's a very specific image of an American bar. A bloody good one though.
There's something comforting about the neon brashness of Americana, the self-assurance, the music, the style and the humongous food portion sizes.
If you're feeling like you need to put a bit of a spring in your step then we urge you to head for an American bar, we list London's best below... one of them's even got a mechanical bull.
Located in Fulham, the Low Country Bar and Eating Room is all about the southern states of the USA. That means plenty of pulled pork, crayfish, corn and bourbon. And that’s a combination we can handle.
Dive meets speakeasy meets rock ‘n’ roll bar, Aces and Eights is a little bit of Southern charm in Tuffnell Park. Live rock fills the basement, blues can be found frequently and there is a happy hour that runs every night from Monday to Friday.
It is located on Seymour Street (Seymour Skinner, anyone?), it has a head chef from Mississippi and a stripped back aesthetic chic ripped from so many NYC bars; this place couldn’t get more American. Shrimp and grits washed down with Mezcal and Lone Star beer is a pleasure here.
If there’s a dive bar in London that can out dive any Lower East Side dive then it’s Slim Jim’s Liquor Store. There is the grimy look of the place; the bras hanging from the ceiling, the classic rock and the way the people booze hard here.
The O2
Peninsula Square
London SE10 0DX
Brooklyn Bowl located in the 02 complex is as much a live music and clubbing destination, as it is a place to go bowl. Its modern Americana inspired space is an appealing place to see bands not quite big enough for the 02 next door but big enough to get you all the way out to Greenwich.
Don’t be fooled by the lack of space that Duke’s gives over to drinkers, this Haggerston rib joint can get lively when it wants. The onsite brewery provides the bar with fresh craft beer to go with exotic American ales from all over the US.
When praise is lavished on The Lexington it is usually on the first floor live venue thanks to the consistent quality of its music. However, the ground floor American themed bourbon bar isn’t too shabby itself. Along with a Manhattan lounge theme, the bar serves up a long list of American beers and has one of the best bourbon menus in town.
Americans don’t just eat ribs and drink in-your-face hoppy craft beers, and The American Bar at The Savoy can prove it. If the hotel’s Beaufort Bar is intimate and unassumingly opulent then The American Bar is the opposite. Extravagant, smart, over the top and ever so slightly garish, it is a great place for a refined cocktail with a twang of Americana.
A modern mix of contemporary art, street culture and Americana, Far Rockaway gives you the surf style of Rockaway Beach without having to leave Shoreditch. Open late till 2am from Monday to Saturday, the diner style venue turns party bar in the evenings and employs regular DJs.
