The best bars in East London

Nightjar

Vibe: Sophisticated speakeasy

Price: £££

There’s an unassuming door among the takeaways and cafes around Old Street station, upon which is mounted golden plaque engraved with a bird. This is the entrance to Nightjar: one of the first speakeasy-style establishments in the city that opened before the trend snowballed. The basement joint is often referenced as one of the world’s best bars because the creations here are next level. One of the Nightjar signature cocktails is Beyond the Sea – gin mare, oyster leaf infusion, fino sherry, fresh squeezed grapefruit, pomelo and yuzu bitters and seaweed air, served in a shell. There’s also an absinthe collection and a vintage spirit collection available on request.

Booking recommended

The Well & Bucket

Vibe: Craft beer and oysters

Price: £

The Stick of Rock at 143 Bethnal Green Road was one of the oldest pubs in East London, until its closure in the early 1990s. Luckily, in 2013 it opened as the Well & Bucket – a new pub but one that retained as many of the original features as possible, including glazed tiles that were discovered during the refurbishment. It’s now one of the most popular watering holes in the area, offering an array of craft beers, oysters and sliders. There’s also a secret, candlelit cocktail bar downstairs called 5cc to escape to later in the evening.

Three Sheets

Vibe: Pared-back cocktails

Price: ££

We’re spoilt for choice when it comes to trendy drinking spots on Kingsland Road in Dalston, but one of the buzziest of the last couple of years has to be Three Sheets. The tiny cafe bar has no particular theme, and it doesn’t need one because it’s the cocktails that truly shine. The menu is seasonal and rotates weekly – check Instagram for the latest concoctions. If they don’t tickle your fancy though, then they can whip you up a French 75 or a Cosmo, both of which photograph perfectly on one of the white marble table tops.

The Ten Bells

Vibe: Historic pub

Price: £

The Ten Bells has been a stalwart in Spitalfields since 1725, in some form or another. The Grade II-listed building had a brief spell as a themed bar called Jack the Ripper, but it was changed back to its original name in the 1980s. The interior still features an original mural and tile work, and it is supposedly where many of Jack the Ripper’s victims drank. It’s said to be still haunted today, but that hasn’t put off the many punters who frequent it. The menu serves all the pub classics, plus it has a dedicated seasonal gin and tonic section.

Happiness Forgets

Vibe: Award-winning Hoxton hideaway

Price: ££

The Happiness Forgets tagline is ‘high end cocktails, low rent basement’ and the Hoxton Square gem was one of the first establishments to introduce such a concept. Now, there are a number of places attempting the same sort of vibe yet it seems that Happiness Forgets will never be overshadowed, despite it being on the scene for eight years – it just won Best International Cocktail Bar at Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards. The Jerezana cocktail is a must-try – Manzanilla and Amontillado sherries, sweet and dry vermouths, vanilla syrup, and orange bitters – and its lower alcohol content means that the delicious taste can last longer.

Email reservations@happinessforgets.com to book

Kansas Smitty's

Vibe: Just jazz

Price: £

Kansas Smitty is a band and a bar: the jazz octet opened a basement venue in 2015 beneath Off Broadway on Broadway Market. A cosy space (especially after all eight musicians pile in), it is kept simple and stripped back, and feels like a jazz bar should. Even the menu is moulded around the music: all the drinks are either steeped or stirred so that the sound of a cocktail shaker doesn’t disturb the mood. Goodnight Heartache from the house list (Hayman’s Old Tom Gin, dry vermouth, jasmine pearl, grapefruit, kaffir lime leaf, creole and teapot bitters), is the ideal companion. Enjoy the live music and leave all your worries upstairs.

Booking available online

Sager & Wilde

Vibe: Great for a date

Price: £

Cocktails not cutting it? Sager & Wilde on Hackney Road is the place to go when you just need a quality glass of wine. The decor is simple but classy, featuring dark wood and exposed brick; it feels more like a quiet corner of Italy than Bethnal Green. The space fills with daylight during the day before gorgeous low-lit lamps transform it into an intimate hideaway in the evening. The corner bar offers wines by the glass or the bottle, and the line-up changes every day according to ‘what new and crazy stuff we are into and what old cellars we raid’ – the website claims. And if you needed convincing any further, they serve cheese toasties, too.