The best martinis in London: the decadent, the iconic and the budget

At first glance, making a martini is a simple task. Two ingredients (three at a push), a bit of shaking or stirring, and a pretty straightforward garnish – what could go wrong?

Quite a lot, as it turns out – shaking, for a start, is a surefire way to ruin one. It’s terrifically easy to make a bang-average martini, but pouring a truly excellent one is a bona fide art form.

As such, the martini has accrued all sorts of myths and legends in the last century or so, its deceptive complexity capturing the imagination of bartenders, authors and fictional spies over the years.

Whether you go for gin every time or often covet a vodka version, London is home to all sorts of serves for the classic cocktail. From dry to dirty, here’s where to find the best martinis in the capital.

American Bar at The Savoy

For cocktail connoisseurs, sipping on a martini at The Savoy’s American Bar is less a quick tipple than a pilgrimage. This is, supposedly, where it all began. While working at the world-famous hotel during the 1930s, legendary bartender Harry Craddock penned mixology bible The Savoy Cocktail Book, which contained the first recorded recipe for a dry martini. Nowadays, the hotel’s director of bars Declan McGurk serves vodka or gin versions with a few drops of Savoy’s own martini bitters. McGurk prefers two parts gin to one part vermouth, but customers often ask for a dryer concoction.

The Strand, WC2R 0EZ, thesavoylondon.com

American Bar at The Stafford

The Savoy may have got there first, but there’s definitely room for more than one American Bar in this list of great martinis. The bar at the Stafford hotel also offers an excellent version of the classic cocktail, keeping it as dry as you can handle: dry gin is mixed with just a dash of dry vermouth, and always stirred, never shaken. Staff here like to keep things cool – if you're taking your time with the drink, they'll pour it into a freshly chilled glass should yours warm up.

16 St James's Place, SW1A 1PE, thestaffordlondon.com

The Connaught

The bar at Mayfair hotel The Connaught is excellent in many respects, but the legendary martini here is arguably the strongest string in its bow. Choose the signature serve and the ingredients are brought tableside on a trolley and mixed to order while you watch, often by cocktail don Agostino Perrone. A selection of handmade bitters is on hand to make your martini bespoke, dropped into a mix of Tanqueray No.10 gin – or the Connaught's very own Mayfair-distilled gin – and a blend of different dry vermouths.

Carlos Place, W1K 2AL, the-connaught.co.uk

69 Colebrooke Row

The West End might have the monopoly on supreme martinis, but this Angel bar gives most in the capital a run for their money. Tony Conigliaro’s “Bar With No Name” (most commonly known by its address) makes its house martini using Beefeater gin and Dolin Dry vermouth, to which a homemade tincture is then added, made with macerated grape seeds. The bar also serves seasonal martinis, such as an autumnal Woodland martini made with Amontillado Sherry, bitters made with oak, maple and sequoia, all garnished with a pickled walnut.

69 Colebrooke Row, N1 8AA, 69colebrookerow.com

Artesian

Head bartender Remy Savage and bar manager Anna Sebastian are doing a fine job of steering the historic Artesian into modernity, currently serving a “minimalist” menu of cocktails made with just two ingredients. Ordering an off-menu martini almost fits in with the “less is more” mantra: Grey Goose or Bombay Sapphire are served at five degrees below zero alongside three different types of olives, designed to enjoy match with the flavour of the drink as it gradually warms up.

1C Portland Place, W1B 1JA, artesian-bar.co.uk

Dukes

Martini aficionados don’t come more high profile (albeit fictional) than James Bond. It's thought that Dukes Bar – the St James watering hole favoured by author Ian Fleming – was where 007’s love of the cocktail was born. It is where Fleming even penned the famous “shaken, not stirred” line, and to this day martinis are served with similar precision. Bartender Alessandro Palazzi’s prowess at the martini trolley is world-renowned: choose from Plymouth gin or Potocki vodka to be mixed with Dukes’s very own extra dry “sacred” vermouth. They warn guests that measures are large no more than two should be had in a sitting – some may scoff, but it's a rule for a reason; their particular mix is especially lethal.

35 St James's Place, SW1A 1NY, dukeshotel.com

The Gibson

The Gibson bar in Old Street is such a fan of martinis it even named itself after one – sort of. A variation of the gin martini that is served with a pickled onion, the Gibson is served here in three varieties. The classic version comes “a la Charles Dana Gibson” and mixes Copperhead gin and Martini Ambrato Riserva with pickling spice, a house pickled onion and lemon zest. The redistilled martini is macerated with pickled onion for 72 hours, while the aged Gibson uses vermouth aged in a balsamic barrel and served it with truffle and a cider vinegar onion.

44 Old Street, EC1V 9AQ, thegibsonbar.london

Bellamy’s

There aren’t too many components to a martini, but old-world charmer Bellamy’s have done away with one altogether. No ice is used in the production of this Mayfair spot’s version – all the spirits are chilled to below freezing, along with the glasses, before the cocktail is mixed. Belenkaya vodka or Hendricks gin in recommended here and extra dry vermouth is literally sprayed with an atomiser to ensure it is used sparingly. Considering its Bruton Place location, the serve is also a steal at £12.

18 Bruton Place, W1J 6LY, bellamysrestaurant.co.uk