London
Mayfair, martinis and afternoon tea. 48 places, chosen and checked for 2026.
London is the gentleman's capital. St James's still has its cigar merchants and shirtmakers, Mayfair its grand hotels and bars, and the heathland courses of Surrey are an hour away.
Claridge's
Mayfair's most famous address, beloved of royalty and celebrated for its Art Deco interiors. Afternoon tea in the Foyer and a drink in the Fumoir are London rites of passage.
The Savoy
Opened by Richard D'Oyly Carte in 1889 on the Thames, the Savoy was among the first hotels in Britain lit throughout by electricity. Its American Bar is one of the oldest surviving cocktail bars in London.
The Connaught
A discreet Mayfair institution with one of the world's most celebrated bars and Hélène Darroze's three-star restaurant under the same roof.
The Ritz London
Opened in 1906 overlooking Green Park. Afternoon tea in the Palm Court is an institution, and the restaurant still asks gentlemen to wear a jacket and tie.
The Dorchester
Park Lane's great hotel since 1931, looking over Hyde Park, and home to Alain Ducasse's three-star restaurant.
Raffles London at The OWO
The Old War Office on Whitehall, where Churchill worked, opened as a Raffles hotel in 2023.
Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester
Alain Ducasse's London table inside The Dorchester on Park Lane. Refined French cuisine and polished service; ask for the Table Lumière, a private table enclosed by a curtain of fibre-optic light.
Hélène Darroze at The Connaught
Hélène Darroze's restaurant in the oak-panelled dining room of The Connaught, with menus that change with the seasons and the producers she works with. The Connaught Bar next door is the classic place for a martini beforehand.
CORE by Clare Smyth
Clare Smyth's restaurant on Kensington Park Road celebrates British produce with warmth and precision. Less formal in feel than the Mayfair hotel dining rooms, and just as hard to book.
Restaurant Gordon Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay's flagship on Royal Hospital Road, which has held three stars for more than two decades. An intimate room and classical French-led cooking.
The Ledbury
Brett Graham's Notting Hill restaurant, known for game, produce from its own farm and a relaxed but exacting style.
The Ritz Restaurant
Perhaps the most beautiful dining room in London: gilded, mirrored and overlooking Green Park. Classic cooking with table-side service, and a strict jacket-and-tie dress code.
Connaught Bar
Perhaps the most celebrated hotel bar in the world, famous for its martini trolley. Ranked 8th in The 50 Best Bars 2026, its 17th appearance on the list, more than any other bar.
American Bar at The Savoy
One of London's oldest cocktail bars, where Harry Craddock wrote The Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930. Live piano most evenings.
Dukes Bar
A small St James's bar famous for its martinis, mixed at the table from a trolley. Ian Fleming was a regular.
Scarfes Bar
A clubby bar at the Rosewood London with caricatures by Gerald Scarfe on the walls and live music at night. Ranked 77th in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
Satan's Whiskers
A dive bar from the outside and one of London's best cocktail bars within, with taxidermy, hip hop and a menu that changes often. Ranked 29th in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
Waltz
A hushed, seated bar opened in 2025, whose drinks follow Japan's 72 micro-seasons. A new entry at No. 32 in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
Three Sheets Soho
The Venning brothers' Soho bar, open from morning coffee to the last French 75, with a small wine list and food to match. Ranked 73rd in The 50 Best Bars 2026.
The Lansdowne Club
Founded in 1935 in what remains of Lansdowne House, Robert Adam's great 18th-century mansion between Berkeley Square and Curzon Street. Art Deco interiors, a ballroom and terrace, a historic fencing salle and an Art Deco swimming pool. It has welcomed women as members since the day it opened.
Annabel's
Mark Birley opened Annabel's in 1963 and named it after his wife. Since 2018 it has filled the whole of 46 Berkeley Square: restaurants and bars, a garden with a retractable roof, a cigar salon and the famous basement nightclub.
5 Hertford Street
Robin Birley's club, opened in 2012 in a warren of Georgian townhouses near Shepherd Market, with Loulou's, its nightclub, below. Discreet, famously hard to join and much loved by those who belong.
Mark's Club
Opened by Mark Birley in 1972, Mark's Club is a quiet dining club in a Mayfair townhouse, furnished in the English country-house manner and redecorated by Tino Zervudachi in 2015.
The Arts Club
Founded in 1863 by Charles Dickens, Anthony Trollope and Lord Leighton for those with an interest in the arts. Today a Dover Street townhouse of restaurants, bars and a nightclub, with members from art, fashion and business.
Home House
A Georgian townhouse built for the Countess of Home and remodelled by Robert Adam in the 1770s, with its imperial staircase, glass dome and painted ceilings preserved. A lively club of bars, restaurants and rooms to stay.
Oswald's
Robin Birley's second club, opened in 2017 and devoted above all to wine and long lunches, with a cellar to match.
Royal Automobile Club
Founded in 1897 and at home since 1911 in a grand Pall Mall clubhouse by Mewès and Davis, the architects of the Ritz, with a marble swimming pool beneath. Its country clubhouse at Woodcote Park in Surrey has two golf courses.
Ten Trinity Square Private Club
A private club inside the former headquarters of the Port of London Authority, created by Reignwood with Château Latour and Four Seasons, and known for its wine.
James J. Fox
London's historic cigar merchant, trading since 1787, with a large walk-in humidor and a smoking room upstairs. A St James's institution.
Davidoff of London
The Davidoff house's London shop, opened in 1980 a few doors from James J. Fox, known for limited editions and expert staff.
Boisdale of Belgravia
A Scottish restaurant and whisky bar with a walk-in humidor and a purpose-built, heated outdoor cigar terrace.
The Wellesley Cigar Terrace
A heated terrace beside Hyde Park Corner, open year-round, with whisky and Cognac pairings.
Tomtom Cigars
A small, informal lounge opened in 1997 that pairs good cigars with good coffee, with a strong range of Nicaraguan and Dominican cigars.
