London's luxurious cocktail bars offer an amazing array of delicious recipes. Visit London, the official visitor guide for London, picks five of the very best.
Bar Constante @ Floridita
Get your mojo (or should that be mojito?) rising at this vibrant bar/restaurant inspired by an Havanan haunt frequented by Ernest Hemmingway. Bar Constante touts itself as the "Cradle of the Daiquiri" but you can expect something a bit different. Instead of the standard strawberry or banana varieties. Try the elderflower - or perhaps a sage - mojito!
Contact details: 100 Wardour Street London, W1F 0TN, 44 (0)20 7314 4000, www.danddlondon.com
Hush
With a drinks menu every bit as ambitious as the movers and shakers who use its sunken sofas and alfresco terrace to recharge their batteries, Hush is a perfect place to sip some divine drinks. The trademark Strictly Hush - Tattinger champagne, Chambord, orange bitters and raspberry puree - is particularly delicious.
Contact details: 8 Lancashire Ct, Mayfair, London, W1S 1EY, 44 (0)20 7659 1500
Mahiki
Popular with junior members of the Royal Family and enough celebrities to fill a bumper edition of Hello! magazine, Mahiki is a favourite haunt of paparazzi. If you like celeb-spotting, you'll quickly develop a strain in the neck here. Mahiki is London's best-known tiki bar, following a trend started in the USA. Decked out in a kitsch Polynesian style, the cocktail menu matches the theme. Go in a group of 10 and share a £100 Treasure Chest, a powerful champagne and vodka cocktail sipped communally through straws. And don't forget to say aloha to the Aloha room.
Contact details: 1 Dover Street, Mayfair, London, W1S 4LD, 44 (0)20 7493 9259
Sheraton Park Tower
The piano bar at the Sheraton Park Tower offers possibly the most expensive cocktail in the world. Prices begin at £3,000 for the Diamond Cocktail, which is a heady concoction of Rémy Martin and champagne - oh, and a diamond ring or necklace is served on the side. That's what you call "on the rocks"! There is also live entertainment daily to accompany your proposal...
Contact details: 101 Knightsbridge London, SW1X 7RN, 44 (0)20 7235 8050
Trader Vic's
Prada and Alexander McQueen are ditched in favour of hula skirts and garlands in this larger-than-life, Polynesian-themed bar. Trader Vic's claims to be the home of the Mai Tai - but there are far more kaleidoscopic cocktails to quaff. You'll feel like an extra in South Pacific as you settle back with a Mahukona or a Pino Pepe, brought to you by heavenly gals in authentic gowns.
Contact details: 22 Park La, Mayfair, London, W1K 1PN, 44 (0)20 7208 4113
For more information about London, visit www.visitlondon.com.
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