This glam hotel hideaway has the enviable claim of being the ‘longest-surviving cocktail bar in London’. A veritable Joan Collins of sophisticated bars, the American Bar opened in 1893, and has taken up its current location just off the Savoy’s grand lobby since 1904. The room itself feels like stepping into the pages of the Great Gatsby (but minus the existential dread); all grey and silver, with a grand piano plonked in the middle of the room, and Frank Sinatra’s cigar lighter casually displayed next to Noel Coward’s powder compact. Classic cocktails are available (including the Fernet-Branca-addled Hanky Panky, which was actually created at The Savoy back in 1903), but it would be foolish not to dip into bar manager Andrea Di Chiara and head bartender Angelo Sparvoli’s list of curated drinks inspired by the hotel’s history. The delicate Touch of Pink is inspired by Marlene Dietrich, who would request 12 pink roses in her Savoy suite, and mixes gin, the perfume-like Muyu Jasmine Verte and lemon, scattered with perfectly pink rose petals. If you’re after something a little punchier, the magnificent Moon Landing combines mezcal, Luxardo Bitter Bianco, Cocchi Americano and Muyu Vetiver Gris into something deeply herbal and smokey, while Five O’Clock Somewhere is a heady, tomato-based take on a martini.
Time Out tip
The bar’s high-end offering of vintage and rare spirits, means that, if you want, there is a £5000 sazerac on offer. In more practical advice, it’s walk-ins only, so get there early if you’re banking on a table.
Be your own bartender
The famous Savoy Cocktail Book was first published in 1930 and contains all the bar’s classic drinks (750 of them). You can buy it at The American Bar, should you want to recreate them at home.