Nolita Social Review: A New York Neighbourhood, Imported to Chelsea | Nolita means ‘North of Little Italy’ – a New York district invented by estate agents. Now it names a Chelsea bar.
Oscar Bar Review: Wilde’s Ghost Over a Fitzrovia Cocktail | A 4.3 bar named, one assumes, after Oscar Wilde – the wittiest man in London, destroyed by the city that adored him
Smith and Whistle Review: A Made-Up Name That Sounds Like an Old Firm | Smith and Whistle sounds like a venerable Victorian partnership. It is a modern invention, and a clever one.
Punch Room Review: The Punch Bowl Was Communal and the Cocktail Unbundled It | One enormous bowl in the middle of the table, and then somebody worked out how to sell it in forty small glasses
Purgatory Bar Review: The Waiting Room Between Heaven and Hell | Purgatory is where souls are cleansed before heaven. A bar named after it has a 4.8, which is closer to paradise than the name suggests
Kiss Review: A Bar Named After the Simplest Intimacy | A 4.0 cocktail bar named Kiss, reaching for romance, glamour, and the most universal gesture of affection
Bar at Sloane Review: The Man Whose Name Is Everywhere Here | Sir Hans Sloane’s collection founded the British Museum, and his name is on the square, the street, the ranger, and this bar
The Soak Review: A Name That Cheerfully Admits What It Is | A ‘soak’ is old slang for a heavy drinker. Naming a bar The Soak is a rare and refreshing act of honesty.
ESQ Bar Review: An Abbreviation Nobody Uses Anymore | Esq. once followed the name of every gentleman. Now it survives mainly on junk mail and, apparently, a Chelsea bar.
Muse Lounge Review: The Goddesses of Inspiration, One More Time | The Muses were nine goddesses who inspired all art and knowledge. Their name now sells bars, and it always will.
Botanist Review: Named After the Chelsea Physic Garden Next Door | Chelsea has grown medicinal plants since 1673. The Botanist borrows the name and the neighbourhood’s four centuries of horticulture.
Amaro Bar Review: The Bitter Italian Art of the Digestivo | Amaro means ‘bitter’ in Italian – a whole family of herbal liqueurs made to close a meal and settle the stomach
Woolf and Whistle Review: A Pun on Virginia, in Her Own District | A hotel bar named with a groan-worthy Virginia Woolf pun, in the one district where she actually lived and wrote
Lockes Review: A Name That Locks, or a Philosopher, or a Hairstyle | A 4.7 bar whose name could mean a lock, the philosopher John Locke, or a lock of hair – and commits to none of them
Crystal Bar Review: Four Reviews and a Word Full of Glamour | Crystal means clarity, light and luxury – from cut glass to champagne to the palace that gave a suburb its name
Ellen Bar Review: A Human Name in a Sea of Grandeur | Just a name – Ellen – simple, warm and personal, in a survey full of kings, gods and aristocrats
Be At One Review: A Cocktail Chain With a Zen Pun for a Name | A 4.3 cocktail bar named Be At One, punning on being ‘at one’ – in harmony – and, perhaps, being there at closing time
London Cocktail Bars: Hidden Doors And Bold Prices | London cocktail bars have perfected the secret entrance, sending patrons through unmarked doors and fridges to a perfect drink and a dramatic bill.
Naked and Famous Review: The Cocktail Named for a Modern Classic | The Naked and Famous is one of the great modern cocktails – a perfectly balanced mezcal sour born in a New York bar
Jin Bar Review: The Spirit, the Spirit-Creature, and the Korean Word | Jin might be a play on gin, the Arabic ‘jinn’ genie, or a Korean word – a short name rich with possible meanings
