Bar

• Frank and Jackson Boxer launch Below Stone Nest, a dive bar on Shaftesbury Avenue

  

  This is a turn up for the books. You don't normally think of Shaftesbury Avenue when you're looking for a cool place to drink in the West End. But a new dive bar being opened by the Boxer brothers, Frank and Jackson, sounds like it'll be the hottest place to be this autumn.

  Below Stone Nest sees the brothers behind Brunswick House, Orasay and Frank's Cafe in Peckham, take on the bar space

  ...
• Pall Mall gets a new underground champagne bar from Searcys

  

  It's been a movie set for films like The Dark Knight, Gandhi and upcoming release Infinite, now 116 Pall Mall has thrown open its doors to the public with the opening of a new underground bar.

  Called 116 Pall Mall Champagne Bar by Searcys (yes, it's a bit of a mouthful) the new bar, as the name suggests, is going to serve up a lot of fizz including one of the largest selections of magnums in London. There'll be a

  ...
• Figaro's Bar recreates a piece of Provence in Piccadilly's Trocadero

  

  Things are changing at The Trocadero. This giant shopping and entertainment centre has been largely dormant for years, but now a host of new openings there are shaking things up.

• Louche is a new late night bar for Soho, with its eye on Soho's past

  

  A new bar is heading to Soho, taking over the space that used to hold 68 & Boston on Greek Street. From the same people behind the Records bars (Venn St, Northcote and Eastcheap) Louche is looking to be inspired by the Soho of the 1920s and beyond. 

  What does that mean in practice? Lots of wood panelling for a start, but also apparently "hidden peep shows" (it is old school Soho they're

  ...
• The Connaught launches The Red Room, its first new bar in a decade

  

  Optimism seems to be in the air if you consider the number of new bar openings in the Mayfair/Marylebone area. Anywhere that doesn’t require driving to/petrol will certainly hit the spot this week, at least. Hot on the heels of its sister hotel’s new bar, Claridge’s The Painter’s Room Bar, which we recently visited,

  ...
• Claridge's reveal The Painter's Room bar - we went along to check it out

  

  Claridge's has magicked up a brand new - and spectacular-looking - cocktail bar. We went down to take a look at this surprise opening. 

• Neighbourhood Portobello cocktail bar and kitchen lands on Ladbroke Grove

  

  This new West London bar is a colourful conversion from a pub on Ladbroke Grove, to an all singing and dancing fast-service cocktail bar.

• SOMA is the new standalone bar in Soho from Kricket

  

  The people behind Kricket are getting ready to open something new, and quite different from before. This time it's a standalone basement bar in Soho, called SOMA, taking over the building right next door to Kricket Soho (which used to be a club and karaoke bar). 

  SOMA will still carry on the Indian influences that you'll see in Kricket, and more besides with drinks

  ...
• The Night Owl and Someday are two new music led bars coming to Finsbury Park

  

  Updated 4/6/21 with The Night Owl opening date

  It's all happening at Finsbury Park. As part of the station's massive redevelopment, there's plenty to look out for with a large new M&S food store, Picturehouse Cinema and Honest Burgers all coming to the station environs.

  But that's not all. It looks as though this part of N4 is going to get two new bars, both of which

  ...
• Four Quarters arcade bar are opening a huge new place in Elephant & Castle

  

  The original Four Quarters in Peckham Rye was a game-changer - a bar meets gaming arcade. Five years ago they opened their second bar, this time in Stratford, and now they're expanding again.

  Their latest bar will be in the huge new Elephant Park development in Elephant & Castle. It's going to be the group's biggest opening to date with over 30 retro arcade machines, eight vintage console booths and two

  ...
• The next Garden Bar is a huge outside space in Bromley

   

  The Garden Bar has been a big hit in its Elephant & Castle location - so much so that they're getting ready to open a second Garden Bar in Bromley. 

  As with the original, it's all about alfresco dining - but on the very large side. This new Garden Bar will seat 400 on a multi-level terrace - and there will be a rooftop bar too. It'll all open in stages over the coming

  ...
• The best new bars opening in London

  

  London's bars are reopening fully and from mezcalarias to natural wine bars we've got a hot list of drinking establishments you should know about.

• The new Standard Rooftop bar will have amazing views over St Pancras

  

  With alfresco spaces in London being a premium right now, you can count on us to bring you news of any new places opening. And the new roof venue at The Standard hotel in King's Cross sounds (and looks) worth checking out.

  The Standard Rooftop is the hotel's latest space to launch and they say the aim of the 11th-floor bar - just upstairs from their Decimo restaurant - is to bring "the vibe of New York’s

  ...
• Test Driving Nine Lives and Tigre Tacos - a bit of London Bridge bar life at home

  

  Tacos, cocktails, a play list and even incense for the atmosphere - we get Nine Lives bar delivered to our home.

• The Connaught Bar in Mayfair is the World's Best Bar for 2020

  

  This is VERY poor timing. As London spends its first evening in lockdown once again, one of our bars has just been named best in the world.

  The Connaught Bar nabbed the top spot at the hugely competitive The World's 50 Best Bars 2020 which revealed its list today. It was a "deserving winner" said the judges "for the work that is put in and the level of artistry applied to the cocktail craft."

  London was the best

  ...