The BBS Guide To London Cocktail Week – 10 Cocktails For £50 In Accessible Venues

It’s Cocktail Week this week!

No, it’s not just a week where everyone at Blue Badge Style drinks loads of cocktails – that would be every week – it’s officially London Cocktail Week. Alongside some special events there are over 150 bars offering discounted cocktails.

The system for the week is that you can buy a £10 wristband which then entitles you to visit any of these bars and purchase their special offer £4 cocktail. It’s a great deal with the only catch being that you’re only told the main spirit being used and have to leave the rest to your imagination.

If you’re in London over the weekend and have some free time, London Cocktail Week is offering a brilliant opportunity to try out some really stylish cocktail bars at discounted prices. We’ve used our extensive knowledge from years of experience of the London cocktail scene to compile a list of ten accessible bars we’d recommend visiting this weekend.You certainly won’t get ten cocktails for fifty quid at these bars once next week comes.

Here’s the list of bars – we’re covering a lot of ground and a lot of drinks, so we suggest you don’t try to do it all in one night! We’ve also listed the main spirit in the four-pounder at each.

Shoreditch

1. LoungeLover – Don Julio Tequila

LoungeLover is trendy and really just very ‘Shoreditchy’. It’s furnished and decorated with an eclectic variety of antiques which even includes a stuffed hippo head on the wall. It’s accessible, with disabled toilet and it’s all on one level although on a bit of a slope. We like it so much we even hosted our and BBS Launch party there last year. Showing that they can easily cope with several wheelchair users at once, they proved that night that they deserve their 2.5 Ticks.

2. McQueen – Belvedere Vodka

Darkly glamorous and intriguing, the McQueen is named after the ‘king of cool’ himself. Full of Chesterfields and dark leather decor it’s so good we think he would’ve been happy to put his name to it. The side entrance is accessible with a little help from the bouncers and although there isn’t a disabled toilet there is a lift downstairs to the bar. We gave McQueen 2 BBS Ticks.

Fitzrovia

3. The Riding House – Golden Rum

The Riding House is the first of a couple of cocktail bars on this list which recently picked up a BBS Award. Although it’s only on the 2.5 BBS Ticks level of recommendation that still makes it very strong in terms of style and access. Other than a step to get inside, the access is excellent and the staff are also helpful. We found it to be fashionable in an unpretentious way – it has that intentionally distressed, industrial vibe that’s very stylish at the moment.

King’s Cross

4. Gilbert Scott – London Dry Gin

Another BBS Recommended Award venue, Gilbert Scott is a ‘high’ 2.5 Tick venue. It’s in a huge, high ceilinged space but is somehow intimate and cosy at the same time as being grand. The side door has step free access and there’s a disabled toilet. Also, since it’s normally on the expensive side, even for a cocktail bar, this is a great chance to drink there for cheap.

Notting Hill, South Kensington or Stratford

5. Bumpkin – Tanquerary London Dry Gin

Bumpkin is a chain of bar/restaurants across London all of which are taking part in LCW. However, we recommend going to one of these three 2.5 BBS Tick options rather than the Chelsea Bumpkin which only got 1.5 ticks. They’re restaurants first and foremost, but they have bright and fun bars as well.

Battersea

6. Bunga Bunga – Belvedere Vodka

A lively Italian joint in Battersea, Bunga Bunga has a real sense of humour about itself with Vespa helmet lampshades and Italian language lesson tapes in the toilets. It’s a fun, lively place to stop in for a cocktail. It also has good access, with a disabled toilet and largely level floors. However, some areas are only accessible via stairs so it’s a 2.5 BBS Ticks rather than the full 3.

7. Doodle Bar – London Dry Gin

Doodle Bar is described as “a place where people can enjoy the freedom to scribble”. It’s based in a disused warehouse which has been used as a blank canvas for creativity and art. A very trendy place to visit. The bar is completely flat and spacious with a fully equipped disabled toilet. We gave them 2.5 Ticks.

Southbank

8. Skylon – Belvedere Vodka

The Skylon is in the Royal Festival Hall so it’s no surprise that the access is good. It’s a classy place to drop in for drink or two, with excellent views of the Thames from the floor to ceiling windows. It’s very stylish and is the only cocktail bar taking part in LCW to have been given the top 3 BBS Ticks  and the BBS Award that comes with that honour.

Bermondsey

9. Roast – TBC

Roast is on the first floor of Floral Hall in Borough Market so it’s fortunate that there is a lift to get there. The cocktail recipes tend to be on the experimental side, embracing the amazing ingredients available at the market, so although you can’t be sure of the main spirit involved as of yet you can be guaranteed something a bit unusual. It’s a a very good restaurant as well if you want to have some food while you’re there. It’s a 2.5 Ticks venue which means the access is very good.

Soho

10. Floridita – Pusser’s Navy Rum

This Latin inspired bar with good cocktails and a variety of music (The Stones once played there when it was the Marquee Club) is another place that was awarded with the official 2.5 Ticks BBS Recommendation. The access is good and the cocktails are always good, so the only problem should be making sure you don’t mispronounce Pusser’s Navy.