Hot new London bar openings: February

Swift

Nothing to do with pop sensation Taylor, Swift is the youngest sibling in Rosie and Edmund Weil’s burgeoning, bird-based cocktail empire. A little sister to Nightjar in Old Street and Oriole in Clerkenwell, Swift has big shoes to fill, having taken over what used to be the Lab Bar in Old Compton Street in Soho. The Weils have teamed up with husband and wife team, Bobby Hiddlestone and Mia Johansson of Milk & Honey, Dead Rabbit and Callooh Callay fame.

Split across two floors, Swift boasts a buzzy apéritivo bar at street level and a lounge in the basement. Among the unmissable cocktails is the Sgroppino – a frothy, Prosecco-based drink with lemon sorbet floating on top. Another talking point is the White Water, which blends Great King Street Glasgow Blend whisky, coconut falernum and banana. Snacks include native and rock oysters, steak tartare and Guinness Welsh rarebit.

Untitled

One of London’s most respected mixologists, Tony Conigliaro, is back with a new bar and a new concept: Untitled. Inspired by Andy Warhol’s factory in 1960s New York, the idea behind the bar is to create a contemporary space for creative types to meet and exchange ideas. Conigliaro, who brought us oyster cocktails at 69 Colebrooke Row and apéritivo twists at Bar Termini, has stripped things back for Untitled.

The stark grey space is so minimal, all focus is on the cocktails, which start at just £6.50. With a revolving list of a dozen sips, each aims to recreate what it is inspired by via sight, smell, touch, taste and quirky vessels. Snow, for example, is made clay, chalk and enoki, while Violin blends oak, pine, beeswax, benzoin and black pepper.

The Hive of Vyner Street

Bethnal Green newbie The Hive of Vyner Street serves cold pressed juices by day and natural wines by night. With a focus on healthy living, among the dishes on offer are buckwheat granola, raw mini pizzas and a farmers market piadina with scrambled tofu, rocket, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and tahini. On the wine front, a light is shone on minimum intervention Italian drops like La Ca’ Nova Barbaresco, Furli Manzoni and orange wine Skerlj Vitovska from Friuli. House cocktail The Hive Buddah meanwhile, blends vodka, The Hive nectar, lime, chilli and ginger.

Little Bird

Leafy Chiswick offers the perfect balance of urban buzz and suburban calm, but was, until recently, flagging on the cocktail front. Keen to remedy this, Lorraine Angliss, founder of quirky Chiswick favourite Annie’s, has launched Little Bird, a cosy cocktail bar serving seriously pretty sips and Pan Asian nibbles. The interiors are eccentric, with mismatched furniture, ornate mirrors and abundant foliage giving you the feeling you’re visiting a flamboyant great aunt for tea.

The cocktails however, couldn’t be more serious. We like the sound of the Heather & Honey, which blends Scotch, Grand Marnier, cinnamon, orange, and Scottish heather honey. Also ringing our bell is the So Beautiful, which marries gin, cucumber, toasted sesame seed syrup and shiso. On the food front expect the likes of tuna ceviche, prawn spring rolls, soft shell grab, and oyster mushroom and ginger gyoza.

Brick & Liquor

Tooting is going up in the world with the news of the arrival of friendly neighbourhood cocktail bar Brick & Liquor. Taking its cocktails seriously but having fun with the names, cocktails twist on the classics. A Pisco Sour becomes a Pisco Fever with the addition of basil; a Manhattan pimped with crème de bananes is a Banhattan, while a Side Car Named Desire plays on the classic via Martell VS Cognac, Yellow Chartreuse, lemon juice and homemade pineapple sugar syrup. Using homemade tinctures and syrups where they can, we love the sound of the Salted Caramel Old Fashioned and the Dill or No Dill. The food offering includes rum & coke ribs, pork belly bites, chicken lollipops and cauliflower cous cous.

Nape

Meat mecca Nape in Camberwell is the brainchild of Borough Market meat specialists Cannon & Cannon. A new concept for the capital, Nape is a cured meat bar serving a selection of wines and British meats, including Hackney’s finest fennel salami, Gloucester Old Spot loin and home cured House Nape – pork salami taken from the nape of the neck to the rib. Among the heartier dishes on offer are Port and juniper cured, air-dried mutton with pickled walnuts; duck, pork and Sichuan pepper sausages; and British nduja with London honey on toast. Wines are natural in nature and are served on tap, with suppliers including O.W. Loeb, Les Caves de Pyrène and Indigo.

Exmouth Grind

In need of a coffee fix by day and an Espresso Martini pick me up by night? Then Exmouth Grind has both boxes ticked. The creation of popular East London coffee chain Grind, the 90-seater site in Farringdon’s Exmouth Market is the trendy place to go for your caffeine fix and abundant plates of wild boar benedict with preserved lemon hollandaise and nduja baked eggs with blood sausage, piquillo peppers and whipped feta. Big Lebowski fans can indulge in a decadent twist on The Dude’s favourite drink – a Hot Flat White Russian, made with their in-house espresso blend, vodka, Kahlua and milk. The Espresso Old Fashioned meanwhile, is made with coffee-infused Bourbon.

Bobby Fitzpatrick

London has a new retro rum bar in the form of Bobby Fitzpatrick in West Hampstead. The brainchild of nostalgia specialists ULG, who brought us Chicken Kiev venue Coin Laundry in Exmouth Market, the tongue-in-cheek venue aims to recreate the feeling of being at a ‘70s house party via kitsch décor, patterned brown wallpaper, shag pile carpets, Piña Coladas and playful pizzas. The drinks list goes big on rum cocktails like Mai Tais and Daiquiris, shooters and slushies. Among the snacks on offer are Hawaiian pizzas, deep fried pickles and Red Leicester hamburgers.

Ray’s Bar

New Dalston drinking den Ray’s Bar is hidden beneath pizza restaurant Voodoo Rays. Interiors are Miami Vice chic with a disco twist – think glittering granite worktops, mirrored wall tiles and pink and black zigzag patterns. Music is loud and proud, and the cocktails are designed to replicate a three-course meal. Divided up into apéritifs, mains and desserts, the decadent Labyrinth blends Mezcal, white cacao, vermouth and dark chocolate. You might prefer to start the night with a refreshing Pink Flamingo that muddles Campari, Prosecco, rhubarb and grapefruit. Those in need of real food can order pizzas from the upstairs restaurant.