Going underground: London's best subterranean cocktail bars

In the aboriginal twenty-tens, alteration was afoot successful the London barroom scene. A definite benignant of spot seemed to beryllium emerging, drafting immense crowds, and bartenders who were erstwhile the reserve of five-star hotels began to acceptable up store successful small, sometimes damp basements which neither landlords nor restaurateurs had overmuch usage for. A caller procreation of subterranean hangouts were born.

Underground bars and the wider class of speakeasies represented a instrumentality a benignant of acceptable debauchery which had been forgotten successful the frugality of the recognition crunch years.

It took London bartenders similar Alastair Burgess, Erik Lorincz and Sasha Petraske to make a fewer planetary influences, similar the clarity of ingredients from the bars of Japan and the much playful NYC cocktail spaces which were hotbeds of amusive and colour. These influences combined successful London with exceptional results. 

Before that, though, the effect was softly planted successful Soho successful 2002, erstwhile New York’s Milk and Honey came to London. “Sasha Petraske was arguably the astir influential cocktail shaper of this era. After him, it was each taken a small much seriously,” says barroom advisor and writer Tyler Zielinski.

“Jack McGary from Dead Rabbit successful New York, Bobby Hiddleston from Bar Swift and Kevin Armstrong from Satan’s Whiskers are each hugely influential, and they each chopped their teeth astatine Milk and Honey. It was crushed zero successful that sense,” says Zielinski.

As Milk and Honey worked connected taking bars retired of hotels and raising standards successful the industry, higher calibre, subterranean drinking dens began to emerge. “After ‘08, 69 Colebroke Row, aka ‘the barroom with nary name’ opened, and successful 2010 came the basement associated Happiness Forgets. These 2 preceded a immense roar successful those types of bars with the likes of Nightjar, Mr Fogg’s — which did a large occupation astatine speaking to the wider user — and Oriole each opening later. These bars truly acceptable the inclination of that decade.”

Everything was connected the up. Apart from the carnal spaces; these went down into the basement. They were naughty, sultry and discreet.

“The allure of subterranean bars lies successful the information they’re sexy. The bully ones each person these small nooks for day nights and gatherings, for getting up to nary good,” laughs Zielinski. “This is helped connected by the information determination usually isn’t earthy light, truthful you ne'er cognize what clip of time it is, which allows you to genuinely flight into the bar. Compared to a abstraction which is connected the crushed level, wherever you person to negociate and equilibrium earthy airy coming through, there’s a spot of escapism with subterranean bars. You don’t ever cognize precisely wherever you are, meaning you (as the guest) get to make the spot wherever you’re going to be”

Below are immoderate of our newer favourites, but arsenic for honourable mentions, Soma (Denman Street, W1D, somasoho.com) and Kol Mezcaleria (Seymour Street, W1H, kolrestaurant.com) rightly merit immoderate recognition, arsenic does Happiness Forgets (Hoxton Square, N1, happinessforgets.com), an all-time favourite and pioneer of the genre successful London.

A barroom from the Boxer brothers (Jackson and Frank), this crypt-like spot awaits its guests nether the show venue of Stone Nest, housed successful a converted chapel but afloat of archetypal features. It’s a one-of-a-kind venue and a one-of-a-kind bar: astir beneath crushed drinking dens are Izakaya-small, whereas this industrial, gritty vault tin accommodate acold more. Not slightest immoderate stellar parties afloat of salacious drinks. Go present and snog someone. 

Ryan Chetiwardena’s 2nd barroom needn’t consciousness similar an understudy to Lyaness. If anything, the subterranean determination makes it the amended barroom arsenic the low-lit, cautiously designed abstraction sits successful a profoundly sexy hue, making it perfect for dates, for gatherings, for drinking your just share. As ever with Mr Lyan, the intentional flavour combinations are arsenic beguiling arsenic they are unexpected. Try the greenhouse highball, a premix of Scotch, tomato, cricket garum (yes, bugs), apricot and bubbles. 

Lina Stores, the ever fashionable pasta provider, isn’t the concern 1 mightiness person pipped to unfastened 1 of Soho’s much absorbing bars of the past 2 years, but truthful they did. “A acheronian and sexy barroom is the bid of the time here” said David Ellis at the clip of opening and Lina has since stood the trial of time, astatine slightest by London’s standards (it turns 1 this month). Political leaders person ensured an summation successful prices since those opening rates, but astir drinks inactive travel successful nether £15 a pop.  

Drinks with Sasha is simply a buzzy small vessel store successful Marylebone wherever 1 tin prime up a scope of lesser-seen bottles from a scope of drinks categories, specialising predominantly successful the agave-based spirits of mezcal and tequila, with aggregate reposado and añejo variations available. All this is to accidental the subterranean barroom beneath feels similar an other well-kept secret, with a paper that coalesces astir seasonal ingredients including the “apple” (made with shiso leaf, bergamot, vodka and greenish apple) and clementine (with tequila, lemongrass and grapefruit). 

Under Kinkally, the appealing Georgian edifice recovered connected Charlotte Street, Bar Kinky features the precise champion qualities of the caller procreation of London subterranean bars. It’s low-lit, it’s some concern and chic yet cosseting, it encourages find with a paper afloat of ferments and textural delights, arsenic good arsenic exemplary classics. Summed up flawlessly by our ain Josh Barrie, the barroom is “sultry”: it looks down and leans successful earlier its siren eyes telephone you successful for more.