The best bars for drinking caipirinhas in London

This ‘loosely Latino’ bar on Shoreditch’s Ravey Street is popular among the party crowd. They have a list of house cocktails but also encourage off-menu requests, particularly if they’ve got a South American lean. Order up caipirinhas here with Gisele Bundchen levels of confidence – they’re going to taste great.

Sure, this Battersea bar references Berlusconi, but his parties pale in comparison to the kind of fiestas you’ll find in Brazil. So the people behind the fruity Italian venture have pimped one of their rooms with beach balls, surf boards and a VW camper van and they’re calling it Cocobananas. They’ll be serving cachaça cocktails alongside drinks in coconuts, pineapples and, err, arse-shaped vessels.

A colourful South American bar with live bands on the stage and the occasional spontaneous eruption of samba on the dance floor (mostly in an amateurish London style, of course). Caipirinhas are the way to go, but don’t be afraid to explore other house drinks with a Latino lean, including the sweeter Fogo di Floripa with cachaça, Chambord and strawberry.

Hoxton Square has always had a bit of a carnival atmosphere, but it’s upping the ante with a celebration taking over Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen to tie in with the Olympic opening ceremony. Smokey Tails will be giving its barbecue menu a Brazilian twist, with meat served on giant spits. But more importantly, caipirinhas will be doing a roaring trade at the bar and the South London Samba band will be providing a party soundtrack to fit.

These cocktail champs always nail the classics, and the caipirinha is a permanent feature on the menu. Decoratively speaking, it’s one of the more restrained drinks served here, but it packs more kick than Pele’s right boot. Order it up in double quantities during happy hour to really get into the mood – cocktails are two for £12 all day on Monday and at 4.30pm–7pm for the rest of the week.

Well, the name says it all, really. This Camden bar, as colourful as Carmen Miranda, caters to a Brazil-loving crowd washing down feijoada and moqueca with caipirinhas from the Copacabana beach bar. The list has 12 variations on the classic cocktail – including a pineapple caipirinha for pure beach vibes – as well as caipiroskas (vodka replacing cachaça) if you’re not ready for the full Brazilian. If you like the drinks enough, bow down to the bar’s very own Cristo Redentor statue afterwards.

The focus is on Brazilian grub at this London Fields pop-up – from sweet and savoury pasteles to moqueca – but that doesn’t mean the booze is an afterthought. Far from it. You’ll find three twists of the caipirinha at Rio Boteco, including the Copacabana, a heady mix of cachaça, lemon, lime, grapefruit, ginger syrup and bitters. Punters are calling it ‘Brazil in a glass’.