Restaurant bars can be so much more than just a place to kill time whilst you wait for your table, they can also be pretty darned good in their own right.
For the best of this genre expect a great atmosphere, plush decor, cocktails and bubbly a-go-go and bar snacks so good you may even want to forfeit dinner.
Take a look at our list of the best restaurant bars in London...
The basement of this popular Venetian restaurant was once a storage unit for meat carcasses. Quick to spot an opportunity, Polpo’s owners decided to turn the tiny space into a bar offering Italian aperitifs like negroni and Aperol spritz.
As well as serving British cocktails from yesteryear, the bar at the Seven Dials branch of Hawksmoorserve the kimchi burger, which has reached cult-like status. If you’re not a fan of the tangy Korean dishtry the lobster roll or the French dip sandwich made with short rib beef and bone marrow gravy for dipping.
With its prime City location moments away from Liverpool Street and its own entrance separate from the restaurant, Anise is a very popular destination for after work drinks. Cocktails are mostly fruity or spiced, and small plates of things like tandoori salmon and chicken vindaloo sliders are on offer too.
The seemingly eternal waiting list for a table at Dabbous means that many traipse downstairs to the bar instead. This is no bad thing, as along with smart cocktails made with Scandinavian spirits, aged bourbon and freshly made syrups, bar snacks like crispy chicken wings with fenugreek and toasted garlic areof a very high standard too.
The cocktail bar attached to Bistrot Bruno Loubet is run by Tony Conigliaro, who is also behind 69 Colebrooke Row aka <a href=”http://www.allinlondon.co.uk/clubs_bars/venue-7995.php”>The Bar With No Name</a>. Ingenious drinks such as the Drie Van Drie with seaweed-infused whisky, liquorice and sherry have made this one of London’s topwatering holes.
Afterhours lounge Ling Ling is simply a section of Hakkasan’s dining area after 10 pm, Thursdays to Saturdays. A smartly dressed crowd turns up to sample the lengthy list of cocktails, sake, wine, champagne and spirits, plus there arelight bites including dim sum and Peking duck.
If in terms of pisco you’ve only ever tried a pisco sour, you might want to check out Ceviche’s bar, which is dedicated to the Peruvian national drink. New cocktails frequently appear on the menu, and they even make their own pisco infusions with fruits and herbs.
A must for lovers of bubbly, whether you want to splurge £500 on 1981 Taittinger or a couple of glasses of Jacques Picard Brut will suffice. With over a hundred varieties Texture has one of the widest selections of champagne in the capital.