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Fickle taste buds often lead me to bars and restaurants across London in search of the latest cocktail haunt I’ve heard of. Supping on a splurge of too sweet, too salty or just too bland cocktails to find one that is sensational can become a little monotonous. Rest assured significant effort has gone into ensuring this month’s cocktail roundup at Vada only includes sensational cocktails so you – our fabulous readers – only enjoy the very best. Here are Vada’s top 3 recommendations of where to drink this month.
The Jam Tree (Clapham)
An enhancement on it’s sister venue in Chelsea, The Jam Tree in Clapham offers a much more outdoors-indoors feel. With floor to ceiling folding doors the full width of the venue, it is an ideal place to sip a cool drink on a summer’s day and watch the world go by. Equally the walled garden, hidden behind a giant bookcase offers an oasis of calm moments from the congestion of Clapham high street. We recommend the Tea Thyme Martini (a twist on a classic gin martini with marmalade and a sprig of thyme) or the Ménage-à-trois (boasting summer flavours of elderflower, mint and strawberries topped up with prosecco).
Location: 13-19 Old Town, Clapham, London, SW4 0JT
Heist Bank
Heist Bank is the latest addition to the Paddington Basin, a cool 6,000 sq. ft. all-day hangout with an Art Deco foosball table, a custom-built pool table, and specifically commissioned art for the space giving the venue a communal and understated chic feel. Heist Bank offers 12 local brew beers on draft, freshly made pizzas, but what impressed us was the range of gins – by no means as many as Holborn Dining Room but sufficient to quash any gin FOMO (fear of missing out).
As well as the gin & tonic options (including Southside Fizz made from mint infused gin with lemon), stand-out cocktails include Brambles, Floral 75 and a Delicious Sour.
If you’re flying into London via Heathrow and taking the Heathrow Express, this venue is conveniently located only a couple of minute’s walk from Padding Station.
Location: 5 North Wharf Road, Paddington, London, W2 1LA
K Bar
Since its reopening earlier this year, K Bar of The Kensington has set itself apart from other bars in the area, with its oak-panelled interior and leather upholstery cultivating an old-world gentleman’s library interior. The contemporary cocktails (all £10) are the complete antithesis yet an untainted complement to this old world interior. A Final Letter (crafted from No. 3 gin, green Chartreuse, St. Germain Elderflower and lime juice) and Rhub Awakening (made using Plymouth gin, rhubarbe liqueur, Aperol, lemon, pink peppercorn and star anise) both provide the adult hit of sour sophistication that K Bar is looking to reproduce.
Only three minutes’ walk from South Kensington tube, this bar should be as much a hit with locals as with the hotel’s tourist clientele.
Location: 109-113 Queen’s Gate, London, SW7 5LR.
