Award winners | Hotel bars | Spirits & cocktails | Real ale & good beer Historic pubs | Good mixers | Wow factor | Gastropubs
See all winners of the Time Out Eating & Drinking Awards 2008.
Time Out Eating & Drinking Awards 2008: Best Bar
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WINNER
The Loft
Don’t be put off by the unprepossessing location – it may be situated above a
Tesco on Clapham High Street, but The Loft is a bar that’s well worth
seeking out. Kitted out in slouchy leather sofas, moody downlighting
and polished wood, it’s distinguished from the ranks of similar bars by
a rather spectacular picture window which curves round two sides of the
building, affording some lovely views of London at sunset.
And
then there are the drinks. Whether you’re after a martini made to
order, or an esoteric twist on a classic – such as a sazerac made with
apricot-infused whisky, cognac and a whiff of bitter Fernet Branca –
the varied, highly original list of cocktails (costing from £6.80 plus
12.5 per cent service) is full of pithy tasting notes, recommendations
and seasonal specials, making choosing not only easier, but a whole lot
more fun. Beer-lovers aren’t forgotten, with more than 16 bottled
varieties, from crisp Bitburger to creamy Negra Modelo (from £3.50
each), along with a choice of ciders. A great bar that manages to be
passionate about drink without being pretentious or over-priced. Visit
on a week night for sofa lolling alongside thirtysomething media
hipsters, or join a more high-energy crowd for DJ sets at the weekend.
The Loft,
67 Clapham High St, SW4 7TG (020 7627 0792/www.theloft-clapham.co.uk).
Clapham North or Clapham Common tube or Clapham High St rail.
Feature continues
RUNNERS-UP
Amuse Bouche
An
offshoot of the popular Champagne bar in leafy Parsons Green, this Soho
branch of Amuse Bouche continues the philosophy of quality fizz at low
prices. The neutral, contemporary surroundings, not unlike an All Bar
One, make it friendly and casual. Starting with house Champagne Bouché
Père et Fils Brut NV at £5 a glass (plus 12.5 per cent service), the
50-strong list then rises through the ranks of big-name brands through
some great vintages – notably Pol Roger Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill ’96
(£130 a bottle) and Krug ’96 (£200 a bottle) – then heads into the
stratosphere of Cristal magnums (£750). But most commendable is the
effort to include several lesser known houses, several at under £8.50
glass, meaning one can afford to experiment. A choice of Champagne
cocktails (from £5) are also crisp and fruity. Staff are friendly and
keen to help, even if they don’t always know their stuff.
Amuse Bouche, 21-22 Poland St, W1F 8QQ (020 7287 1661). Oxford Circus tube.
Coburg Bar
Luxurious,
elegant and eminently discreet, this bar is everything a good hotel bar
should be. From the criminally comfortable grey velvet wing-backed
chairs and silky black glass tables to the tiny skewer of iced fruit
served on a silver dish alongside each cocktail as a palate cleanser,
every detail has been painstakingly thought out. The Champagne and
still-wine selection is good, if a bit showy, but it’s the cocktails
that make a visit really worthwhile. The knowledgeable staff are also
worth consulting, since the spirits list includes several lesser known
treasures, particularly in the vein of Italian vermouths, bitters and
gins. Prices are inevitably rather stiff, with cocktails starting at
£12 (plus 12.5 per cent service charge), but if you’re after somewhere
for a special occasion, whether it’s a hot date in the evening or a
glass of Champagne with your granny in the afternoon, the Coburg is
just the ticket.
Coburg Bar, The Connaught, Carlos Place, W1K 2AL (020 7499 7070/www.the-connaught.co.uk). Bond St or Green Park tube.
The Establishment
This
stylish bar and restaurant has already become a fixture for the
well-heeled professionals of south-west London. Light and airy, with
some eye-popping ’60s geometric prints on the walls and tan-leather
upholstery, it’s playful but casually sophisticated – an attitude
that’s also reflected in the drinks list. British and seasonal
ingredients are a recurrent theme in a fruity cocktail list (from £7)
that includes a wide choice of gin (and genevers, gin’s Dutch
ancestor), lovage and nettle cordials, apples, mint and even several
types of mead, a traditional English drink fermented from honey. A huge
and widely varied wine list includes 40 or so by the glass, as well as
wine ‘flights’ featuring three 125ml measures of wines (£15) assembled
on different themes. Staffed by lots of smiley young ladies, and with
the bonus of occasional jazz nights, it’s a welcoming pit stop after a
long day at the office.
The Establishment, 45-47 Parsons Green Lane, SW6 4HH (020 7384 2418/www.theestablishment.com). Parsons Green tube.
Westbourne House
Occupying
a grand corner site that used to be a big old boozer, Westbourne House
has swept up the fag ash and stale beer and replaced them with enough
gilt mirrors, fairy lights and twinkly surfaces to keep a flock og
magpies happy. And this is a bar that’s very much about showing off –
the fag-smoking terrace out the front teems with young professionals
wielding Marlboro Lights while people watching, or being watched. The
bar, however, makes a valiant effort to take drinks seriously at all
times, with a lengthy (somewhat long-winded) cocktail list that
includes a section devoted to hardcore martinis. A couple of cosy
mezzanine areas are available for private hire for those who want to
make a real party of it.
Westbourne House, 65 Westbourne Grove, W2 4UJ (020 7229 2233). Bayswater or Royal Oak tube.
See all winners of the Time Out Eating & Drinking Awards 2008.
Award winners | Hotel bars | Spirits & cocktails | Real ale & good beer Historic pubs | Good mixers | Wow factor | Gastropubs
16 comments
honestly, how can anyone say this is the best bar in London???? Clapham has so much more to offer than this, it's located above a tescos for heavens sake!!!!! how can the guys at Time Out get it so wrong- goes to show it's who you know in the drinks business not what you know. Oh well......
Oh well I guess the loft isn't that great then from the reviews here. can someone recommend a good central London or south central london bar then that is spacious, welcoming and could cater for a group of people out on a saturday night. We want atmosphere but not too loud where you can't hear each other talking. Also wher you're not likely to get any hasssle and the drinks not too ridiculously overpriced. I awaityour replies
I have been twice in the Loft before the award. The fact that it is voted as the best bar in London made me sad. Is this really the best bar London can offer?I would count 30 bars back in my hometown in Greece far better than that.
god so many better bars in Clapham and London what are these people thinking !!
I think The Loft is the worst bar I have ever been in. You really have to wonder why TimeOut got it so wrong. What kind of people do they have working for them now. You use to be cool (well just about).
The loft is the WORST bar in Clapham. It is incredible that timout can vote this place the 'best bar' out of the whole of london!!???
I was at the Loft last night and was really impressed - and if the Inferno's crowd aren't there then all the better!!!
tomlovett: Not the point. The shortlist was chosen by the Timeout reviewers. I couldn't have voted for Claridge's Bar as the best bar, for example, or even Tayyabs as the best Indian, because they weren't even on the shortlist! In fact, Tayyabs has still not even been reviewed by Timeout, despite winning Indian restaurant of the Year in the (far superior) London Restaurant Awards. Now that's a list that makes sense.
vote where... was it a short list written in magic pen? Never said it wasn't a nice bar, just not the best. each to there own.
it was put down to vote if thats the way people fell they should of vote.
The Loft Best Bar In London???? it just about makes best bar in Clapham. What about Lost Society, 64th&Social, Grafton House, Peoples Republic.... They can't turn up the music otherwise it upsets the people living upstairs... Great cocktail list but can all the bar men make all the drinks.. This has obviously been judged on who owns it and how much money they have spent rather than asking the people that count... CUSTOMERS... it does have a lift though.
I totally agree with chris o about the loft, 12.5% for bringing a surly, unsmiling,waiter with your overpiced drinks, only bottled beer, pretentious as hell, did T.O.reporter use up all his expenses here, bet he didnt pay out his own pocket !!
Like the often petentious T.O. writers , who say this is for media hipsters, id say more like rich spoilt brats.
Avoid like the plauge !!
The books in the Library bar aren't real at all! Did you look closely?
The Loft on Clapham High Street is pretentious and unwelcoming. Drinks are horribly overpriced and they introduce a Nazi style door policy on weekends. It is a terrible venue. Infernos across the road is better quality.
How much did The Loft pay to get a mention in this mag?
A nice blog.
It's nice to remember the places you have been to and make note of those you want to go to.