BARS • First Round
It’s hardly befitting of one of the best cocktail bars — not only in London, but the world — to be unassumingly nestled alongside a petrol station on Cambridge Heath Road. And yet: there’s a real upside to having such a gorgeous spot in the heart of an unglamorous neighbourhood, between the trendier streets of Shoreditch and Hackney, rather than buried in a five-star hotel or in an area always overwhelmed by tourists.
Satan’s Whiskers might appear to be just your average hip cocktail bar, but look around — the vintage booze posters on the exposed brick wall are accompanied by exquisitely taxidermied critters, including an albino peacock soaring from the ceiling, a badger brandishing a cocktail shaker, and an uncannily believable unicorn skeleton.
You can just about make out the bouncy hip-hop playlist over the dimly-lit din of people having a great time, making their way through the daily changing menu of cocktails, depending on what’s in season and who’s on the bar that night. Every element is freshly prepared in house, and you can taste it. And the snacks aren’t bad either.
The menu breaks down into Fizzy, Shorts, Cocktails, and Long Drinks. House favourites like the tropical East 8 Hold Up, Negroni Sbagliato (they were doing it before it was cool, honest) and devilish Satan’s Americano sit beside both simple classics and irreverent concoctions (absinthe-fuelled Saratoga Brace up, anyone?), catering for every level of adventure. If in doubt, go for something resembling a margarita and you can’t go wrong.
It might be a small neighbourhood bar in Bethnal Green, but visit once and you’ll wish it was in your locale. –David Bard
→ Satan's Whiskers (Bethnal Green) • 343 Cambridge Heath Rd • Sun-Thu 5p-12a, Fri-Sat 5p-1a.