81 Ltd

Some bars claim to be secret speakeasies even when they’ve got a big sign outside advertising cocktails. Shhh… don’t tell anyone.

81 Ltd is different. So secretive, you feel like part of an elite club when you get in. You don’t need to be tapped on the shoulder by an M16 spook though. Just text 07803 361 052 to receive the access code and pass through the locked door.

It’s well worth all the secret service rigmarole because these cocktails are outstanding. Bar staff are fully-trained killer cocktail agents making everything from perfect renditions of classics like the Old Fashioned and the Negroni to 81 Ltd specials such as Tweed and Tonic or Cannonball.

There’s a dark, clubby, traditional feel to this bar which makes it seem perfectly suited to sipping expertly-made, grown-up cocktails and feeling ever so slightly raffish.

If you want tiki vibes or day-glo drinks from a goldfish bowl, go somewhere else.