Nightjar

Nestled in the bosom of a couple of cafes on City Road, Shoreditch, you'll find the Nightjar. It's open seven nights a week and offers some quality London music and cocktails all under one roof. It stands out - not literally - even more by being an underground speakeasy.

Dark wood panels and softly glowing lights heighten the intimacy in the Nightjar. Behind the bar you'll see skilled staff whizzing and twirling their way through creating ingenious concoctions. Elsewhere the smooth sounds of jazz paint the airwaves adding a toe-tapping vibe to proceedings. Nightjar is definitely one of London's classier hangouts, whose intention for punters isn't to 'get smashed' but rather to be taught a lesson in civility.

Back to the drinks and it's like being in a mad scientist's laboratory behind the bar. Dry ice pours, softly billowing over all in its path as part of the Fog Cutter cocktail. Its a delicious combo of rum, gin sherry and Cognac.

To personify Nightjar would be saying it's a suit among tracksuits in Shoreditch. Friday nights are all about cheesy tunes fresh from the DJ's decks, while Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays pay homage to live jazz, swing, cabaret and blues. It's a really swish attempt at harking back to another era - something we highly recommend checking out.

Opening times: Thursday - Saturday 18:00 – 03:00, Sunday - Wednesday: 18:00 – 01:00, last Monday of every month is Members’ Night.