Cocktails

Hoxton Square has a lovely new(ish) neighbourhood bar pouring classy cocktails and serving up small plates. Here's what to expect...

When the temperature rises in London, one sure way to beat the heat is grabbing a table in one of these bars and ordering up a load of boozy, frozen drinks. 

Opening this month in the old Shep's spot next to Chick 'n' Sours is The Duchess of Dalston. And while new bars are a pound a penny in this part of Dalston, the provenance of this particular bar bodes well.

It's from the team who brought us Callooh Callay and Islington's Little Bat bar. They're going big on locality and community - which means sourcing local ingredients for their drinks and using the

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.

As any long-time readers of Hot Dinners will know, we are rather partial to a good vodka martini. So it's fair to say that when we heard that a charity martini kit involving the World's Best Bar, The Connaught Bar, was launching we were very much interested. Drinking (sensibly of course) and raising

Homeboy, the modern Irish cocktail bar run by Aaron Wall and Ciaran Smith in Islington, is expanding. We've been hearing for a while that they were searching for a second site and now they've settled on Embassy Gardens. If that sounds familiar, it's in the same area where you'll find Darby's, right next to the US Embassy at Nine Elms.

If you're unfamiliar with

National Margarita Day may have been and gone but frankly, every day under lockdown feels a bit like it could benefit from one. We've picked out five particularly good versions of the classic cocktail you can order in from London bars.

What better way to demonstrate love than by making your other half these truffles, dessert and cocktail for Valentine's Day?

The original Golden Gai was a six-seater bar in Angelina in Dalston. This Soho spin-off is a much larger affair but will continue the mix of Italian and Japanese flavours in the food and drink. 

This new seafood spot on Brick Lane features a ground floor restaurant and fish shop as well as a secret cocktail bar.

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

As we plunge into another lockdown, Hawksmoor are on hand again to make things just that little bit better. They've converted some of their best cocktails into bottled and canned versions and you can get them delivered anywhere in the UK. 

Much as Hawksmoor is known for its steaks, the restaurant group is really almost as much about the cocktails too, so this is a

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

Where is it? On Heddon Street, underneath Momo

Who's in charge? Running things here is Eric Lorincz who previously headed up the American Bar at The Savoy which he took to the top slot in the World's Best Bars list.

What's the vibe? Think subtle tropical meets clubby drawing room - so the chairs are studded Chesterfields while the plants and decor are a bit tiki.

Why is it

Expect strong drinks and a bar food menu to match at this Havana style cocktail bar in Canary Wharf from the Caso do Frango team.